Transportation Services Advisory Council Minutes of January 20, 2017 Meeting TransIT Services Members/Ex-Officio Present: Lib Rood, Janet Fogle, John Frawley, Mike Levengood, Nadine Autrey, Neil Fay, Michael Planz, Dianne Lewis, Councilman Bud Otis, Alderman Kelly Russell, Tim Davis, Jim Gugel, and Nancy Norris. Staff and Guests: Glenn Saffran, Chris Taylor, Joy Rowe, Samantha Biddle, Cherian Eapen, Carrie Anderson-Watters, Veronica Lowe, Kendall Tiffany, and Sandy Ruark. Call to Order: Lib Rood called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. Introductions: Attendees introduced themselves to the group. Approval of Minutes: Minutes from November’s meeting were approved as corrected. Committee Reports: Lib Rood distributed a list of TSAC Committees and requested that members review the list to see which committee(s) they may be interested in joining. Lib also provided a description of the role of each committee. Lib requested that members notify Nancy Norris of their committee selection(s). Executive Committee – The Committee did not meet; no report. Transportation Issues (TIC) – The Committee did not meet; no report. Marketing and Membership Development – The Committee did not meet; no report. Elected Officials Report: Alderman Russell had no report but did mention that the City was about to begin setting dates for conducting its budget hearings and that the dates will be published on the City’s website. Councilman Otis reported that 180 N. Market Street was dedicated as a community technical center and will house representatives from Ft. Detrick, the Chamber of Commerce, and the County Office of Economic Development. Councilman Otis reported that this center will be a destination that people will visit and they will need transportation to get there. Councilman Otis stated that mall traffic has fallen due to online shopping; and as a result, the County is moving toward centering its efforts towards servicing downtown. Councilman Otis also reported that County budget hearings are about to begin and offered his assistance to TransIT, if needed. Neil Fay requested that TSAC be notified of the budget hearing dates. Old Business: Tim Davis provided updates on alternate transportation initiatives occurring in the City: • Shared Use Path – The path is open and working. Tim reported that he monitored usage of the path over a 3 month period, August – October, where 90 1 persons crossed through the tunnel in one hour, with the average number being 78 persons crossing in an hour. Tim said the below average number of persons per hour was 47 and it was raining at the time. Tim reported that the City received a $274,000 Bikeways Grant from the Maryland Department of Transportation for the shared use path in Baker Park between Color Lake and Fairview Avenue. Tim stated that a match for the design has been provided by the Friends of Baker Park as well as a local match from the Board of Alderman for a portion of the construction. Tim reported that depending on the bids received, there may be funding for additional improvements. • Tim reported that Phase 2 of the Rails with Trails project has been funded through a Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) Grant awarded through the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Tim reported that the City received $479,000 to complete the portion from Family Meal to ultimately SportsPlex. However, depending on the pricing received, at a minimum Phase 2 will be completed to North Market Street. Lib Rood asked the status of the project going over Route 26. Tim responded that portion of the project is designated Phase 3 but will actually be Phase 4 since it is the most costly and complicated. As a result, Phase 3 or the project will be from Wegmans to Mill Island. • Monocacy Boulevard Central Section Phase 2 – Tim Davis reported that this phase of construction will upgrade Monocacy Boulevard between the Shifferstadt and East Church Street intersection across the Monocacy River to Gas House Pike. Tim reported the project includes an additional bridge over the Monocacy River and a signalized intersection at Gas House Pike. It will eliminate the 90 degree turn at the Water Treatment Plant and will have a shared use path as well. Tim reported that this phase of the project should begin in the spring. • Monocacy Park & Ride Update – Jim Gugel reported that the park and ride will be integrated with the new Monocacy Boulevard and US 15 interchange currently under construction. The park and ride will be a 400 space facility located on the east side of US 15 and the north side of Monocacy Boulevard. Jim stated that the park and ride should be on the same schedule as the interchange scheduled to open by spring 2018. Samantha Biddle added that site work and storm water management is currently underway and meeting the completion schedule will depend on winter weather delays. Mike Levengood asked if any thought was given to connecting MTA buses at the MARC station to the new park and ride location. Jim responded that MTA’s website indicates that the location could be one of the origins for the #515 commuter bus route, and Glenn Saffran confirmed that it will be. Glenn reported that all of the #515’s current trips include the Monocacy Station but only six of the 13 routes in the morning start at downtown Frederick. Glenn stated that MARC’s plan is, when possible, that the other seven routes will start service at the new 2 park and ride lot, proceed directly to Monocacy station, and then continue south. Glenn will provide hard dates for the new service when available. New Business: MARC/Commuter Bus Update: Glenn Saffran reported that Monocacy Station is currently used by commuter bus riders on the #204 and #515. Glenn stated that the #515 mainly serves commuters from Frederick to Shady Grove with a few trips into the Rock Springs Business Park. Glenn said that the #204 was part of the intercounty connector expansion plan with one of its routes planned to start in Gaithersburg. However, the route was moved to Frederick with stops at the Monocacy Station and Urbana and is very successful. The #204 route recently completed five years of service and started a new five year contract on January 1st with Atlantic Coast Charter. Glenn said that MARC will be introducing a mobile ticketing app for both the MARC and commuter bus program and should be in service by September. Glenn reported that the overall commuter bus program is up to 35 routes statewide, running nearly 630 trips per day, and utilizes seven contractors. The Hagerstown line has been split and is doing fairly well. Glenn stated that MARC completed a repaving project at the Monocacy Station and is aware of parking lot light issues. An overhaul of the lighting system may be necessary. Glenn reported that the bike racks are being replaced at the Downtown MARC station. Glenn stated that ridership continues to be approximately 300 riders per day, 100 at the Downtown Station and 200 at Monocacy Station. Nancy Norris asked if there was a possibility of commuter bus service on Saturday. Glenn said it is very possible; and when the commuter bus growth plan was presented, Saturday service was a major topic. However, Glenn feels the service would be more of a regional bus service than commuter bus. Glenn said that if the issue was widely supported by stakeholders, Saturday service could be very feasible but should be managed by MTA. Draft Annual Transportation Priorities (ATP) Review: Jim Gugel provided a handout highlighting recommended changes to the report by TSAC at its last meeting. Jim said that finalizing the report would occur over the next week and then it will be submitted to the County Executive for her concurrence. Jim stated once the draft is finalized it will be presented to the Planning Commission in February, to the County Council in March, and then to the Frederick County delegation in Annapolis. Jim suggested that in order to highlight transit more prominently that a representative(s) of TransIT and/or TSAC attend the County Council Meeting and possibly the delegation meeting in Annapolis. Jim reviewed the recommended changes to the priorities under Local Transit Short Term Improvements: 1. TransIT Plus – Expand paratransit service hours to 7 am – 6 pm to meet 3 growing demand. Additional operating funding: Year 1 – additional $62,000; Years 2-5 additional $23,000 per year ($0 federal/state). Moved to number 1 on priorities list. 2. Bus Replacement - Purchase 3 to 4 large transit buses with all electric buses over each of the next 3 years. $2,256,000 (minimum of $2,030,400 federal/state). 3. Connector Service – Annual operating funding to provide 30-minute service frequencies from start of service to 6 pm. This project directly facilitates job growth. $439,000 ($395,000 federal/state). Annual funding of operating costs for two new Connector Routes to improve bi-directional service and improve on-time performance (#30, #90). 4. Facilities - Expand administrative office and vehicle maintenance facilities. This is funded for design/engineering in FY 2017 in the County CIP. Construction funding is estimated at $4,173,877 of which the local share is $417,387 (10%). The construction is in the current County CIP for FY 2018; and if approved, the item can be removed from the priorities list. 5. US 40 Bus Lane – Construct continuous turn lane/bus lane along US 40 between Baughman’s Lane and Waverly Drive. There may also be service revisions to the #40 Route and other TransIT routes that follow US 40. Added to priorities list. Jim reported that he added the recommendations