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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/27/1997 Work Session ;. . . " City of Springfield Joint Work Session MINUTES OF THE JOINT MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL AND THE LANE TRANSIT DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS HELD ON TUESDAY, MAY 27, 1997 The Springfield City Council met in Joint Work Session in Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, on Tuesday, May 27, 1997 at 5:35 p.m., with Mayor Morrisette presiding. Present were Mayor Morrisette and Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist, Maine and Shaver. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, Communications Manager Mike Moskovitz, Public Works Director Dan Brown, Development Services Director Susan Daluddung and members of staff. Present from the Lane Transit District Board of Directors were Board President Pat Hocken and members Kirk Bailey, Rob Bennett, Dave Kleger, Mary Murphy and Roger Saydack. Also present were General Manager Phyllis Loobey and members of Lane Transit District staff. Introductions were made by Springfield Mayor and City Council members, Lane Transit District Board members, staff, and members of the audience. Ms. Hocken began the meeting and reviewed the agenda topics. She said Lane Transit District (L TD) is anxious to begin the public and community involvement process for future transit services. She provided information about current L TD service in Springfield, including school ridership of local high school students, Lane Community College (LCC) students and University of Oregon (U of 0) students. Ms. Hocken reviewed Springfield's daily arrivals and departures. She provided information on the percentage of ridership in comparison of Springfield and the metro area. She highlighted rider profiles for Springfield residents and provided excerpts from the 1995 L TD market area survey. Mr. Bennett spoke about Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). He said LTD has identified a BRT system as the most cost-effective means of achieving the community's goal to increase the use of transit. BRT is most easily envisioned as using buses to emulate the speed, comfort, and convenience of rails systems. BRT system features include: exclusive bus lanes, transit signal priority systems, limited stops with improved facilities, barrier-free fare payment systems, and park and ride lots located along the BRT routes to provide additional access. Mr. Bennett spoke about congestion issues that may prevail in the future with Springfield's present transit system and how difficult it would be to compete more effectively with growing traffic at the existing ridership level. L TD is looking to increase its market share by implementation of their pilot corridor for BRT. City of Springfield Joint Work Session Page 2 ;. The target BRT area in Springfield is a 10-mile east/west corridor between 58th & Main Streets in Springfield and West 11th and Seneca in Eugene. The LTD board is seeking support from the Mayor and City Council, staff, and community at-large in implementing the project. Councilor Shaver asked if the current proposed route for BRT in Springfield would include the use of existing traffic lanes or if Main Street is targeted for expansion. Mr. Bennett responded that both methods would probably occur and there was a discussion on where and how the additional traffic lanes would be placed. L TD Planning and Development Manager Stefano Viggiano provided specific information about exclusive bus lanes, the use of public right-of-way and wheeled bus areas. He said any planning for BRT was very preliminary and ideas for the use of exclusive bus lanes had not be targeted to specific areas of Springfield. Councilor Burge asked Mr. Viggiano about eminent domain and ifLTD had discussed the taking of public property for the proposed BRT. Mr. Viggiano replied that no decisions or specific proposals have been made by the board. He explained L TD staff is working with city staff to ensure planning occurs with an open public involvement process. Councilor Burge asked what the approximate implementation cost is for BRT over the next 20 years. Mr. Kleger responded about $10 million for beginning implementation and approximately, $80 million for the entire system. . Councilor Beyer asked if the state has been approached over BRT discussions to date. Ms. Hocken said the only meeting that has occurred to date was at the technical level. Mayor Morrisette asked if L TD would be interested in providing student ridership for the school district. Ms. Murphy said she had met with Jamon Kent and found out the district is very interested in working with L TD on future student ridership needs. There was a discussion about the use of private contractors for bus service. Councilor Ballew asked why LTD is planning a fare increase on September 1 from .80 to $1 for cash fare. Ms. Hocken explained the fare increase is to help deter riders from using cash. She said L TD is not raising costs for passes or tokens and carefully reviews increases to fares. They also considered the ease of having one dollars versus $.90 in change. Mr. Kleger spoke about the use of bus transit by those who obtain passes versus those who pay cash, as they can use bus services at anytime. Councilor Shaver asked who would incur costs associated with expansion of Main Street for the BRT system. Ms. Hocken said cost issues would need to be further researched and discussed between the agencies. Councilor Burge said streets paid with taxpayer funds should remain under the ownership of the city for the tax payers. Councilor Shaver asked when the BRT system would be ready for implementation in Springfield. Mr. Bennett replied it would take approximately five years. . Ms. Murphy spoke about the topic of traffic signal priority for transit. She said L TD would like to partner with the city for both the first and second tiers of signal preemption capabilities. Both the need and maintenance of the first tier priority was debated. '. . . , . . City of Springfield Joint Work Session Page 3 Currently the Fire and Life Safety Department has the only access to first tier capabilities. There was a discussion regarding LTD's need and use of the transit signal priority preemption capabilities. Ms. Murphy said the implementation ofBRT would require signal priority capabilities. ThIs and other reasons too, are why so many other communities are considering signal priority systems. Mayor Morrisette said that as the community grows, rapid transit will become more and more important. Councilor Burge stated his support for public transit, but said he is troubled by the cost/benefit result. It has been 26 years since the inception of L TD and only three percent of the population uses the rapid transit system. Mr. Bennett responded to Councilor Burge's assumptions regarding their lack of progress over the years. He explained L TD' s mission and the increase in ridership in recent years. Councilor Beyer said if more people understood the total cost of driving vehicles, then she felt many more people would begin using transit systems. Mr. Bailey spoke about LTD's vision to be progressive and dramatic in addressing issues associated with the community and the value of life. Mr. Saydack said cost benefit analysis is very importanttoLTD. Their goal is to have a larger percentage than 2 percent ridership, but would feel victorious with 10 percent of the total area ridership. Mr. Saydack said after research by the LTD board it was decided BRT would provide the best cost benefit to the community, as light rail systems are too expensive. Councilor Dahlquist said many of his customers decline to ride the bus from his business to their destination while their vehicle is being serviced. He stated he offers the service of rapid transit, as there is a bus stop right in front of his business. Councilor Shaver said council members will try and view the merits ofBRT for the big picture in Springfield. Although there may be support for BRT, both council members and board members must look for common ground for the transit system. Ms. Hocken agreed and said the two groups will need to work closely together in future planning efforts. Mr. Kleger spoke about the Springfield transit station expansion/relocation topic. He said some types of change and/or adjustments need to be made at the existing Springfield station. As L TD plans for expedited service levels in Springfield, then the current downtown transit station may need to be moved. For example, Mr. Kleger said if a BRT system was to be routed on South A Street, then there would be a two block gap from the location of the current transit station. Mr. Kleger said the board will be revisiting the topic of the station location, as they are realizing some problems with the current location and size, and considerations concerning BRT implementation. Mr. Kleger said the Mayor and City Council are a necessary part of the public involvement process which will need to occur regarding the transit station expansion or relocation. Although discussions are in the early stages, he asked for council members to become involved and share their views with the board. . . . . City of Springfield Joint Work Session Page 4 Councilor Burge urged the L TD board to include city staff in planning efforts, as there will be a significant impact on the Metropolitan Area General Plan (Metro Plan) when land is used for transit services. Mr. Kleger replied that staff involvement is currently occurring and said that LTD would meet all local, regional and state requirements when putting together LTD's long range transit plan. All land use issues will be addressed, but services must still be maintained at comparable levels for those riders who frequently use rapid transit systems. Councilor Maine felt BRT is too premature to implement, but not to plan for. She supports the joint efforts between city staff and L TD to prepare for expanding transit services. She cautioned board members that both park and ride and station expansion problems need to be addressed before BRT planning occurs. Councilor Maine suggested a more staged approach to BRT and asked to see an analysis occur by L TD prior to any future discussion with the council. Mr. Kleger spoke about BRT as a cost effective means for increasing ridership and providing better transit service to the community members of Springfield. He said issues such as adding weight from buses to existing roads, maintenance costs, and exclusive bus lanes, as issue which LTD's planning staffwill be looking at in the near future. He spoke about ridership, due to his disability, and the amount of use he gets from the local transit system. Councilor Beyer said the TransPlan update process is currently occurring and said that any major, changes to the transitsystem should be included in the plan now. Mr. Brown stated the TransPlan will not have another update for many years, so it is imperative L TD staff work with the city and Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) staff regarding the plan and its time frames. Ms. Hocken said the council and board would reconvene again soon to discuss the next steps for transit planning in Springfield. Mayor Morrisette thanked the L TD board members for attending the joint meeting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins /~ 9!///V71U~ Mayor ATTEST: v' ~. 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