Public Hearing on Transit Needs in the City of Elk
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Attachment G TRANSIT NEEDS PUBLIC HEARING IN YOLO COUNTY, INCLUDING THE CITIES OF DAVIS, WEST SACRAMENTO, WINTERS, AND WOODLAND MINUTES November 7, 2018 – 6:00 P.M. YCTD BOARD ROOM 350 INDUSTRIAL WAY, WOODLAND Conducted by Tom Stallard of the SACOG Board; Barbara VaughanBechtold, SACOG staff; Terry Bassett and Jose Perez representing the Yolo County Transportation District (YCTD); Teri Sheets representing Unitrans; Linda Alemania and James Haven representing Davis Community Transit (DCT) and the Yolo County Social Service Transportation Advisory Council (SSTAC). One person testified at the hearing and 3 items of correspondence were received. Mr. Stallard introduced members of the hearing panel and explained that SACOG is responsible for administering the Transportation Development Act (TDA), which provides funds for transportation purposes throughout the SACOG region. Ms. VaughanBechtold explained that after the hearing, the Yolo County SSTAC will meet to assist SACOG staff in analyzing the hearing testimony based on criteria adopted by the Board of Directors and further explained the SSTAC membership makeup. Mr. Bassett provided an overview of the services provided by YCTD. Ms. Sheets briefly summarized the services provided by Unitrans. Mr. Haven summarized the services provided by DCT. Mr. Stallard opened the public hearing comment period. SUMMARY OF PUBLIC TESTIMONY 1. Mike Barnbaum, Sacramento, CA Mr. Barnbaum shared a number of comments shown below: The Solano Express made modifications to their services that went into effect July 1, 2018. They combined three previous express routes into the new Blue Line. This does not serve the Davis Amtrak Station, but does provide service between Davis and the Pleasant Hill BART station. The only stop in Davis is at the UCD Silo. There should be a stop added at the UCD Memorial Union to better connect with the other transit providers that serve the City of Davis. This comment will be shared with Solano Express staff as it regards service that originates outside the SACOG RTPA area. Page 1 of 4 Attachment G Pride Industries consolidated their North Natomas operators to Veritiv Corporation in West Sacramento located at 3510 Carlin Drive off of Southport Parkway. Many of the workers at Pride Industries use transit to get to/from work, and this new location is a long walk from the nearest transit route Yolobus #35. It would be a great help to have the route #35 continue on Southport Parkway to Lake Washington Blvd. to have a stop for Sacramento County based commuters. A majority of the workers at this location live in/commute from Sacramento County. A next service called Flixbus that is focused on serving universities, and currently serves near Sacramento State, should be solicited to have a stop at/near the UC Davis campus. This is a comment regarding a private transportation operator and will not be analyzed as part of the Unmet Transit Needs Process. CORRESPONDENCE 1. Jarrod Baniqued, Davis, CA Electric buses are needed as part of a regional pilot program. I would recommend Proterra buses – best noise levels, handling, and acceleration for the lowest cost. I’m totally in favor or accelerating the plan to change the Yolobus Woodland hub to downtown Woodland. The County Fair Mall transit/transfer center is inadequate. Yolobus should run more frequent services overall. I would recommend the 220 run five times a day, add an Esparto-Vacaville service, a route #42 super-express that would bypass all but the most popular stops I the four cities, and improve on-time performance by incorporating elements of BRT. More preparations for high-speed rail are also needed. 2. Misti Garcia, Sacramento, CA The Amazon distribution center near the Sacramento International Airport would like to offer more commute resources to their employees. They operate 8 primary shift schedules – 7 days per week: Days 6:00 am – 6:00 pm (OT days) 6:30 am – 6:30 pm (OT days) 7:00 am – 5:30 pm 7:30 am – 6:00 pm Nights 6:00 pm – 6:00 am (OT days) 6:30 pm – 6:30 am (OT days) 6:00 pm – 4:30 am 6:30 pm – 5:00 am Page 2 of 4 Attachment G 3. Jason Marshall, Sacramento, CA RE: Unmet Transportation Need For Making the new Amazon SMF1 Facility More Accessible to Public Transportation. Dear Interested Parties, I'm writing to you regarding the lack of accessibility of the new Amazon fulfillment center located next to the SMF (Sacramento International Airport) to public transportation. I have repeatedly emailed the transit operators and airport staff. I've been attempting to make my job there a little easier to get to by an addition of a new Yolobus stop at the SMF ARCO AM/PM. To this day there still hasn’t been any responses where this still remains an "unmet transportation need". With luck, this "eleventh hour" email letter reached you in a nick of time before your Dec 10th, 2018 deadline for such comments. Currently there are only two ways to get to Amazon by public transportation with various drawbacks. The Natomas shuttle is a 4 mile walk away from Amazon while offering only 3 holders for bikes each trip with only one evening time and a few daytime trips available worse, these shuttles always appear crowded at the time we need to use them to get to work. This leaves the most viable way to get to Amazon via Yolobus 42 from downtown to SMF airport with only a 3 mile walk to get to Amazon. Currently Yolobus also has a limit of only 3 bikes each trip but their trips occur every hour while still requiring one to compete with 2 other bikers using Yolobus to return to Woodland each day after arriving by Yolobus. The airport shuttles can knock off 1.3miles off of the 3 mile walk from inside the airport to the Economy Lot 40c next to the ARCO AM/PM but they too are regularly full requiring one to be late for work having to wait through multiple subsequent shuttles for a space to get to the economy lot 40c near the ARCO AM/PM but this leaves only a 2.4 mile walk to Amazon as opposed to 3miles. Yet no matter which method you use, you will still have to carry a 20lbs backpack with a change of clothes, rain boots, and etc. because the 3mi walk does have a tendency to give fellow coworkers an allergic reaction to the smell of your clothes while the rain gear protects shoes from getting wet. Even though, there's been a lot of talk about vanpool opportunity services, these services NEVER really get started at Amazon while instead the company is trying to rent employees vehicles at a cost of over $500 or more per week (much like Lyft drivers having to pay $300 weekly rental for new cars). Much like my last job of 6 years at Waste Management 9 miles away, I took the bus to work and ran the 9 to 12 or 20 miles back every night; 3hrs to get to work and 3hrs to get back was a maximum. The same with my trips to my new job of one year at Amazon SMF now only 20 miles away from home. But I've been commuting by Yolobus 42 to my job at Amazon for almost a year now and have repeatedly seen multiple people on my trips riding a bike to Amazon from the airport or walking back to the Airport from Amazon. Aside from one individual who survived the commute with me from October 2017 to May 2018 until he was financially "Lyfted" out of work, most of these people soon disappeared proving that only a long distance runner or extremely fast walker such as myself can survive the daily 3 mile journey to and from the airport. All of us are excited hear of the new Green Line extension to SMF airport. Aside for many Woodland and other users, hordes of Amazonians will definitely utilize the new Green Line to get to Amazon via a stop at a new Metro Air Park light rail station just in front of Amazon before Page 3 of 4 Attachment G its final stop inside the SMF airport. With the addition of a large park and ride lot situated somewhere downtown, it will allow them to reduce the daily 20-mile wear and tear on their cars in addition to gas savings while further allowing them to beat the regular traffic jams exiting and entering the downtown area as well as the various roads leading to Elkhorn Blvd. But this Green Line to the Airport extension is 15 years away in 2030. Yet in the meantime there is still something that can be done right now to allow easier public transportation access to Amazon. The first is the addition of another Yolobus stop at the ARCO AM/PM just before it stops deep inside SMF airport; it will remove the a 1.5mi trip from inside the airport to the ARCO AM/PM creating a shorter walk trip to Amazon of 2.4 miles while at the same time eliminating the need during multiple crowded occasions to fight for a seat on subsequent airport shuttles to take us to Economy Lot 40c next to ARCO AM/PM. The second would be that airport authority could compel SMF Airport to open the gate locked fence thereby allowing us direct access to Amazon from the ARCO AM/PM via powerline road which further reduces the walk trip from the ARCO AM/PM to Amazon to just a mere .88 miles.