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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Citizens Transportation Advisory Commission - Meeting Date: 10/6/2016DRAFT MINUTES CITIZENS TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT COMMISSION 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, Arizona 85301 City Hall, Room B-3 October 6, 2016 6:00 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Tom Schmitt, Chair John Geurs, Vice Chair Don Brazier James Grose Michael Hart Jeff McAffee Marie Nesfield Jack Nylund CJ Williams Joan Young MEMBERS ABSENT: Roberta Podzius (excused) OTHERS PRESENT: Patrick Sage, Transportation Planner Purab Adabala, Transportation Analyst Kevin Link, Transit Administrator Ron Brooks, Valley Metro Carol Ketcherside, Valley Metro I. Call to Order Chair Schmitt called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. II. Approval of the Agenda Chair Schmitt called for approval of the agenda for the October 6, 2016 CTOC meeting. ACTION BY CTOC: Approval of the agenda for the October 6, 2016 Citizens Transportation Oversight Commission as presented. (Motion: Vice Chair Geurs; Second: Commission Brazier; motion carried unanimously.) III. Approval of Minutes from September 1, 2016 Meeting Commissioner Geurs inquired if Mr. Adabala would send the Commissioners a copy of the Final GO FY2017-2041 Program of Projects as noted in the September minutes. Staff will email the report to the Commissioners. Chair Schmitt called for approval of the minutes. 1 ACTION BY CTOC: Approval of the minutes from the September 1, 2016 meeting of the Citizens Transportation Oversight Commission with the change of adding Commissioner Nylund to "Members Absent." (Motion: Commissioner Williams; Second: Commissioner Grose; motion carried unanimously.) IV. Call to the Audience No comments. V. Commissioners and Staff Updates Commissioner Williams expressed appreciation for the invitation to the recent Urban Land Institute AzTAP panel event on September 15, 2016, and wondered if any Commissioners attended the event. Vice Chair Geurs replied in the positive. Commissioner Williams asked if there was discussion regarding transit readiness in the centerline area. Vice Chair Geurs replied that in the sessions he attended, light rail was often referred to as if it was a "set in stone" scenario and not just a proposal. VI. Manager's Report Mr. Sage provided the Manager's Report to the Commission, which included the following: • Follow-up Items from August CTOC Meeting • Northern Parkway Update • Long Range Transportation Plan Update • CTOC Appreciation Event Reminder (Coyotes Game on December 8) Mr. Sage noted that the regular CTOC meeting is scheduled for December 15Y,in addition to the CTOC Appreciation night scheduled for the following Thursday. Mr. Sage announced that there is an opening for a CTOC representative to participate on the Citizen's Bicycle Advisory Commission (CBAC). Interested Commissioners were asked to send an email to express their interest, and that the item will be on the November agenda. Commissioner Grose noted that he sat as the CTOC representative on the CBAC two years ago. VII. Update on Regional ADA Dial -a -Ride The agenda item was tabled pending the presenter's arrival. VIII. Glendale Transit Services Mr. Link presented a brief overview of the different transit services provided by the Glendale Transit division, which included information on the following: • Transit Staff • History of Dial -A -Ride (DAR) • Dial -A -Ride Service, including Hours of Operation, Telephone Hours, and Fares • ADA Service, including Eligibility. Certification Process, and How to Request an ADA Ride • Discount Fare Cards • Taxi Voucher Program • GUS 1, 2 & 3 Neighborhood Circular • Fixed Route Service in Glendale Chair Schmitt inquired if staff has looked into the use of Uber. Mr. Link agreed that potential uses for Uber needs to be researched. Commissioner Nylund inquired as to the funding of DAR and GUS, and Mr. Link replied they are funded by the GO Program. Mr. Link added that there are some federal grant funds for preventative maintenance as well for DAR. Mr. Link noted that there is some federal operational assistance for GUS, but the funds are competitively awarded and not always obtained. Commissioner Nylund noted that the communities north of the 101 have aging residents and asked about plans to expand the fixed route program to that area. Mr. Link replied that there are plans to expand service along 59th Avenue north to Pinnacle Peak Road. Mr. Adabala commented that in the past there were plans for a bus service north on 59th Avenue to the Thunderbird Conservation Park parking lot; however, there was opposition to this project so the 59th Avenue route terminates at Beardsley Road. Commissioner Nylund commented that the Thunderbird Conservation Park is the City's largest park but does not have public transportation access. Mr. Adabala agreed and noted that the extension was opposed; however, development of next Transportation Plan is underway and support for the extension should be expressed as part of the public input process for the plan update. Commissioner McAffee noted that the regular DAR fare is $1.00 while the ADA fare is $2.00, and inquired as to the reasons for the higher fare for ADA service. Mr. Link explained that there are longer service hours, tighter range for pick up time, advance trip booking for pick up and drop off, door-to- door assistance, and other factors which lead to the higher fare. Commissioner McAffee wondered if the City could absorb the fare difference between the regular fare and ADA fare. Mr. Link replied that the funds to do so are not in the City budget and may result in unsupportable service demand. Vice Chair Geurs requested information on budget versus revenue. Mr. Link commented that for the last fiscal year, the DAR budget was $2.8 million, with $91,000 in revenue, and the GUS budget was approximately $700,000 to $800,000 with revenue of $20,000. Mr. Link added that the taxi voucher budget was $125,000. Mr. Link stated that paratransit is an expensive, but very necessary service. Vice Chair Geurs inquired as to the percentage of Glendale residents who use the service and Mr. Link estimated 100 to 150 residents. Commissioner Williams commented on seeing children using DAR to get to school. Mr. Link commented that demand for this type of use for DAR is low because return trips cannot be booked until the same day. Mr. Link stated that DAR is not the best method to get to and from school. Commissioner Nylund asked how the DAR and GUS services were advertised. Mr. Link explained that there is no formal advertising program; however, outreach is done to retirement communities, assisted living homes, and postings on the City and Valley Metro websites. Mr. Link noted there is a lot word-of- mouth regarding the program as well. Commissioner Nylund suggested promoting the service in the City water bill. Commissioner Brazier suggested brochures on the busses. VII. Update on Regional ADA Dial -a -Ride Mr. Ron Brooks, Manager of Accessible Transit Services for Valley Metro, and Ms. Carol Ketcherside, Deputy Director Service Planning & Accessible Transit at Valley Metro, provided an overview of Regional ADA Dial -a -Ride (DAR) services available for ADA eligible Glendale residents. Ms. Ketcherside noted that as the valley grown, it has become very important to connect DAR's within the cities on a regional basis. Ms. Ketcherside commented that a main challenge for DAR users has been transfers between cities. Ms. Ketcherside announced that the Regional DAR (RDAR) was implemented on July 1, 2016 with the goal of finding and providing the most cost effective quality regional service for users. Mr. Brooks provided a presentation, which included the following information: • Who is Eligible for RDAR • What Trips are Eligible • Maps of RDAR Service Area — Valley wide and Glendale • How to Access RDAR Service • How Regional DAR Works • Budget to Actual • Qualitative Metrics for Glendale • Next Steps Commissioner Nylund commented on the budget slide, which indicates that the program is already at 30.4% of budget for the two months of July and August. Commissioner Nylund inquired as to how the program will obtain funding for the entire fiscal year. Mr. Brooks replied that the consultant who set the budget researched the program in other cities and there really was no specific model for the regional transfer program in other areas of the country. The consultant performed a very detailed manual analysis to capture transfer data in the valley and the initial budget was the best estimate at the time. Mr. Brooks stated that this is a brand new program and he will work with each City to resolve unforeseen funding issues. Ms. Ketcherside noted that Valley Metro is looking at other options to provide quality but less expensive services. Mr. Brooks stressed that trip sharing is very important. Chair Schmitt suggested Uber. Mr. Brooks replied that he is having discussions with Uber. Mr. Brooks explained that there are many regulations with ADA paratransit which are prohibitive so other transport options are being researched. Commissioner Brazier inquired as to who pays the fee to the driver if a customer does not show up for a trip. Mr. Brooks explained that the contractor absorbs the cost; however, Valley Metro will contact the no-show customer to educate them regarding the issue. Mr. Brooks stated that if a customer is a repeated no-show, they can be suspended from the program. Vice Chair Geurs inquired as to how many valley residents are ADA qualified. Mr. Brooks replied'that there are approximately 19,000 people in the regional eligibility database; however, these are only residents who have applied for the certification. Vice Chair Geurs inquired about advertising methods for RDAR. Mr. Brooks stated that promotional methods include the following: websites, personal letter to recent DAR customers, phone calls, brochures, and information in the regional ADA transit guide. Vice Chair Geurs suggested sharing information with the social workers at local hospitals for patient transportation. Commissioner Williams was interested in viewing future data for RDAR trips being used for very short distances between two cities. Mr. Brooks commented that the data is captured at the trip level and geo-coded. Mr. Brooks noted that as the program develops over time, data trends will be analyzed for budget and operational information. Chair Schmitt stated that RDAR is a great program which is a work in progress at this time. IX. Future Agenda Items Chair Schmitt suggested the following agenda topics: 4 • Northern Parkway: costs, federal funds, matching funds, possible risks, alternatives. • Bethany Home Road Extension. • Light Rail: Funding and Future Scope of Study from Downtown Glendale to Westgate — Including Economic Development and Public/Private Partnerships. • Flashing Yellow Arrows. Vice Chair Geurs suggested an update on the Valley Metro light rail planning process. Commissioner Nylund suggested information on the Adopt -a -Street program in Glendale. Commissioner Williams suggested a presentation on the City's Travel Green effort. X. Next Meeting Time Thi�ext meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 3, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. XI.X Adiournment Them fim was adjourned by consensus at 7:43 p.m. Chair SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS Please contact transportation staff at (623) 930-2940 at least three (3) days prior to the meeting for special accommodations. Hearing impaired persons please use the Arizona Relay Service at 1-800-367-8939. E