MEETING OF WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2012 AT 5:30 – 8:00 PM
Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee CITIZENS TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE of the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization STEPHEN P. CLARK CENTER Chairperson 111 NW FIRST STREET Dr. Claudius A. Carnegie MIAMI, FLORIDA 33128 TH First Vice Chairperson 18 FLOOR, CONFERENCE ROOM 4 (18-4) Naomi L. Wright AGENDA Second Vice Chairperson Cesar M. Garcia-Pons
Members I. ROLL CALL AND CELLULAR TELEPHONE MANAGEMENT Rolando Acosta Mark Blumstein Andrew Burgess Gary J. Dufek II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Richard Eze Daniel Fils-Aime Alan B. Fishman III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Meeting of September 19, 2012 Hudson Gaulman, Jr. David B. Haber Marlon Kelly, Sr. Zvi Krugliak IV. CTAC MEMBERSHIP UPDATE David Lyons Jesse Manzano A. KIMBERLEY STEFANSKI- appointed by MPO Board Member Jose Lesline McKenzie Bob Powers “Pepe” Diaz Emma Pringle Ramon Ramos B. PASCO “PAT” SANTANGELO- appointed by MPO Board Member Hilario G. Rojas Jean Monestime Pasco “Pat” Santangelo Leonardo Scarpati C. GARY PYOTT RESIGNED- MPO Board Member Zevin V. Auerbach Kimberley Stefanski Lee Swerdlin Barbara Walters Norman Wartman V. TRANSIT SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT- Barbara Walters, Subcommittee Paul Yavis Chair Daniel Yglesias
Honorary Member Dorothy Cissel (late) VI. PUBLIC COMMENT - 3 Minutes Each Speaker Mac Glasgow (late)
Contact Information Paul Chance VII. ACTION ITEM Miami-Dade MPO 111 NW First St. #920 A. CTAC RESOLUTION #5-12 REQUESTING THE MPO GOVERNING Miami, Florida 33128 BOARD INITIATE A STUDY BY AN INDEPENDENT FIRM TO (305) 375-1888 DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF HIRING AN IN-HOUSE POLICE [email protected] FORCE TO MONITOR, PATROL, AND SECURE THE METRORAIL AND METROMOVER FACILITIES
It is the policy of Miami Dade County to comply with all of the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The facility is accessible. For sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices, or materials in accessible format, please call 305-375-4507 at least five business days in advance.
VIII. INFORMATION ITEMS
Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee A. FY 2014-2018 FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION of the Miami-Dade Metropolitan DISTRICT SIX (FDOT) DRAFT TENTATIVE WORK PROGRAM- Planning Organization Linda Glass Johnson, FDOT District Six Work Program Administrator Chairperson Dr. Claudius A. Carnegie B. FLORIDA’S TURNPIKE ENTERPRISE (FTE) WIDENING
First Vice Chairperson PROJECT UPDATE- Diane Scaccetti, FTE Executive Director Naomi L. Wright
Second Vice Chairperson IX. PUBLIC COMMENT - 3 Minutes Each Speaker Cesar M. Garcia-Pons
Members Rolando Acosta X. CHAIR’S REPORT Mark Blumstein Andrew Burgess Gary J. Dufek Richard Eze XI. MEMBER REPORTS ON OTHER MEETINGS RELATED TO Daniel Fils-Aime TRANSPORTATION Alan B. Fishman Hudson Gaulman, Jr. David B. Haber XII. OLD/NEW BUSINESS Marlon Kelly, Sr. Zvi Krugliak David Lyons Jesse Manzano XIII. ADJOURNMENT Lesline McKenzie Bob Powers Emma Pringle Ramon Ramos Hilario G. Rojas Pasco “Pat” Santangelo MPO Committee Meeting Dates: Leonardo Scarpati MPO Governing Board 10/25/12 Kimberley Stefanski CTAC 11/14/12 Lee Swerdlin TPC 11/13/12 Barbara Walters BPAC 11/27/12 Norman Wartman Paul Yavis TARC 11/07/12 Daniel Yglesias
Honorary Member Dorothy Cissel (late) Mac Glasgow (late)
Contact Information Paul Chance Miami-Dade MPO 111 NW First St. #920 Miami, Florida 33128 (305) 375-1888 [email protected]
It is the policy of Miami Dade County to comply with all of the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The facility is accessible. For sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices, or materials in accessible format, please call 305-375-4507 at least five business days in advance.
MIAMI-DADE METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION (MPO)
CITIZENS TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CTAC)
STEPHEN P. CLARK CENTER 111 NW FIRST STREET MIAMI, FLORIDA 33128 18TH FLOOR, CONFERENCE ROOM 4 (18-4) SUMMARY OF MINUTES
MEETING OF WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2012
CTAC ATTENDANCE:
Dr. Claudius A. Carnegie, Chair Emma Pringle Naomi Wright, First Vice Chair Ramon Ramos Mark Blumstein Hilario Rojas Gary Dufek Pasco “Pat” Santangelo Richard Eze Leonardo Scarpati Daniel Fils-Aime Kimberly Stefanski Alan Fishman Barbara Walters Hudson Gaulman, Jr. Paul Yavis David Haber Daniel Yglesias Marlon Kelly, Jr.
OTHERS PRESENT:
Paul Chance, CTAC Secretariat Kent Rice, FTE Irma San Roman, MPO Interim Director Linda O. Johnson, FDOT, D6 Karla Damian, MDT Rita Carbonell, HNTB-MDX GEC Joel Perz, MDT Javier Heredia, PWWM Diane Scaccetti, FTE Executive Director Alfred J. Holzman, CITT Member Rebekah Hammond, FTE Tomas Monzon, Citizen Paul Wai, FTE Barry White, Citizen
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I. ROLL CALL AND CELLULAR TELEPHONE MANAGEMENT
Paul Chance, CTAC Secretariat, called the roll and advised Dr. Claudius Carnegie, Chair, there was a quorum present.
Dr. Carnegie then welcomed everyone to the meeting and recognized quorum.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
The Chair deferred item VII.A. He also reversed the order of items VIII.A and VIII.B.
Barbara Walters made a motion to approve the agenda as amended by the Chair, which was seconded by Emma Pringle. Upon being put to a vote, the motion passed unanimously
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Barbara Walters moved for the approval of the minutes, which was seconded by Ramon Ramos. Upon being put to a vote, the motion passed unanimously.
IV. CTAC MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
A. KIMBERLEY STEFANSKI- appointed by MPO Board Member Jose “Pepe” Diaz
B. PASCO “PAT” SANTANGELO- appointed by MPO Board Member Jean Monestime
C. GARY PYOTT RESIGNED- MPO Board Member Zevin V. Auerbach
V. TRANSIT SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT
Barbara Walters, Subcommittee Chair, reported the following:
Citizen Robert Monzon requested that MDT add a GPS system that will allow riders to track arrival times for buses. He also expressed a concern about the length of time it takes to replace a bus when broken down.
MDT’s Robert McClellan provided a summary on Infrastructure Engineering & Maintenance Facilities Maintenance Plan Summary
Members discussed safety concerns regarding bikes and strollers on the trains and the cleanliness of the train.
Members also discussed the following security issues:
Fare evasion Ticketing vehicles illegally parked and using the bus pick/drop off terminal Holding open the train doors
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Homelessness and graffiti MDT will be interfacing with iPod through their PA system to allow train passengers to hear announcements in all three languages English, Spanish, and Creole.
VI. PUBLIC COMMENT - 3 Minutes Each Speaker
None
VII. ACTION ITEM
A. CTAC RESOLUTION #5-12 REQUESTING THE MPO GOVERNING BOARD INITIATE A STUDY BY AN INDEPENDENT FIRM TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF HIRING AN IN-HOUSE POLICE FORCE TO MONITOR, PATROL, AND SECURE THE METRORAIL AND METROMOVER FACILITIES
(Deferred under Approval of Agenda)
VIII. INFORMATION ITEMS
A. FLORIDA’S TURNPIKE ENTERPRISE (FTE) WIDENING PROJECT UPDATE
Diane Scaccetti, FTE Executive Director, provided the following update on their Widening Project:
The need for widening Need for congestion management Express Lane service in Miami-Dade HEFT Express Lane policies Benefits of Express Lanes Statewide congestion management efforts Lessons from 95 Express
Kent Rice, FTE Government Affairs Officer, then provided a presentation regarding the FTE’s Tentative Work Program.
After the presentation was concluded, Dr. Carnegie opened up the floor to questions, concerns, and comments that were addressed by Ms. Scaccetti, Paul Wai, and Kent Rice.
(The presentation session can be heard in its entirety upon request)
B. FY 2014-2018 FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT SIX (FDOT) DRAFT TENTATIVE WORK PROGRAM
Linda Glass-Johnson, FDOT District Six Work Program Administrator, reviewed the FDOT D6 Draft Tentative Transportation Plan with the members, which will be up for approval at the next CTAC meeting.
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After the review of the document was concluded, Dr. Carnegie opened up the floor to questions, concerns, and comments that were addressed by Ms. Glass-Johnson.
(The presentation session can be heard in its entirety upon request)
IX. PUBLIC COMMENT
None
X. CHAIR’S REPORT
Dr. Carnegie provided the following report:
The Chair reminded members that they must attend the mandatory Sunshine/Ethics Training and to contact Paul Chance for details if you have not taken this course already.
The Chair assigned First Vice Chair, Naomi Wright, to monitor the Transit and Surface Subcommittees, and Second Vice Chair, Cesar Garcia-Pons, to monitor the Maritime and Legislative Subcommittee.
Staff is currently working on a Maritime Subcommittee meeting that will include a tour of the Port Tunnel project.
As a “Point of Order” the Chair informed members that CTAC is an advisory committee to the MPO Governing Board, which, oversees transportation planning, not operations. CTAC is permitted to discuss ‘operational’ issues, even though the focus should be on ‘planning’. However, until the Feds bring this up an ‘issue’, CTAC will continue to discussing both planning and operational topics.
Moving forward, any resolutions concerning “planning” will go to the MPO Governing Board, and any resolutions regarding “operations” will be forwarded to the head of the respective transportation agency, with the MPO Governing Board Chair and MPO Director being copied on the cover letter. Regarding the various agencies within Miami-Dade County government, the resolution will be forwarded to Mayor Carlos Gimenez with the Director of the specific agency also being copied. This clarification will help CTAC to better direct resolutions to the appropriate party to then work with them as the issue gets resolved.
CTAC questions to MDT and MDT Responses:
When a bus breaks down what is the replacement time? MDT: It varies; it all depends where the bus broke down and how far the replacement bus is located. The time may vary from 5 minutes up to one hour.
Why don’t strollers have to be folded on trains, but they do on buses? MDT: Rail is reviewing the policy currently utilized by Metrobus to see if the bus policy can be implemented on the rail side.
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How is overcrowding on buses regulated? MDT: Buses can carry passengers, who are standing, up to the yellow line. Once there is no more ‘standing room’ available, the Bus Operator will not board any additional passengers and he/she will advise those attempting to board that the bus is full and that they must wait for the next bus.
Update on New Metrorail Cars MDT: MDT’s original Metrorail vehicles are approaching their useful life of 30 years. MDT’s existing plan is to solicit and procure 136 modern vehicles equipped with the latest technology applicable on today’s rapid transit rail vehicles. These new Metrorail vehicles will include an elegant new exterior and interior design and will offer transit customers improved reliability and customer service. The new vehicles will also be equipped with high efficiency, low-maintenance air conditioning units (less Freon leaks that make it more environmentally friendly, and higher cooling capacity to make passengers more comfortable inside the rail cars), digital signs that display the name of the next station, digital displays with extensive media content (for advertisements, time and news display, etc.), high-quality audio announcements, route maps and other signage. The Regional Transit Commission (RTC) approved and forwarded the contract to the Citizen’s Independent Transportation Trust (CITT) with favorable recommendation on October 15, 2012. The contract award recommendation is expected to go before the BCC on November 8, 2012. Delivery of six pilot vehicles is expected during the second quarter of 2015 and the last six vehicles to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Mr. Gaulman thinks a car should be added to the existing train configuration? MDT: Metrorail trains operate from approximately 5:00 a.m. until approximately 12:48 a.m. every day. Rail hours are at times extended during special events in order to provide service to the riding public. Miami-Dade Transit’s Service Planning Division determines the frequency of trains (headway) and the configuration of the trains by analysis and balancing several factors, which include: time of day, ridership, special events, operating costs, and vehicle availability. As of July 28, 2012, peak weekday headways have been established at approximately every 10 minutes between Palmetto and Earlington Heights Stations, and approximately every 5 minutes between Earlington Heights and Dadeland South stations utilizing 4-car trains. Peak Vehicle Requirement (PVR) is currently seventy six (76) cars utilizing nineteen (19) four-car trains
Update on Route 297 stopping at Brownsville MDT: When the Route 297 was being realigned, the Planning Division did look into the possibility of stopping at the Brownsville Station. However, having a stop at Brownsville Station would add too much time; therefore, increase the operating cost of the route. The Route 297 is a limited-stop route meant to provide faster service. By adding a stop into the Brownsville Station, this would increase the trip time for through passengers. Passengers at Brownsville Station have the local Route 27 providing service along NW 27 Avenue. Passengers wanting to access Metrorail may do so at the MLK Jr. Station. However, if CTAC wishes, the committee can provide a request that outlines the specific reasons/issues why a stop is being requested at the Brownsville Station and MDT’s Planning Division will take another look at the request and the issues involved in the request.
There is a locked storage at Brownsville Station that Park’s does not have access to but the private contractor company does? MDT: We had staff from the Department’s Facilities Maintenance Division survey the Brownsville Station area and staff was not able to identify an area that supposedly has a double lock as described. If CTAC wishes, MDT can have a representative meet a committee member(s) to identify the area described. The station is at Overtown not Brownsville Station.
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Tri-Rail Station’s lights are out on the walk way crossing over from north to south at Golden Glades? MDT: The fluorescent architectural accent lights at Tri-Rail Station are not considered for providing the required lighting levels. These accent (decorative) lights that will not be replaced; the fixtures will be removed in the future. Miami-Dade Transit is transitioning to higher- efficiency LED lighting; in the future, when the fixtures are removed/changed, they will be replaced with LED lighting.
Overcrowded of buses-how is that regulated? MDT: Buses can carry passengers, who are standing, up to the yellow line. Once there is no more ‘standing room’ available, the Bus Operator will not board any additional passengers and he/she will advise those attempting to board that the bus is full and that they must wait for the next bus.
At this time member, Paul Yavis, requested that CTAC receive documentation confirming how many bus riders can stand while the bus is moving.
No eating on trains: how much of a profit does MDT collect from vending machines compared to pulling a car for cleaning? MDT: Prior to the Board of County Commissioners approving the permanent Vending Machines Services program for MDT, staff was tasked to keep track of any possible increase in refuse from the new vending machines at the seven (7) pilot program stations; MDT Station Managers stated that there was no increase in trash from the machines that negatively affected their operations. The County receives 36 percent of the vendor's monthly vending sales, plus $85 per machine (there are two machines per station) as a Monthly Access Fee (MAF) to the vendor. MDT has been receiving from the vendor on average $3,300 in revenues from the Vending Machine Services program every month. It costs approximately $100 per day to clean a pair of married rail cars.
XI. MEMBERS REPORTS ON OTHER MEETINGS RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
Item deferred
XII. OLD/NEW BUSINESS
Item deferred
XIII. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:05 PM.
***MINUTES ARE IN SUMMARY FORM*** FOR VERBATIM TRANSCRIPTIONS OF THIS MEETING PLEASE REQUEST COPIES OF THE TAPE FROM THE MIAMI-DADE MPO AT (305) 375-4507
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