Transportation Operators Committee April 26, 2017 • 10:00 A.M
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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: Everett Transit* – 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 Sound Transit’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) 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 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/ Battery Electric Bus as well as other park-and-rides and transit hubs and