Transportation Services Advisory Council Minutes of April 19, 2019 Meeting TransIT Services Members/Ex-Officio Present: Michael Levengood, Neil Fay, Dianne Lewis, Jaime McKay, Chris Hashemzadeh, Alderman Kelly Russell, Tim Davis, Sharon Suarez, Gunnar Pedersen, Ron Burns, and Nancy Norris. Staff and Guests: Kandese Holford, Darren Bean, Shayne Boucher, Roman Steichen, Joe Ortega, and Kendall Tiffany. Call to Order: Nancy Norris called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. Introductions: Attendees introduced themselves to the group. Approval of Minutes: The minutes from January’s meeting were not approved as there was no quorum. Elected Officials Report: Alderman Russell reported that The City of Frederick sent letters of support to the Maryland Legislature for transportation-related bills and all of those bills passed. Alderman Russell stated that one bill concerned the definition of electric low speed scooters so they can be regulated. Other bills related to defining three tiers of e-bikes based on the power and wattage of the bicycle, consistent State compliance with traffic calming devices in order to assist local agencies, and an amendment to the Complete Streets policy that will require criteria be included to provide access to healthy food and necessities. Old Business: • Golden Mile Transportation Alternatives Grant: Tim Davis provided an overview of the Golden Mile Multimodel Access Plan for members. Tim reported that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be presented to the Mayor and Board of Alderman on June 6 for signature; and once complete, the procurement process for design/engineering to perform the work can begin. • East Street Transportation Alternatives Grant: Tim Davis reported that the grant request is for final design funding from East Street at Family Meal Restaurant to Wormans Mill. Tim reported that below MD 26 the trail is a shared-use path in the railroad right-of-way; and above MD 26, the trail is adjacent to the Walkersville Southern railroad. The two will run together similar to the Rail Trail in Western Maryland. Tim said, to date, the MOU for this project has not been received. • Monocacy Boulevard Central Section: Tim Davis reported that work on the project is continuing and the road will open on /about August 1. However, landscaping and other work will continue. • Olli Update: Tim Davis provided an overview of the Olli autonomous vehicle for members. Tim reported that Local Motors was holding a contest for interested parties who would like to have an Olli demonstration. A company in Northern Virginia was selected as the winner in our region. • Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) CIP Recommendations: Tim Davis reported that The City of Frederick’s BPAC made its recommendations to the Board last September, including a budget item to continue with the installation of bicycle friendly grates throughout The City of Frederick. The City of Frederick’s Sewer Department will replace grates as time is available. The crew works from a list of grates needing replacement that are on bicycle routes or heavily traveled bicycle areas. The BPAC also recommended to maintain the level of funding for ADA improvements at intersections and corridors as well as $100,000 for sidewalk retrofits, with the number one location being Butterfly Lane at the new elementary school. The BPAC also recommended the funding of the design for the Carroll Creek shared used path. New Business: • Airport Runway Extension Project: Tim Davis reported that The City of Frederick has removed eleven buildings to allow for the extension of the airport runway. Tim stated that the area for the extension has been prepared and work is to begin this year. When work is complete, the runway wall be 5,880 feet long. The extended runway will allow jets to use and be based at the airport, providing a large revenue source. • Weekend MARC Rail Service To/From DC: Ron Burns reported that MTA has been running weekend MARC service on the Penn Line for nearly ten years and it has been very popular. Ron stated that he believes the Brunswick Line to the DC area would be just as successful. Ron recommend that TSAC become more proactive politically and by requesting technical analysis on ridership estimates from MTA. Ron said that the County had also suggested selecting a weekend to run the trains with the County paying the subsidy, which was approximately $6,000 a few years ago. Ron requested TSAC’s written support to start a more proactive approach with the State Delegation and to get feedback from MTA on how to present the idea. Nancy requested Jaime McKay research what current costs for weekend service would be. Jaime stated that since MTA’s Long Range Plan regarding MARC is being published shortly, the best option would be to invite the MARC Chief Transportation Officer, Dave Johnson, to attend or call into a TSAC Meeting to provide an update. Jaime reported that MTA is investigating reverse service on the 515 commuter bus. The MTA contractor will change on or about November 1st, and the 515 will shift to provide service to the North Frederick Park and Ride. Jaime offered to share ridership information with TransIT. Nancy Norris stated that TransIT would arrange for public service announcements regarding the new service for the North Frederick Park and Ride. Jaime suggested that TransIT contact James Authenreath, MTA Commuter Bus, to coordinate the announcements. Nancy requested that Jaime assist in scheduling a meeting with MARC. Jaime stated since it may prove difficult to schedule MARC to attend a TSAC Meeting, it may be more productive to schedule a conference call. Sharon Suarez suggested scheduling a TSAC Meeting at an alternate time to make it easier for all concerned to attend. • Pedestrian Bus Landing Retrofit Grant: Ron Burns reported he received notification from DPW that it is looking for federal grant funding to achieve mandated countywide ADA compliance. However, DPW did not want to combine/pursue transit access grants. Ron stated that he had reported previously to TSAC on the crosswalk at Guilford Road and Rt. 85; and as in that location, he and Joe Kelley were going to identify each transit stop in the County and its challenges, i.e., ADA compliance and pedestrian access, as with the sidewalk retrofit program. Since Joe Kelley only works part-time, they will be awarding the inventory work to a consultant on July 1st. Jaime McKay stated that MTA completed a full inventory of all of its bus stops and gave them a 0-7 ADA compliance rating, recommended specific actions for top offenders, and is asking jurisdictions to apply for State funding through the Statewide Innovations Grant to upgrade them. Jaime said there is no reason why MTA could not do the same here in Frederick. Jaime stated she would share the MTA model information with Frederick County to use best practices to begin work. Jaime stated there is $1.5 million available in FY20. The grant application period closes on June 26, 2019. Ron Burns asked Jaime to send him the link to the grant application. Planning Commission Update: Sharon Suarez reported that The Livable Frederick Comprehensive Plan for Frederick County is approaching Planning Commission approval. Sharon reported that the Plan has been under development for approximately 2-1/2 years and included meetings with various groups and organizations. The Plan has been under Planning Commission review for the last six months. Following the Planning Commission’s approval, the next step is for the Planning Commission to recommend presenting the Plan to the County Council. If the County Council does not act upon it within 90 days, the Plan will become law as it is. However, although the County Council can make recommendations, it cannot make any substantive changes to the Plan. Following review by the Council, the Planning Commission will begin working on small area plans. Sharon stated that the role of TransIT in linking communities is large. The Planning Commission is looking for the City of Frederick and all its communities to have increased transit access to work and shopping as well as mass transit opportunities. Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) Update: Jaime McKay reported that MTA recently completed an inclusive transportation planning program that demonstrated how to incorporate the needs of people with disabilities and older adults into the preliminary planning process. MTA is be glad to share this information with local jurisdictions. The program was funded by the Administration for Community Living through a program called Transit Planning for All. MTA has received second year funding for the program and will hold its first meeting next week. Jaime reported that the North Frederick Park and Ride will have a new contract on or about November 1st. Jaime reported that the State sent out letters of intent to award medium duty bus contracts which hasn’t been done in ten years. Once the contracts are approved by the Board of Public Works, local jurisdictions can order medium duty buses. Jaime stated that 5310 (Human Service agencies for vehicles) funding will be awarded in middle to late June along with job access reverse commute grants. Jaime reported that George Fabula, Office of Real Estate, who was handling transit-oriented development at Monocacy Station is retiring next Tuesday and Matt Lattin will be replacing him. SHA Update: Kandese Holford reported that SHA is updating its bicycle map and has a new Bicycle-Pedestrian (Bike-Ped) Coordinator, John Mayer. Kandese stated SHA hopes that the new map will function as a better route finding tool and as a way to showcase some locally designated routes. John is working with local jurisdictions to incorporate local routes into the map. If jurisdictions have any updated information they would like to share, please forward it to Kandese.