SAN MATEO COUNTY TRANSIT DISTRICT 1250 SAN CARLOS AVENUE, SAN CARLOS, CALIFORNIA CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF MEETING APRIL 24, 2013

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1 SAN MATEO COUNTY TRANSIT DISTRICT 1250 SAN CARLOS AVENUE, SAN CARLOS, CALIFORNIA CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF MEETING APRIL 24, 2013 COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: K. Adler, K. Heatley, S. Kya, B. Lck, P. Lranger, J. McKie, T. Miller, H. Plischke, M. Pye, P. Ratt (Chair) COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: K. Gilbert, M. Hall SAMTRANS STAFF PRESENT: A. Chan, K. Cheema, W. Draper, M. Eshleman, D. Kim, N. McKenna, C. Pattn, E. Silvas Chair Peter Ratt called the meeting t rder at 6:31 p.m. and led the Pledge f Allegiance. INTRODUCTION/WELCOME NEW CAC MEMBERS Katie Heatley said she has been a resident f San Mate Cunty fr 33 years. She wrks fr a nn-prfit cmpany that prvides scial services, and their ffices are in San Mate and Santa Clara cunties. She said many f her clients regularly use public transit and paratransit services. Heinz Plischke said he is retired and a certified electins fficer. He said he is willing t learn abut SamTrans and prvide his bservatins. Bill Lck said he recently retired frm Wells Farg Bank and serves n three nn-prfit bards. He said he is a firm believer in public transprtatin and its value t the cmmunity. PUBLIC COMMENT Nne APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES The Cmmittee (Pye/Kya) apprved the minutes f March 27, SUPPORT OF FINAL SAMTRANS SERVICE PLAN (SSP) RECOMMENDATIONS Directr, Planning, Dug Kim said: Final recmmendatins reflect the culminatin f a tw-year prcess. The SSP redefines hw SamTrans delivers service and addresses 35 rutes and tw pilt service prgrams. Staff cnducted extensive public utreach and received 1,750 cmments. A rbust implementatin phase f scheduling, marketing and mnitring will kick-ff after adptin at the May 2 Bard meeting. The final draft SSP was released n March 13 and ver 550 cmments were received via five public meetings, a public hearing n April 3, presentatins t Page 1 f 6

2 the CAC in March and April and utreach t peratrs, custmers and ther stakehlders. Staff evaluated every cmment and are recmmending eight additinal new changes: Rute 17: Service changes t be crdinated with Rute 294 t address cnnectins. Rute 251: Off-peak service will alternate ruting directin t imprve access. Rute 85: T address Rute 295 cncerns, fur weekday trips are being added. Rute 140: Extend service t San Francisc Internatinal Airprt (SFO) AirTrain, subject t crdinatin with SFO. Rute 260: Retain Saturday service and shrten rute frm Belmnt t San Carls Caltrain Statin. Rute 275: Extend the rute t Cañada Cllege via Alameda de las Pulgas and Farm Hill Bulevard n Saturdays. Rute 296: Realign rute and increase frequency n Sundays t 30 minutes. Rute KX: Terminate nn-san Francisc trips at San Brun Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Statin during the ff-peak and weekends. With these eight additinal service changes ttal perating hurs will be reduced by 3 percent and annual verall ridership will increase by ver 370,000 riders. Under State envirnmental law it is required t lk at whether the SSP will have any adverse impacts n the envirnment. Thrugh the Califrnia Envirnmental Quality Act (CEQA) prcess staff evaluated the SSP and fund n significant impacts wuld ccur with implementatin f the service recmmendatins. Title VI analysis was dne t ensure there were n equity issues with implementing these changes. The analysis fund there will be n disparate impact n minrity cmmunities and n disprprtinate burden n lw-incme cmmunities. Next steps: Implement prpsed service changes between fall 2013 and spring Develp and implement marketing and infrmatinal campaign. Establish metrics that define success. Develp a rbust mnitring system t track results, slicit feedback frm custmers, and refine service. Prvide regular updates t the Bard n the changes. Tryn Miller asked what CEQA is. Mr. Kim said it is a State law that states public agency prjects must analyze ptential adverse envirnmental impacts. Peter Lranger said last mnth Mr. Kim had recent infrmatin that Fster City n lnger had shuttles and that impacted staff s decisin t add service. He asked if cities knw that by adding a shuttle in their city it culd impact the service they receive. Mr. Kim said staff is in clse cmmunicatin with Belmnt n this particular shuttle. Page 2 f 6

3 Margaret Pye asked abut the prjectin fr the increase in ridership and if staff will be mnitring each rute. Mr. Kim said the farebxes are very advanced and staff will be able t track where bardings and alightings are and what the ridership is. Ms. Pye asked if the prpsed pilt prgrams fr San Carls and Pacifica are still in the wrks. Mr. Kim said nce the SSP is adpted staff will fcus n implementing all the fixed-rute bus services and cmplete the scpe f the tw pilt prgrams. Staff will wrk with the tw cities befre rlling ut any type f pilt service. Ms. Heatley asked if Rute 296 will have mre frequent service n weekdays. Mr. Kim said frequency is being bumped up frm 30 minutes t 15 minutes and n Sundays frm 60 minutes t 30 minutes. Ms. Heatley asked if these changes will change the verall service hurs and what the impact is t the paratransit prgram. Mr. Kim said ne f the larger plicy issues that underlies the SSP is mving away frm the San Francisc market with nly a few selected rutes ging int San Francisc. With regards t impacts n paratransit this prgram is fcused n the 40-ft cach services thrughut the system. Ms. Heatley said that expanding the fixed-rute system wuld extend the paratransit service area t within ¾ miles. Mr. Kim agreed. Mr. Plischke said he has ridden Rute KX and asked hw much mre time will be added by ging t the San Brun BART Statin. Mr. Kim said during peak hurs Rute KX will nt stp at the San Brun BART statin, nly ff-peak and weekend trips. Chair Ratt thanked staff fr listening t the public s cncerns and cmments, especially the terminatin f Rute KX at San Brun BART. Kris Adler asked if there will be any luggage restrictins n Rute KX ging t San Brun BART during ff-peak hurs. Mr. Kim said there is n prpsed change in the luggage plicy at this time. Mr. Adler said the change t Rute 140 terminating at the SFO AirTrain is a great idea. He thanked staff fr their hard wrk n the SSP. Mr. Lck asked if csts culd actually increase. Mr. Kim said yes. Mr. Lck asked what happens if csts rise. Mr. Kim said there is a certain amunt f uncertainty and staff will reprt t the Bard if expectatins are nt met. Mr. Lck asked if there is a prfile f ridership by rutes. Mr. Kim said yes. Mr. Lck asked hw increased ridership was prjected. Mr. Kim said ne f the principles was increased service will increase ridership. Snny Kya said he is glad Title VI and CEQA requirements were met withut any negative findings. He said he is glad Rute KX is being extended t San Brun BART. Mr. Kya hpes there is extensive utreach t passengers abut these changes. Page 3 f 6

4 Judy McKie said Rute 260 nly has service Mnday thrugh Saturday and asked if there is any plan fr a shuttle t g t the Carlmnt Shpping Center n Sundays. Mr. Kim said staff did nt receive any cmments n Sunday service. Public Cmment Kathleen McLaughlin, Redwd City, said at the April Bard meeting a representative frm Cañada Cllege had a general cncern abut getting students t the cllege and back. She said nne f their students cme frm the area served by the SSP n Rute 275. Chair Ratt said the current pattern is very lw ridership with abut five bardings per hur. He said their cncern was n service and this additinal issue was nt made clear. Mr. Kim said he has left a cuple f messages with the Chancellr s ffice and has nt received a call back. There has been n discussin abut retaining service n Jeffersn Avenue; they wanted service t the cllege n Saturdays. Ms. Heatley asked if there is a student/cllege fare. Chair Ratt said n, that type f fare is nt ffered. A mtin (Ratt/McKie) t supprt the SSP recmmendatins was passed by all except Ms. Pye wh vted n because f Rute KX n lnger ging int San Francisc and Mr. Kya wh supprts everything except the Rute KX. Chair Ratt revised the mtin. A mtin (Ratt/Kya) t supprt all the SSP recmmendatins with the exceptin f Rute KX terminating at San Brun BART instead f San Francisc was apprved by all. REPORT OF THE CHAIR Chair Ratt reprted: Senatr Jerry Hill s Senate Bill (SB) 557 fr funding fr Caltrain electrificatin hit a snag in the Transprtatin Cmmittee. An amendment was added t tie a sunset prvisin t the funding t align with SB1029. The Mm Chung drilling machine has been delivered fr the bring f the tunnels fr the Central Subway in San Francisc. SAMTRANS STAFF UPDATE Directr, Bus Transprtatin, Chester Pattn reprted: Fllw up n previusly raised issues: A bench request at Middlefield and Chestnut: a wrk rder has been submitted and awaiting final apprval. A garbage can was requested at Delaware and 1 st Avenue: wrk rder has been submitted and awaiting final apprval. Bus exempt lanes requested at El Camin Real and Valparais Avenue and El Camin Real and 2 nd Avenue: ging thrugh internal apprvals. Page 4 f 6

5 Staff reached ut t the Califrnia Department f Transprtatin and received a psitive respnse and staff will prceed fr an apprval. A railrad crssing exemptin requested n Bayshre Bulevard fr Rute 292: the Public Utilities Cmmissin and Daly City have been crrespnding and the current update is Daly City is ging t remve the tracks. Ghst messages n Rutes 390 and 391 Service t Pal Alt Transit Center begins Octber 10 : staff fund the message deep in the system and it has been terminated. CAC MEMBER COMMENTS/REQUESTS Chair Ratt said this is an pprtunity fr each member t bring t staff any particular cncern they have. He encuraged the members t use the 800 number t reprt rutine issues. Ms. McKie said at the crner at Delaware and First in San Mate, ging suth, the turn is very tight and it wuld be easier if the crner parking spt was remved. She said this same issue is at Peninsula and Delaware. Mr. Kya said passengers n Rute 292 cntinue t thank SamTrans fr nt making any changes t the rute. He hpes any changes t the timetable are nt t drastic. He thanked Superintendent, Bus Transprtatin, Karambir Cheema fr reslving the railrad track issue at Bayshre Bulevard. Mr. Adler thanked staff fr making such great prgress n all the suggestins the CAC ffers each mnth. Ms. Pye said she was riding her bike this mrning and arund 6:10 a.m. n suthbund El Camin Real and Athertn Avenue a paratransit bus peratr was driving very clse t the right side f the rad and the mirrr came very clse t her. She thanked staff fr their respnsiveness t the bus exemptin lane and ghst message. Mr. Lranger said there is a silent majrity n all rutes and even thugh staff may nt hear frm them he is appreciative f staff s effrts. Ms. Miller asked if there was an update n placing a bench fr the Rute 140 stp at Mnterey and Sneath in San Brun. Mr. Pattn said staff lked at the stp and fund the sidewalk is nt wide enugh fr Americans with Disabilities requirements t put a bench at the stp. Ms. Miller said Rutes 390 and 391 buses seem t be bunching. Mr. Pattn said with the SSP, weekday Rute ECR will help with the bunching. Mr. Kya said there seems t be an increase in ridership n Rute 292 and peple are saying there is a need fr a larger bus. LIAISON REPORTS a. SamTrans Bard - Peter Ratt The Bard held a public hearing fr the final draft SSP. The Bard made the CAC appintments. Page 5 f 6

6 A 30-year Safe Wrker award was presented t Manuel Juarez. b. SamTrans Accessibility Advisry Cmmittee - vacant c. Caltrain Accessibility Advisry Cmmittee - Peter Lranger n reprt d. Peninsula Crridr Jint Pwers Bard -vacant e. Peninsula Crridr Jint Pwers Bard CAC - vacant f. Senir Mbility Actin Plan - vacant NEXT MEETING: The next meeting will be held May 29, 2013, at 6:30 p.m., 1250 San Carls Avenue, Baccicc Auditrium, 2 nd Flr, San Carls, Califrnia Adjurned at 8:00 p.m. Page 6 f 6