Transportation Operators Committee April 26, 2017 • 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. PSRC Conference Room • 1011 Western Avenue, Suite 500 • Seattle, WA 98104

10:00 1. Welcome and Introductions – Trinity Parker, Chair

2. Public Comment

10:05 3. Discussion: Change in TOC Vice-Chair – Gil Cerise, PSRC

10:10 4. Report on PSRC Committee and Board Activities – Trinity Parker, Chair

10:15 5. Action: 2017 FTA Regional Competition: Project Recommendations* – Sarah Gutschow, PSRC

10:25 6. Action: FTA Funding Redistribution Request: * – Sarah Gutschow, PSRC

10:30 7. Discussion: Regional Centers Framework Update – Ben Bakkenta, PSRC Discuss and clarify two transit-related topics including, 1) span of transit service and 2) “planned” transit service.

10:50 8. Discussion: Transportation 2040 Plan Update Financial Strategy: Progress in Estimating Non-HCT Transit Capital Investments – Ben Brackett, PSRC

11:00 9. Discussion: 2017 Transit Integration Report Initiation – Alex Krieg, PSRC

11:10 10. Discussion: Washington State Transit Coordination Grant – Don Chartock, WSDOT

11:20 11. Discussion: DRAFT Regional Access to Remix Evaluation Report* – Gil Cerise, PSRC

12. Next Meeting: May 24, 2017: 10:00 am – 11:30 am Upcoming Meeting Topics: T2040 Plan Update; Transit Asset Management Performance Targets; T2040 Financial Plan Update; 2017 Transit Integration Report; and Transit MOU Update Discussion.

11:30 13. Adjourn

*Supporting materials attached

Sign language and communication material in alternate formats can be arranged given sufficient notice by calling (206) 464-7090 or TTY Relay 711. 中文 | Chinese, 한국 | Korean, Русский | Russian, Español | Spanish, Tagalog, Tiếng việt | Vietnamese call 206-587-4819.

MEMORANDUM April 26, 2017

To: Transportation Operators Committee (TOC)

From: Sarah Gutschow, Senior Planner

Subject: 2017 Project Selection Process for PSRC’s FFY 2018-2020 FTA Regional Competitive Funds

Every two to three years PSRC undertakes a project selection process to distribute funds from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Within the PSRC region’s Seattle-Tacoma-Everett Urbanized Area (STE UZA), FTA funds are distributed via an earned share process, which took place in 2016, and a regional competition. Based on the policies contained in the adopted 2016 Policy Framework for PSRC’s Federal Funds, a Call for Projects was released in February 2017 for the distribution of an estimated $32 million of PSRC’s FFY 2018-2020 FTA regional competitive funds. Additional background information on the details of the project selection process may be found on PSRC’s website at: https://www.psrc.org/our-work/funding/project-selection.

On April 11, 2017, the Regional FTA Caucus finalized its recommendations to the TOC for the projects to receive regional competitive funds within the STE UZA, including a prioritized contingency list of projects should additional funds become available prior to the next process. These recommendations are contained in Attachments 1 and 2.

Recommended Action

The Transportation Operators Committee should recommend the following:

• The Transportation Policy Board (TPB) should recommend approval by the Executive Board of the list of projects to receive funding from the regional FTA competition for PSRC’s FFY 2018-2020 FTA funds, including a prioritized contingency list of projects should additional funds become available, as identified in Attachments 1 and 2.

Discussion

PSRC’s Executive Board adopted the 2016 Policy Framework for PSRC’s Federal Funds in January 2016. The Policy Framework details the regional policy direction and guidelines for the selection of projects to receive PSRC’s federal funds. The 2016 Policy Framework maintains the policy direction of support for the development of centers and the corridors that connect them.

PSRC coordinates with FTA and the public transit agencies operating within the STE UZA to conduct the process to distribute PSRC’s FTA funds to projects. Per adopted regional policy, the

5 - 1 process used to recommend and select projects to receive the funds is split between an “earned share” process and a regional competition. Funds come to the region based on the service and operating characteristics of each transit agency, as well as from regional attributes such as population density. Within the STE UZA, approximately 86% of the FTA funds are based on the service and operating characteristics of each transit agency and are therefore distributed via the earned share process. The remaining 14% of the funds in the STE UZA are based on regional attributes, and since 2004 this portion of the funds has been used for a regional competition. As a reminder, for the 2016 project selection process the earned share funds were distributed in 2016, while the regional funding competition is being held in 2017.

Fifteen projects were submitted into the FTA regional competition, requesting almost $80 million for the approximately $32 million available. Projects were scored and ranked by PSRC staff based on the agreed upon Regional Project Evaluation Criteria. The criteria include the following: benefit to a regional growth, manufacturing/industrial and/or locally identified center; system continuity/long-term benefit/sustainability; air quality and climate change; and project readiness/financial plan.

The Regional FTA Caucus met on April 11, 2017 to recommend projects for funding to the TOC. In addition to the project scores, the Caucus agreed to consider the following additional factors in preparing their recommendation: geographic equity, agency equity, project implementation, and modal equity. The Caucus unanimously recommends the list of projects as identified in Attachment 1, which represents funding for the top six ranked projects by score, and two lower scoring projects based on these additional factors. The attachment notes where any project is accepting a reduced funding amount, with the resulting adjustment in scope or agreement by the sponsor to fully fund the phase with local funds.

Schedule

On May 11th, the TOC recommendation for PSRC’s FFY 2018-2020 FTA regional competitive funds will be presented to the Transportation Policy Board (TPB) and released for public comment. The TPB will make a final recommendation on June 8th, and the Executive Board is scheduled to approve the project recommendations on June 22nd.

For more information please contact Sarah Gutschow at 206-587-4822 or [email protected].

Attachment 1: Regional FTA Caucus Project Recommendations for PSRC’s 2017 Regional FTA Competition

Attachment 2: Regional FTA Caucus Recommended Contingency List for PSRC’s 2017 Regional FTA Competition

5 - 2

Attachment 1: Regional FTA Caucus Project Recommendations for PSRC's 2017 Regional FTA Competition

Total Amount Amount Sponsor Project Title Phase Year Description Score Requested Recommended

This project will complete the Project Development phase for the "Orange Line," the third line of CT's Swift BRT network. Project Development includes: completion of the environmental review process, including developing and reviewing alternatives; selecting a locally preferred alternative and alignment; and completion of the design and engineering portion of the project. Completion of Project Development Community Swift BRT Orange Line is an FTA threshold to be eligible to apply for and receive FTA Small Starts funding. Transit Project Development 92 PE/Design $ 5,000,000 2020 $ 5,000,000 Subtotal $ 5,000,000 2018 $ 2,500,000 This project will purchase 1 commuter rail locomotive and 3 passenger cars for ’s Sounder south line. The new locomotive will be either Tier 3 or Tier 4 EPA standard. The Sounder south line 2019 $ 2,650,000 Sounder Vehicle serves both Pierce and King Counties and a total of 10 centers. The vehicles in this grant request will Sound Transit Procurement 79 Other $ 7,800,000 2020 $ 2,650,000 help prepare for ST3 Sounder South Service and Capital Improvements. Subtotal $ 7,800,000 This project will purchase approximately four High Capacity Transit (HCT) for the service routes experiencing the most severe overcrowding and schedule reliability issues. These routes directly serve a total of 13 centers along the I-5, SR-520, and I-90 corridors in Snohomish, Pierce and King Counties. The new buses will all have bicycle racks that hold 3 bicycles per bus. The recommended amount of funding for this project is lower than the amount requested, so Sound Transit Purchase 11 New High will use the funding to purchase approximately four buses rather than the eleven buses originally Sound Transit Capacity Transit Buses 72 Other $ 7,700,000 2020 $ 3,000,000 requested in the project application. Subtotal $ 3,000,000 The project grant funding will fund the acquisition of eight expansion buses and the construction of eight 2018 $ 2,752,000 charging stations. The 8 buses will be slow-charge/extended range battery electric buses (BEB). The Other $ 5,504,000 2019 $ 2,752,000 chargers would be installed at Metro’s South Base and the buses would operate out of South Base, a bus maintenance and operations facility located in Tukwila that primarily serves south King County. The eight 2018 $ 480,000 routes identified for service increase operate on corridors that connect 11 Regional Growth Centers, 3 KCM Service Expansion designated Regional Manufacturing/Industrial Centers, seven local King County Transit Activity Centers, King County/ as well as other park-and-rides and transit hubs and major destinations. Metro Service 69 Construction $ 960,000 2019 $ 480,000 Subtotal $ 6,464,000 2018 $ 2,000,000 This project will build a new bus rapid transit (BRT)/RapidRide corridor along Rainier Ave S. Key features of the project include: business access and transit (BAT) lanes or exclusive transit-only lanes; signal modifications; channelization changes; and transit signal priority (TSP). Improvements will also include transit stop amenities and supporting bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, such as real-time arrival information, lighting, wayfinding, off-board fare payment options, sidewalks, and bicycle facilities. The funding in this project grant will be used to design improvements on all of the Rainier/Jackson corridor and phase 1 of the 23rd Ave corridor, from Rainier Ave to the Rainier Beach light rail station. The defined corridor in this project follows most of the current routing for Metro’s Route 7, with an extension to South Rainier Rapid Ride Lake Union in the north and a new terminus in the south at the Rainier Beach Light Rail Station. City of Seattle Corridor 69 PE/Design $ 3,000,000 2019 $ 1,000,000 Subtotal $ 3,000,000 2018 $ 1,101,335 This project will use planning and preliminary engineering funds towards construction of an eighth bus base for Transit. This scope of work includes the identification of potential properties Planning $ 1,601,335 2019 $ 500,000 for acquisition and the development of a conceptual layout of a transit base for the selected site. The new base will accommodate up to 300 of the buses King County/Metro will acquire as part of the “Metro King County/ King County Metro System Connects” bus fleet expansion, and potentially serve 33 bus routes. Metro Expansion: Eighth Base 67 PE/Design $ 2,944,455 N/A $ - Subtotal $ 1,601,335

5a - 1 Total Amount Amount Sponsor Project Title Phase Year Description Score Requested Recommended

2018 $ 2,000,000 This project will fund the replacement of the Overhead Loading (OHL) structures of Slip 3 as part of the larger Seattle Multimodal Terminal at Colman Dock project. The goal of the project is to provide a uniform corridor width from the vessel to the building and to minimize obstacles, such as abrupt changes in grade, Seattle Multimodal in order to meet operational demand. The new pedestrian overhead loading ramp at Slip 3 will be wider Terminal at Colman Dock - than the existing ramp, meet ADA requirements, and provide additional capacity for increasing volumes of Washington Pedestrian Overhead pedestrians. WSF accepted a reduced amount of federal funding, so they will complete the requested State Ferries Loading 60 Construction $ 7,000,000 2019 $ 2,000,000 phase using other funding sources. Subtotal $ 4,000,000 This project will identify and prioritize investments to improve transit performance and service quality along Pacific Avenue S/State Route 7 (Downtown Tacoma to Spanaway). It seeks to implement a package of transit preferential treatments in both corridors, which may include: modifications to existing transit signal priority (TSP) installations; traffic signal re‐timing; traffic signal modification and signal Corridor Improvements for PE/Design $ 1,440,000 2019 $ 1,440,000 synchronization; queue jumps; designation of bus or HOV lanes; upgraded bus stop amenities; and Transit Speed & Reliability 55 Construction $ 2,160,000 N/A $ - improved bus stop spacing. Subtotal $ 1,440,000 Regional FTA Competitive Total $ 32,305,335

5a - 2 Attachment 2: Regional FTA Caucus Recommended Contingency List for PSRC's 2017 Regional FTA Competition

Priority #1: Any additional FTA competitive funds received in the region will be used to advance projects on the recommended list of projects, identified in Attachment 1. Priority #2: After Priority #1 on the contingency list is satisfied, the following projects, in priority order, will be considered for funding up to the amount identified. Total Amount Contingency Sponsor Project Title Phase Description Score Requested Amount This project will purchase seven High Capacity Transit (HCT) buses for the Sound Transit Express Bus service routes experiencing the most severe overcrowding and schedule reliability issues. These routes directly serve a total of 13 centers along the I-5, SR-520, and I-90 corridors in Snohomish, Pierce and King Counties. The new buses will all have bicycle racks that hold 3 bicycles per bus. The recommended amount of funding for this project is lower than the amount requested, so the remaining funds were placed on the contingency list. Sound Transit will use the remaining funding on the Purchase 11 New High contingency list to purchase the other seven buses requested for this project phase. Sound Transit Capacity Transit Buses 72 Other $ 7,700,000 $ 4,700,000 This project will use planning and preliminary engineering funds towards construction of an eighth bus Planning $ 1,601,335 $ - base for King County Metro Transit. This scope of work includes the identification of potential properties for acquisition and the development of a conceptual layout of a transit base for the selected King County Metro site. The new base will accommodate up to 300 of the buses King County/Metro will acquire as part of King County/ System Expansion: the “Metro Connects” bus fleet expansion, and potentially serve 33 bus routes. Metro Eighth Base 67 PE/Design $ 2,944,455 $ 2,944,455 This project will acquire eight new 60-ft articulated buses that will operate on the existing Route 120 King County Metro Fleet corridor between Downtown Seattle and Burien Transit Center. The new vehicles are necessary to King County/ Expansion (Route provide increased transit frequency to meet existing and forecasted service demands. These vehicles Metro 120/RapidRide H Line) 65 Other $ 7,372,696 $ 7,372,696 will eventually operate on the RapidRide H Line after it is constructed. This project will construct multimodal access improvements at the Sounder Puyallup Station, including approximately 669 new parking stalls (an estimated 503 of these will come from a new garage near the station with an additional 166 surface parking spaces along the north side of 3rd Avenue Northwest); sidewalk, pedestrian lighting and bicycle amenities in the station area; and a pedestrian Puyallup Station Access bridge from the garage over 5th St NW to the Sounder Station platform. The grant request will Sound Transit Improvements 64 Construction $ 6,600,000 $ 6,600,000 complete the construction phase. This project will build a new bus rapid transit (BRT)/RapidRide corridor along Roosevelt Way, Eastlake Ave, and Fairview Ave under King County Metro’s RapidRide brand. The project includes key features, such as business access and transit (BAT) lanes or exclusive transit-only lanes, signal modifications, channelization changes, bus stop consolidation, parking changes, bus bulbs, transit signal priority (TSP), bicycle and pedestrian access improvements, and protected bike lanes and/or parallel neighborhood greenways. Improvements will also include transit stop amenities, such as real- Roosevelt Rapid Ride time arrival information, lighting, wayfinding, off-board fare payment options, and bicycle and City of Seattle Corridor 62 PE/Design $ 3,000,000 $ 3,000,000 pedestrian access improvements. This project will identify and prioritize investments to improve transit performance and service quality along Pacific Avenue S/State Route 7 (Downtown Tacoma to Spanaway). It seeks to implement a package of transit preferential treatments in both corridors, which may include: modifications to Corridor Improvements PE/Design $ 1,440,000 $ - existing transit signal priority (TSP) installations; traffic signal re‐timing; traffic signal modification and for Transit Speed & signal synchronization; queue jumps; designation of bus or HOV lanes; upgraded bus stop amenities; Pierce Transit Reliability 55 Construction $ 2,160,000 $ 2,160,000 and improved bus stop spacing. This project will construct a new bicycle facility as part of the larger Seattle Multimodal Terminal at Colman Dock project. The facility includes a new dedicated entrance and a separate covered holding Seattle Multimodal area for bicycle riders transiting on the Bainbridge route. Design of the facility was coordinated with Washington Terminal at Colman Dock - design of the new cycle track to be constructed by the City of Seattle as part of the Central Waterfront State Ferries Bicycle Access 52 Construction $ 4,000,000 $ 4,000,000 reconstruction. This project widens the overpass to the Traffic Ave/E Main Street interchange, which will include reconfiguring two intersections and adding travel lanes and multi-modal access across SR 410. The SR 410 - Traffic Ave/E project is less than 0.2 miles from the Sumner Sound Transit Station. The grant will fully fund the Main Interchange planning and design phase of the 14' two-way shared use path portion of the new overpass across SR Sumner Improvements 41 PE/Design $ 440,000 $ 440,000 410.

5b - 1 Total Amount Contingency Sponsor Project Title Phase Description Score Requested Amount West Seattle Passenger This project requests funding for planning, pre-design, and initial NEPA environmental analysis of a King County Only Ferry Terminal permanent ferry terminal location in West Seattle in support of the West Seattle to downtown Seattle DOT (Marine) Relocation 40 Planning $ 1,200,000 $ 1,200,000 passenger only ferry (POF) service. Planning $ 160,000 $ 160,000 This is a pilot demonstration project to complete the design and construction of shared mobility hub PE/Design $ 800,000 $ 800,000 retrofits to incorporate new modes of transportation at King County/Metro’s busiest park and ride facilities (P&Rs). The project will include developing shared mobility hub retrofit designs at six P&R locations, and completing construction to fully retrofit four selected locations. Examples of retrofits Shared Mobility Retrofits include: safe and secure short-term parking for drop-offs; pedestrian and bicycle facility King County/ at King County Metro improvements; and additional amenities, such as lighting, shelters, real-time transit service and Metro Park & Rides 39 Construction $ 1,600,000 $ 1,600,000 parking information, trip planning, and service request kiosks.

5b - 2 x

Everett Transit Redistribution Request

Request: Everett Transit (ET) requests a redistribution of $1,263,550 in FFY 2017 STE UZA Earned Share FTA 5307 funds between the projects identified below.

Explanation: The redistribution request is needed to purchase replacement vehicles that will be used to maintain Everett Transit service. Therefore, ET requests to redistribute $1,263,550 in STE UZA FFY 2017 Earned Share FTA 5307 funds from ET-36 to ET-35. ET has determined that the amount of funding needed to accomplish the work identified in the ET-36 project scope can be completed using existing project funds. ET-35 will use the increase in funding from the redistribution to purchase five replacement vehicles.

FFY 2017 Earned Share STE UZA 5307 Funds Sponsor Program Year TIP ID # Project Title Source Current Proposed Change Final Everett Transit Preventive Maintenance Everett Transit 2017 ET-36 5307 $1,263,550 -$1,263,550 $0 for Vehicle Fleet

Everett Transit 2017 ET-35 Transit Revenue Vehicles 5307 $0 $1,263,550 $1,263,550

6 - 1

MEMORANDUM April 20, 2017

TO: Transportation Operators Committee

FROM: Gil Cerise, PSRC

SUBJECT: Regional Access to Remix Transit Sketch Planning Software DRAFT Report for Transit Coordination Grant

IN BRIEF The initial Transit Coordination Grant awarded in early 2016 included funding for Regional Access to Remix Transit Sketch Planning Platform. This grant provided access to Remix for all public transit agencies and PSRC through June 30, 2017. Part of the grant included development of an assessment of Remix’s utility with recommendations for longer-term regional access opportunities.

PSRC is sharing an initial draft assessment covering the first year of the Regional Access to Remix project at the April TOC meeting.

DISCUSSION Since the beginning of the grant award, PSRC has been working with an ad hoc Remix Advisory Committee, composed of transit agency staff who are leading on their respective agency’s transit sketch planning needs, including Remix usage. The Committee has helped PSRC develop the draft Remix Assessment Report found as Attachment A to this memo. This initial DRAFT is intended to address the evaluation called for in the initial transit coordination grant application. The TOC is receiving the initial DRAFT to receive feedback on the report prior to submission to WSDOT.

The DRAFT report outlines the various projects that Remix has been used for in the region over the past year. Some highlight from the report include: • The main project that has involved multiple agencies collaborating using Remix, has been PSRC’s development of an integrated 2040 transit network (see pages 11A-2 to 11A-4).

• Remaining projects identified in the DRAFT report exhibit Remix’s use and benefit to transit agencies during their regular work. These are included under the heading of “Transit Agency Case Studies” beginning on page 11A-5.

• One of the findings of the Remix Advisory Committee is that it has great potential for interagency collaboration, particularly in instances in which is extended throughout the region. However, there has not been opportunity to use Remix for that type of route restructure since the beginning of this grant.

Transportation Operators Committee 11-1 April 20, 2017

PSRC has found using Remix a useful tool in the development of the 2040 Transit Network and is supportive of transit agency use of this or other transit sketch planning tools. However, it does not appear that PSRC would find value in long-term use of Remix for its work. The software appears to have more regular use potential for public transit agencies. Therefore, PSRC would not likely be the right agency to host the Remix license beyond the terms of the transit coordination grants.

PSRC would like to focus discussion at the TOC meeting on the DRAFT report’s “Evaluation and Next Steps” section starting on page 11A-11. This section outlines benefits and issues associated with use of Remix; and concludes with some options for next steps if agencies participating in this regional access pilot decide to continue access to Remix or another transit sketch planning software. Three options were identified as follows:

1. State sponsored option: looking toward a state-sponsored model that allows transit agency access to Remix or another common transit sketch planning software. Two potential contract sponsors are identified in this initial draft.

2. Regional sponsored option: this option would continue a regionally hosted access to Remix or another transit sketch planning software. If this option were chosen, a discussion would need to occur to identify the long-term contract sponsor and the conditions under which that contract sponsorship would be maintained for agencies within the region.

3. Local option: Not all agencies within the region have been using Remix on a regular basis. In addition, Remix has a cost model that is based upon the number of revenue vehicles in an agency’s fleet. This is part of what makes the regional option so expensive. Some agencies may find more benefit to using Remix than others and some may have fleet sizes that facilitate the ability to maintain access more easily than others.

Whatever choice is made, agencies within the region need to identify 1) whether or not they would like to continue with a common transit sketch planning tool that all can use, and 2) an advocate (or advocates) for a common transit sketch planning software that can implement next steps for continuing this access under one of the three options noted above before the second transit coordination grant is completed on June 30, 2018.

Please review the attached report and come to the April 26 TOC meeting prepared to discuss next steps and potential recommendations in further detail.

For more information, please contact Gil Cerise at (206) 971-3053 or [email protected].

Attachments A – DRAFT Regional Access to Remix Transit Sketch Planning Software Report

Transportation Operators Committee 11-2 April 20, 2017 DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

Grant Purpose/Project Description

The Regional Access to Remix Transit Sketch Planning is a project whose purpose was to test use of a common transit sketch planning platform to facilitate collaborative transit planning within the central Puget Sound region. The project is a partnership between Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC), and the public transportation agencies in the central Puget Sound Region, including Seattle DOT and , to obtain and utilize an enterprise license to the Remix transit sketch planning platform. The partnership was realized through a State Transit Coordination Grant (RCW 47.66.110) awarded in March of 2016. The state grant plus local matching funds provided by PSRC allowed for regional enterprise license for the Remix software for a 16-month time period. This evaluation report documents the region’s use and evaluation of the Remix software product and the use of a common transit sketch planning software.

The project enabled facilitate collaboration between PSRC staff, public transit agencies, and ferry operators within the region using the Remix platform, on a wide variety of planning efforts. The most immediate and powerful impact of the project was to enable transit agencies and ferry operators within the region to develop future transit network designs that account for the Sound Transit ST3 system plan in cooperation with Sound Transit. The project also facilitated development of a regionally integrated future transit network for PSRC’s Transportation 2040, the regional metropolitan transportation plan, that is the result of robust inter-agency collaboration facilitated through the Remix platform.

Remix Transit Sketch Planning Software

Remix (www.remix.com) is an online browser-based public transportation planning platform that provides rapid route design and modification of existing transit routes and allows users to create complex scenarios and communicate their ideas visually, quickly and simply. It maps transit routes, simultaneously providing order of magnitude cost estimates and demographic ridership impacts of proposed changes. Route designs can be shared between agencies and modified easily through shared links. Users can export from Remix into Microsoft Excel, KML (Google Earth), shapefile, and General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS). Outputs from the Remix sketch planning platform, and even a live display of the tool, can be used as visuals for stakeholder and public outreach on planning projects. For example, the overlay of current and proposed transit routes on a map with relevant data layers can be used to show advantages and disadvantages of transit service alternatives.

One of the unique outreach tools available in Remix is its “Jane” feature (see Figure 1), a travel-time isochrone visualization that helps people understand the mobility impacts of different transit network

11-A1

DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

design options. The Remix platform also includes built-in Title VI service equity analysis which provides in-depth change analysis between existing transit routes and planned changes. The overall result is better communication with local jurisdictions and transit and ferry customers on potential changes to service on specific route, roadway facilities and in neighborhoods where they live or work.

Figure 1 Snapshot of “Jane” mobility mapping tool in Remix with PSRC’s 2016 transit network as a base map

Regional Collaboration: Development of an Integrated 2040 Transit Network for Transportation 2040 Plan

When Transportation 2040 was first being developed in the 2008-2010, the region had a clear understanding of long-range high-capacity rail investments through Sound Transit’s system planning (through ST2) and its long-range planning goal of creating a light rail spine that connected Everett to Tacoma, and the Eastside to Seattle. However, other long-range transit investments were unclear. Most local transit agencies did not have adopted long-range transit plans to compliment the long-range high capacity rail plans developed by Sound Transit. Therefore, in past planning efforts, PSRC used a large increase in transit service hours that were grown on top of the then-existing transit network as a proxy for the long-range planning for local transit investments. This allowed the region to plan for public transit over the three decades of Transportation 2040, but produced duplication in service in some areas and assumptions about levels of service in other areas that were not realistic, given growth projections for those areas.

As part of the 2018 update of Transportation 2040 Plan, PSRC identified the need to update its 2040 transit network to incorporate the large amount of long-range transit planning that has taken place in the last few years. This long-range planning activity has occurred in an era in which regional transit integration has become more of a focal point for the region. PSRC saw the value of Remix in allowing the

11-A2

DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

agency to do something it has never done before: create an integrated 2040 transit network that identifies corridors, stops, and service levels for all types of transit – whether rail, bus, or ferry.

Once the Transit Coordination Grant was approved and Remix was placed under contract, PSRC and its Transportation Operators Committee (TOC) convened an ad hoc technical committee composed of agency representatives with expertise in their respective long-range plans to create and share their 2040 transit networks in Remix.

Figure 2 a portion of ’s 2040 transit network (top) and PSRC’s integrated 2040 transit network (bottom) in Remix (DRAFT)

PSRC staff reviewed transit agency long-range plans and created initial draft 2040 networks in GTFS to share with each agency as a starting point. Transit agencies reviewed and updated the draft 2040 networks, sharing them back with PSRC. Once PSRC received all agency-provided 2040 inputs in GTFS, Remix staff combined the agency-specific 2040 networks into a single regional 2040 transit network (see Figure 2). Transit agencies were then able to review the draft 2040 transit network holistically. As part of this review, potential changes were identified, including in some instances elimination of unnecessary duplication.

11-A3

DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

PSRC staff could incorporate the draft 2040 transit network into the agency’s travel model relatively easily. Key features needed from Remix GTFS information included route and transit stop locations, and frequencies. Other features, such as transit running time were not used since they are generated in PSRC’s travel model. In addition, Remix cost assumptions were not used in this exercise, although the service hours generated will be used as part of the Transportation 2040 Update’s financial strategy.

Transit travel time isochrones associated with the “Jane” feature in Remix has proven to be a powerful communication tool for showing mobility improvements anticipated in the 2040 transit network when compared to today’s transit network. Figure 3 identifies a “Jane” travel time isochrone output from a draft 2040 integrated transit network in comparison to a 2016 transit network.

Figure 3 Travel time isochrones (“Jane” tool) exported to ArcGIS comparing travel time from Lynnwood Transit Center in 2016 (left) and 2040 (right) (DRAFT)

The main success of this project is that it has allowed PSRC to create an integrated future horizon year transit network that incorporates the latest plans from all transit agencies in the region. This is an unprecedented accomplishment in transit planning in this region. One year into the regional Remix access grant, PSRC has a working draft 2040 transit network that it is using to help with sensitivity testing of the travel model; while transit agencies are working on developing draft 2025 transit networks using a similar process as that for creation of the 2040 network. Plans are in place to complete the draft 2025 network in spring of 2017. Agencies who are actively engaged in their long-range plan updates will provide final update to their 2025 and 2040 networks prior to June 2017 to have fully updated and integrated 2040 and 2025 networks for use in Transportation 2040 update modeling over the summer of 2017. By the summer of 2017, PSRC will have its fully integrated 2040 and 2025 transit networks for incorporation into the Draft Transportation 2040 Plan.

11-A4

DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

Transit Agency Case Studies

This section highlights the success stories of using Remix that were collected from public transportation operators within the central Puget Sound region. Using Remix has been a cooperative effort between nine central Puget Sound transportation agencies to improve transit planning coordination. Regional use of the Remix platform is improving collaboration between PSRC staff, transit agencies and ferry operators on both long- and short-range planning, interagency communications, customer outreach and information visualization.

Service Planning

The Remix platform was available for transit agencies to use in planning their periodic transit service changes, improving shorter-term planning collaboration. Community Transit used Remix as the primary tool for sketch planning for their Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 Service Changes. They conducted a variety of small scale investigations of new route concepts or stop placements using Remix. This allowed Community Transit to find some efficient ways to provide more attractive service within agency’s budget targets. The snapshots of route 220 (see Figure 4) show a possible one-way extension to a shopping area with no cost. With more refined speed inputs Community Transit found that it would take an extra bus to implement, and thus it did not make the proposal. It remains a good example of how Remix helps transit agency find efficiencies to make service more productive. However, detailed scheduling of service and run cutting still happens in GIRO HASTUS software. Community Transit spent some time recently discussing scheduling with the Remix software engineers. The program was used to evaluate different route concepts and network configurations, leading to a robust set of changes that has been very well received. The agency could clearly see how different choices alter coverage impacts, mobility and the cost of service provided. Remix allowed Community Transit to quickly answer what-if questions during internal discussions and easily communicated the proposals the agency developed to board members and other staff.

Figure 4 Sample Remix snapshots of Community Transit’s Route 220 analysis 11-A5

DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

Pierce Transit undertook an extensive analysis of how its fixed routes were performing in 2016. A total of 59,000 service hours were planned to be added and the desire was to apply those increases in a manner which would maximize system-wide benefits. Therefore, routes were analyzed based on corridors and the unique markets they served. Remix proved to be a great tool at exploring alternative scenarios and how various tradeoffs in each scenario impact the system as a whole. The biggest of these service changes was March 2017, which resulted in a substantial number of routes being restructured. In one example, after earlier proposals in east Tacoma were rejected for safety reasons, Remix allowed for the rapid evaluation of alternative scenarios (see Figure 5).

Remix was also useful for internally communicating ideas between Planning and other departments. It was used countless times to submit new ideas to be evaluated by the Safety & Training department, as well as with the marketing department to ensure the accurate translation of ideas into maps for public consumption.

Figure 5 Pierce Transit’s Route 54 as it existed prior to March 2017 (left) and new Route 54 (right) in Remix.

Long-Range Planning Efforts

Regional use of the Remix has helped public transit agencies develop and implement their long-range plans, provided a common platform for communicating and evaluating future service assumptions, particularly in areas where there is multi-agency overlap. King County Metro (Metro) is a large organization with complex and integrated data systems. Remix added substantial value to the development of the future transit network of within Metro CONNECTS, Metro’s Long-Range Plan. Following the collection of feedback, Metro staff compiled suggested changes to the network and then used Remix to help evaluate them. Remix, providing the ability to view and easily alter the 2040 network in a group setting, greatly facilitated staff collaboration and communication. The visual interface made it easy to see how Metro’s future transit routes integrated with planned and proposed Sound Transit service. Staff logged over 250 hours of activity in Remix over the course of five weeks; most of this was in group sessions, with each hour representing the collective activity of five or six staff members. The work produced a final draft 2040 network that is included in the final Long-Range Plan. 11-A6

DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

For the complete Long-Range Plan, see: https://issuu.com/metro-transit/docs/metro-connects- jan2017/1?e=2675565/43536973. Consultants then used the revised network staff had produced in Remix as an input to a variety of modeling tasks. The results of this modeling are also included in the final plan.

Figure 6 Metro’s 2040 service network in “METRO CONNECTS”, the final Long-Range plan.

Moreover, Remix has been used to coordinate medium and long-range planning at Pierce Transit. For example, the collaborative effort of each agency submitting their 2040 networks to the PRSC in Remix helped identify two areas of duplicative transit service across the Pierce County-King County border. In one example, Pierce Transit and King County Metro envisioned a route between Federal Way and Puyallup along Meridian Avenue (see Figure 7). This led to the two agencies conferring on the best plan of action on how to minimize duplication of service in that area. 11-A7

DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

Figure 7 Pierce Transit (left) and King County Metro (right)’s 2040 projected routes in Remix

Construction Detours/Re-routes

Sound Transit has used Remix to plan and communicate detour routes for the closure of the Auburn Station bus loop and other construction detours and re-routes. In the Auburn Station example, Remix was used to share planned re-routes and temporary bus stop locations for the Sound Transit services in the downtown Auburn area with the partner agencies. In another example, Sound Transit used Remix to create a training aid (see Figure 8) for bus agencies and drivers who operate the temporary bus bridge that replaced bus in advance of a bridge replacement project in downtown Tacoma which temporarily closed the Sounder service to that area.

Figure 8 Sound Transit’s sketched Remix route map for the Tacoma G Street Bridge Replacement project

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DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

Stakeholder Outreach

Outputs from the Remix platform can be used as visuals for stakeholder and public outreach on planning projects. After Metro built a 2040 service network for its Long-Range Plan, Remix developers imported the network into the platform. Staff then developed a framework and roadmap to use Remix to present the network to Metro’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), consisting of jurisdiction and stakeholder staff. At six meetings and one online session, Metro staff used Remix to present the network to TAC members, explore specific routes in locations of interest, and demonstrate mobility benefits by using “Jane” tool (see Figure 9). Metro received suggestions for revised maps from jurisdictions and detailed comments–facilitated by Remix–from many others. Remix provided Metro’s partners an unprecedented ability to explore network proposals and to offer feedback with a high level of detail.

Figure 9 Metro’s depiction of the "Jane" mobility mapping tool in 2016 (left) and 2040 (right)

Kitsap Transit shared their 2040 network map with the City of Poulsbo Public Works Department via Remix’s easily sharable weblink. Specifically, for information related to ’s present and past bus stop locations. This is being used to both preserve Kitsap Transit’s access rights to the old stops in case the transit agency restores service to the area and to allow the City to plan for on-street parking by knowing the bus stop locations. Kitsap Transit is also using Remix to communicate to jurisdictions where their service changes will impact local roads and facilitates.

Moreover, Kitsap Transit shared its planned transit network with the West Sound Cycling Club, a bicycle advocacy club. They are using the information to plan for bike routes throughout the County. It is an informational conduit to promote sharing of ideas. This has increased Kitsap Transit’s visibility and an understanding of Kitsap Transit’s long term goals with the Cycling Club.

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DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

Title VI Analysis

The Remix sketch planning platform comes with U.S. Census data on populations, including low-income, persons with disabilities, and seniors, to help regional planners to identify the social justice implications of possible changes to the transit network. In addition, Remix has a Title VI analysis tool that can be used to help transit agencies prepare Title VI Service Equity Analysis reports on proposed changes to their transit networks. Pierce Transit and Community Transit performed the Title VI service equity analysis to determine compatibility with disproportionate burden and disparate impact policy. For Pierce Transit, the Title VI analysis tool in Remix proved to be a major help in performing some of the quantitative elements of this analysis. Based on stop locations, Remix estimates the relative change of low-income and minority populations in the before-and-after scenario, and exports a spreadsheet on to which data can be further grouped and refined (Figure 11). While Remix currently does not offer a “one-stop shopping” turnkey Title VI solution, it does save a considerable amount of time. For the complete Title VI report, see: http://www.piercetransit.org/file_viewer.php?id=2960. Community Transit is evaluating its experience with the Remix Title VI analysis.

Figure 10 Pierce Transit’s Title VI export spreadsheet by Remix

GIS Export Function

Often routes and networks are created in Remix, then exported as shapefiles into ESRI ArcMap for tasks that have more advanced graphical and analytical requirements. For example, Pierce Transit’s Downtown to Defiance Trolley route began in Remix and was transformed into another form of visual aid (see Figure 11). 11-A10

DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

Figure 11 Pierce Transit’s Tacoma Downtown Trolley map in Remix platform (left) and exported in ArcGIS (right)

Evaluation and Next Steps

Evaluation

As noted in the case studies above, there are a wide range of uses and benefits for agencies using the Remix software. Key benefits of using Remix include its ease of use and ability to quickly sketch and analyze alternative route configurations. This is made possible by the fact that Remix is a web-based software with an intuitive user interface.

The most attractive features of Remix include:

• Use of the General Transit Specification Feed (GTFS) that is now commonly used among transit agencies in the U.S. and worldwide. This provides a common basis for communicating route- level information, and the software accepts update to the GTFS accounting for the most recent transit service changes. • The ability to quickly draw and analyze new routes and/or changes to route configurations. Remix has an intuitive method of creating new routes and stops. It also includes layers of demographic data that planners can use as an overlay on their sketch planning maps to analyze the different route configurations. This can provide information on the amount of housing and employment in proximity to each route, as well as identify other demographic data available from the U.S. Census, such as people with disabilities, seniors, etc. • The ability to easily share your work both within an agency and between agencies. Remix allows a user to easily share their sketch maps as a link via email; or to export them to GIS or other formats. The ease of sharing route and network information is one of the key benefits realized in PSRC’s update of its 2040 transit network. • The ability to easily estimate costs of potential service changes. There are cost estimations, including number of vehicles needed to operate a service. These cost estimates can be used to quickly tell an agency whether an option is worth studying further or whether it has potential to cost too much for further consideration.

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DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

• Remix also includes a visualization tool in the form of the “Jane” travel time isochrones. These visuals tell a simple and compelling story and are produced as a by-produce of the transit sketch planning work.

The ability to facilitate collaboration between agencies is one of the most powerful potential benefits of using Remix. In the survey of work completed in the first year of the regional access to Remix project, the one project that incorporated extensive interagency collaboration was PSRC’s development of its 2040 transit network for the update of Transportation 2040 Plan. However, there are other examples of where Remix could be useful, including collaborating among agencies on bus-rail integration at future Link light rail extensions; or in other fixed-route service restructures that occur near agency boundaries. Longer term use of Remix would allow for it to be used for these types of interagency collaboration.

There were also some areas where Remix did not work as well as the participating agencies thought it would:

• One issue identified was Remix’s use of OpenStreetMaps as a base layer. Several agencies use their own base map layer that, when work from Remix is imported into it, requires review and realignment in places where the agency-specific base maps do not align well with OpenStreetMaps. • The “Jane” transit travel time isochrones are not sensitive to timed-transfer systems or transit services where a customer times their arrival to minimize wait times. Therefore, transit travel time is underestimated for systems such a Pierce Transit’s; or for services like Sounder commuter rail or cross-Sound ferries. • One agency (Everett Transit) experienced issues with having its GTFS updates incorporated into Remix in the fall of 2016. It was noted that there would be benefit of having someone review and ensure that each new GTFS feed reflecting recent service changes are accurately reflected in Remix if it continues to serve as a common transit sketch planning software. • There is no way to merge multiple network maps into a single map without asking Remix staff to do the work. This added a step to the work that PSRC wanted to accomplish in terms of merging transit network maps from each of the transit agencies within the region.

Although technical issues were noted above, Remix staff was always very responsive in providing customer service to address any issues that were identified during the Remix contract. In addition, Remix has continuously upgraded and improved on the software over time. Remix is particularly responsive to customer feedback.

One broader issue related to Remix transit sketch planning software is its cost. Remix’s cost model is based on the number of revenue vehicles in a transit agency’s fleet. Therefore, some agencies with larger fleets may find the software less affordable than an agency with a smaller fleet size. In addition, the cost of the software license has risen precipitously as the software becomes more popular and additional functionality is added. There should be consideration for a longer-term contract that locks in costs if the decision is made to continue access to Remix.

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DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

Next Steps

As noted above there were many successes with using Remix. Several transit agencies in the region are making regular use of the Remix software in the course of their regular work; while others are making occasional use of the software with plans to use it more regularly in the coming months.

As the initial State Transit Coordination Grant project comes to a close, the partners for this grant agreed to renew the regional license through a second Transit Coordination Grant project that allows access to Remix through June 30, 2018. With this additional time, agencies in the region have an opportunity to more fully evaluate the use of a common transit sketch planning software like Remix, and identify options for longer-term use of Remix or a similar software on a longer-term basis.

Options for consideration as a next step include the following:

1. State Option: Advocating with Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Public Transportation Division for a statewide transit sketch planning software contract that allows public transportation operators across the state access to Remix or a similar type of transit sketch planning software. Offering a common transit sketch planning software across the state that allows opportunities to collaborate between agencies will help support the State’s role in public transportation identified in the recently updated Washington State Public Transportation Plan. Another entity that may be able to host a statewide transit sketch planning software is Washington State Transit Association. There is a precedent for this model with Oregon State Department of Transportation’s statewide access to Remix for its transit providers.

2. Regional Option: Continuation of a regional option for retaining access to a common transit sketch planning software, or Remix. This option would require identification of an organization that will take on the procurement and ongoing maintenance of the enterprise license for the software on a longer-term basis than provided by the State grant. As described in the Evaluation section above, the Remix software appears to have a wider range of possible applications for transit agencies, and particularly bus transit agencies. Although useful to PSRC, there are fewer uses for the Remix tool for a regional transportation planning organization. Therefore, identifying the appropriate entity to take on the enterprise license on a longer-term basis for participating agencies within the region will be an important step for this option.

3. Local Option: Each public transportation agency that finds Remix useful can purchase a continuation of its enterprise license with Remix, choose another provider if one exists, or not use a transit sketch planning software at all. Remix’s pricing structure is based upon the number of revenue service vehicles in an agency’s fleet as mentioned above. Therefore, smaller agencies with smaller fleets may find Remix more affordable than agencies with larger fleets. Even though this option does not guarantee that all agencies in the region use the same transit sketch planning software, it is anticipated that many will continue with Remix because of the work they

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DRAFT REMIX ASSESSMENT REPORT

have completed using Remix software. This option also allows for some agencies to explore additional options, including potentially other transit sketch planning software similar to Remix.

All options noted above will require adequate time to allow for procurement, implementation, and/or transition of the transit sketch planning software prior to June 30, 2018. Therefore, the partners in the Regional Access to Remix project should continue working together over the next several months to identify a path for continuing access to transit sketch planning software.

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