AGENDA ITEM ST. JOHNS COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 10 Deadline for Submission - Wednesday 9 a.m. – Thirteen Days Prior to BCC Meeting 10/4/2016 BCC MEETING DATE TO: Michael D. Wanchick, County Administrator DATE: September 1, 2016 FROM: Phong Nguyen, Transportation Division Manager PHONE: 904 209-0613 SUBJECT OR TITLE: Approval of the St. Johns County 2016 Transit Development Plan AGENDA TYPE: Business Item, Resolution BACKGROUND INFORMATION: As a recipient of Block Grant funding from the Florida Department of Transportation we are required to develop and maintain a Transit Development Plan. This is a 10 year plan that establishes a strategic focus and mission to guide the development of the St. Johns County public transportation system. The plan must be updated yearly with a major update once every 5 years. For this year a major update was required. We are requesting the 2016 St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners approve this major update which will cover a ten year period from 2017 through 2026. 1. IS FUNDING REQUIRED? No 2. IF YES, INDICATE IF BUDGETED. No IF FUNDING IS REQUIRED, MANDATORY OMB REVIEW IS REQUIRED: INDICATE FUNDING SOURCE: SUGGESTED MOTION/RECOMMENDATION/ACTION: Motion to adopt Resolution 2016-________, Approving the St. Johns County 2016 Transit Development plan and authorizing the County Administrator or his designated representative to execute any other related documents and take any other actions necessary in connection with the submittal of the Transit Development Plan to the Florida Department of Transportation. For Administration Use Only: Legal: RL 9/20/2016 OMB: N/A Admin: DML 9/21/2016 Growth Management Department TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT DIVISION 2016 Transit Development Plan To: Board of County Commissioners From: Phong Nguyen, Transportation Development Manager Date: September 12, 2016 Subject: Major update of the Transit Development Plan Hearing dates: Board of County Commissioners – October 4, 2016 Commissioner District: All Districts SUGGESTED MOTION/RECOMMENDATION/ACTION Motion to adopt Resolution 2016-____ Approving the St. Johns County 2016 Transit Development plan and authorizing the County Administrator or his designated representative to execute any other related documents and take any other actions necessary in connection with the submittal of the Transit Development Plan to the Florida Department of Transportation. Page 2 Transit Development Plan, 2016 Major Update BACKGROUND: Each transit agency in Florida that receives transit block grant funding is required to prepare a Transit Development Plan to ensure that the provisions of public transportation services are consistent with the travel needs and mobility goals of the local communities that are served by the system. The plan covers a ten-year period with a major update every five years, with minor updates in each of the interim years. This update is a major update which requires an approval by the Board of County Commissioners. The plan includes five elements. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT The public involvement plan is developed to receive input from the community. Input was collected from transit customers, agency stakeholders, elected officials, bus drivers, and the general public. This input was collected through meetings, phone calls, interviews and surveys. The results of this input fall into 2 categories; response from riders and responses from the public. Results from the public indicated significant support for public transportation within the community. Most agreed that effective public transportation is important for the economy and that public transportation should be improved to reduce congestion. The majority of respondents stated the biggest need for public transportation was in the St. Augustine/St. Augustine Beach area. EVALUATION OF THE CURRENT SYSTEM Service Description Existing services include a fixed route system and a demand response/paratransit system. The fixed route system serves St. Augustine, St. Augustine Beach, Vilano Beach, the Town of Hastings, Flagler Estates, the St. Augustine Outlet malls and the Avenues Mall in Jacksonville. These areas are serviced with 7 routes, operating 8 buses. Service hours are from 5:30 AM to 8:05 PM Monday through Saturday. The regular fare is $1.00 per trip, an all-day pass is $3.00 and a monthly pass is $30.00. A half fare is available on all fare prices to seniors, children under 6, persons with disabilities and students. Over the last 5 years the ridership has increased over 30%. In 2000, when the service was first introduced, ridership was 8,184. In 2015, the total ridership was 277,316. The Demand Response/paratransit system provides service to those unable to use the fixed route system. Those served include the elderly, disabled, economically disadvantaged, children at risk and individuals with no other means of transportation. The hours of regular service are from 4 AM through 6:30 PM Monday thru Saturday. On some occasions service can be provided outside of regular hours. Most service is provided within the County but some out of County trips are provided, mainly to Jacksonville. Population Profile This population profile is based on the Northeast region of Florida to include Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties. St. Johns has the fastest growing population in Northeast Florida, at 3.7% annually. It is second in total population for Northeast Florida with Page 3 Transit Development Plan, 2016 Major Update 13.7% of the population; Duval is the largest with 56.3%. In 2014, the total population in the urban areas of St. Johns County was 158,093 with a total County population of 217,919. Note that federal funding for public transportation is based on the St. Augustine Urbanized area with a total population of 75,492 in 2014. Population Density and Demographics In the St. Augustine Urbanized area the greatest population densities are generally north and south of King Street, between Masters Dr. and SR A1A; the St. Augustine South area; east of Anastasia Blvd; near the Bridge of Lions; St. Augustine Beach south of SR 312 between SR A1A and A1A Beach Blvd.; and along SR A1A north of SR 206. Employment Characteristics The highest concentrations of employment are within the St. Augustine Urbanized Area, generally along US 1 near King St. and near SR 312. There are 35 private companies with 100 or more employees, and 67% of those companies are within the St. Augustine Urbanized Area. Major public employers include St. Johns County, the St. Johns County Sheriff Office and the cities of St. Augustine and St. Augustine Beach. Commuting Characteristics 80 % of workers drive alone 55% of County residents work within the County 40% of County residents commute to Duval County (59% of those workers live in Fruit Cove) ALTERNATIVES AND STRATEGIES To attract new customers, the recommendation is to expand existing routes and add new routes. See map attached for existing and proposed routes. In the future, this will include more frequent service on weekdays and Sunday service. Specific route change recommendations include adding new service between St. Augustine and St. Augustine Beach, and new service to the Outlet Mall/World Golf Village area. Capital Improvements include vehicle replacement and expansion to support new routes, installation of bus shelters and amenities, and coordination with Jacksonville Transportation Authority to construct a park and ride and bus bay facility with amenities. TEN-YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN/FINANCIAL PLAN The Transit Development Plan’s (TDP) financial strategy includes cost and revenue estimates for transit enhancements over the ten-year period of 2017-2026. Estimates represent order of magnitude estimated costs for both operating and capital improvements. Applying current service characteristics and anticipated revenues, the financial plan utilized a TDP financial planning tool developed by FDOT. The implementation of these service improvements will depend on actual funding availability, recommendations from the on-going comprehensive operations analysis, and actual service plans. Page 4 Transit Development Plan, 2016 Major Update Costs and revenues for the ten-year period: Revenues identified are based on information from County and COA staff for FY 2016 and FY 2017, and represent federal, state, and local sources. Total costs are approximately $52.3 million over the ten years. Revenues are estimated to be $35.1 million over the same time period, resulting in an estimated shortfall of $17.1 million in unfunded needs. The vast majority of unfunded needs are from increases in deviated fixed route service as well as maintaining demand response services. Page 5 Transit Development Plan, 2016 Major Update RESOLUTION NO. 2016- A RESOLUTION BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF ST. JOHNS COUNTY, FLORIDA, APPROVING THE 2016 ST. JOHNS COUNTY TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN WHEREAS, each recipient in Florida who receives State Block Grant funding for public transportation must prepare a ten year Transit Development Plan; and WHEREAS, this 2016 Transit Development Plan establishes a strategic focus and mission for public transportation services and can serve as a guide in the future development of public transportation in St. Johns County; and WHEREAS, this 2016 Transit Development Plan will cover fiscal years 2017 thru 2026; and WHEREAS, the Transit Development Plan integrates transit goals and objectives with those of other adopted plans; and WHEREAS, the Transit Development Plan is a yearly requirement with a major