The Vine: Mill Plain Bus Rapid Transit Project Open House Summary August 2018
Page 2 Table of Contents Background 3 Public involvement 4 Open house overview 5 Notification 6 Comment summary 7 Next steps 11
Page 3 Background The Vine is branching out to the Mill Plain corridor. In January 2017, C-TRAN delivered the region s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system to the Fourth Plain corridor on time and under budget, while reducing travel time by 12 percent. Now, C-TRAN is planning to bring the next phase of BRT to Mill Plain Boulevard. The Vine: Mill Plain BRT project will serve C-TRAN s second busiest transit corridor and benefit Vancouver residents by: Reducing transit delays and improving travel times Unclogging bottlenecks for existing bus service Making transit service along Mill Plain more reliable and attractive Providing better mobility and access to jobs and everyday services Unlocking economic and educational opportunities The proposed alignment for The Vine extension is approximately 10 miles long beginning in downtown Vancouver and ending in east Vancouver near Mill Plain Transit Center (not yet constructed) or Fisher s Landing Transit Center. C-TRAN will work with the Federal Transit Administration to ensure the Mill Plain BRT project is highly competitive for grant funding to help pay for capital construction. The project may also seek additional funding sources or use available C-TRAN reserves. C-TRAN operates debt-free, and is committed to remaining that way through this process. About The Vine The Vine uses larger buses, level boarding platforms, and other features like off-board fares to improve transit capacity and service. Within the first year of operation, The Vine delivered a 45 percent increase in ridership, an 89 percent reduction in late departures and a 12 percent reduction in scheduled travel times. And the corridor saw an influx of new housing projects totaling $82 million, many citing The Vine as a key reason for the development. Timeline The Mill Plain BRT Project is currently in Phase One of a multi-year process. From spring 2018 to winter 2019, Phase One includes multiple opportunities for public input to inform a Locally Preferred Alternative that is, the basic outline for how and where BRT will function along Mill
Page 4 Plain. Phase Two will hone the finer details in project development. Lastly, Phase Three will include construction of the project - making Mill Plain BRT a reality. C-TRAN anticipates service will begin by 2023. Public involvement C-TRAN is listening to community voices to plan safe, reliable, and effective transit solutions for the Mill Plain BRT project. The planning process for The Vine: Mill Plain BRT project has, and will continue to, offer many opportunities to comment on the design options for Mill Plain. C-TRAN hosted the first public open house in August 2018. Prior to the open house, C-TRAN hosted information booths at several community events and festivals to raise awareness about the project, including the Clark County Fair and the Main Street block party in downtown Vancouver. C-TRAN also convened a Corridor Advisory Committee (CAC) to advise them about community needs and priorities. The CAC met in May and August 2018 and plans to meet three additional times during Phase One. The 17-member CAC represents local businesses, educational institutions, community organizations, neighborhood associations, and community interest groups.
Page 5 Open house overview On August 8, 2018, C-TRAN hosted an open house at Firstenburg Community Center from 5 to 7 p.m. to introduce The Vine: Mill Plain BRT project to the broader community. C- TRAN invited the public to learn more about the project and provide comments about the project purpose and need, corridor issues, routing options for the east and west ends of the corridor, evaluation criteria for the routing options, and future outreach. Thirty-two community members attended the open house and 28 filled out the open house sign-in sheet. Project team members from C-TRAN attended the open house to answer questions and listen to the community. Attendees were greeted by project staff, asked to sign-in, and received C-TRAN fact sheets and a City of Vancouver handout about The Heights planning process in the project area. C-TRAN also provided translated fact sheets in Ukrainian, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese. Open house attendees viewed display boards around the room with background information about the project and timeline, the project purpose and need, existing conditions, and public involvement opportunities. In addition, attendees could provide comments directly on a corridor map to describe issues they experience along the corridor and use sticky dots to indicate their top priorities for the evaluation criteria. Attendees also submitted written comments using a comment form.
Page 6 Notification C-TRAN publicized the open houses through the following channels: Posted ads in The Columbian and Camas/Washougal Post Record Shared updates on C-TRAN website and Twitter and Facebook pages, as well as social media posts shared by C-TRAN community partners Email notice from C-TRAN and Vancouver Office of Neighborhoods Bus advertisements Mailed postcard to 12,200 households along the corridor Distributed flyer door-to-door to more than 400 businesses and organizations along the corridor Posted notices in community calendars for The Columbian, Camas/Washougal Post Record and The Reflector Distributed press release to local media The following are results from open house attendees who identified how they heard about the open house: How did you hear about tonight's meeting? Corridor Advisory Committee Newspaper Website Friend/family member Church Flyer on bus Online Email Community center sign Flyer 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Page 7 Comment summary C-TRAN accepted public comments in person at the open house and offered a way for future comments to be sent in via mail or email. At the meeting, C- TRAN received 17 comment forms and 29 comments on the corridor map. Below is a summary of feedback collected at the meeting organized by topic. As of Aug. 20, 2018, C-TRAN did not receive any additional comments via email or mail. Transcribed comments are included in italics below to highlight key themes of public comment. Interest in Mill Plain BRT project In the comment form, attendees identified why they were interested in the project. (Note: attendees could pick more than one option.) Seven attendees are bus riders and use the following routes: o Route 3 o Route 25 o Route 37 o The Vine Bus riders indicated they ride the bus for work and visit key destinations (e.g. the library). Six attendees live near the Mill Plain corridor: o Specific neighborhoods/areas mentioned include Hudson s Bay, Mill Plain/Garrison Road intersection, Fircrest, Pheasant Run, Holly Hills Three attendees own businesses or institutions near the corridor. Two specifically mentioned: o United Methodist Preschool o United Methodist Church One person said they drive often on Mill Plain and would be a regular rider if service was more available and convenient Two people attended as representatives of the Corridor Advisory Committee
Page 8 Community issues and priorities Improve transit service to community centers, shopping, parks and recreation, libraries, transit connections, and health care centers o Need C-TRAN service at Amtrak station o Provide service to library at Evergreen/C Street Consider ADA accessibility o Add Vine access to Mill Plain ASAP very wheelchair accessible Apply a universal design approach and ensure stop locations are designed with other route connections in mind Address issues with vehicle access to Mill Plain United Methodist Church o MPUMC has a current stop on the front of our property. There is one entrance and exit onto property. We have a large preschool onsite during school year of 150+ kids. Lots of traffic in and out. Large transportation center would cause greater issue for us. Riders experience slow transit service on Route 37, with back-ups to 95th Street Building the Vine on Mill Plain is a concern since it could extend the distance between stops o Not everyone that rides the Mill Plain bus lives on Mill Plain. Some of us live on the side streets and have to walk a ways to catch the bus. Traffic congestion at I-205 interchange is a concern Design Vine alignment and stop locations thoughtfully: o Design more varied routes o Consider proximity near traffic lights and intersections and convenience of stops o Prefer curbside, not median stations o Add bus pull-out lanes to avoid traffic back-ups o Keep Grand stop to transfer to Route 6 o Need stop at Ft. Vancouver Way to transfer to Route 25 o Consider removing low used stops on Mill Plain well before opening Vine to get people used to it o Need stop at hospital o Bus stops too close to street on all of Mill Plain o Need stop at Walmart (104 th /105 th Street) o Need to have bus stop near Fred Meyer o Need stop in both directions in very close proximity to Mill Plain and Chkalov; currently westbound stop is not close enough o Closure of westbound stop at 117 th makes it difficult to travel westbound o Want station at Kaiser Cascade Park o Need stop at 136 th and Mill Plain to transfer to Route 80 o Need stop at Mill Plain and 164th Consider future extensions of the Vine o Extend to Jantzen Beach and Expo Center
Page 9 Routing options for east and west ends of route West o Consider using stop at the Target center instead o Concerns about Vine integration with vehicle and pedestrian traffic I have some reservation about integrating the bus into pedestrian and vehicle traffic at the traffic circle west end of Officer s Row. o Take advantage of current Vine stops I like the idea of having Mill Plain Vine buses use some of the existing Vine stops, and I find connections to other routes important (especially 25 and 71). Although I like the idea of having the routes come close to the main Vancouver library on the Evergreen alignment, it would be awkward at times the library is not open. o Prefer Mill Plain downtown option East o Adjust current stops on Mill Plain Move current stop a block or so east past church property and move the flashing crossing light a block west. o Prefer south route on 164th or if it continues along Mill Plain to 192nd, extend The Vine on Fourth Plain to 162nd o No strong opinion, assuming 164th would continue to be served by Route 30 and other local routes Other o Do not construct this project Evaluation criteria From the comment forms, key priorities include: o Ridership o Integration with feeder and connector routes o Avoid impacts to Mill Plain United Methodist Church Preschool o Frequency o Ease of use by bus riders o Connections to other routes o Span of service o Service to Clark College and Evergreen Based on the results of the interactive display board, the top priorities for both the east and west alignment criteria were ridership potential and the opportunity to improve safety and bike/pedestrian connectivity (see charts on the next page):
Page 10 West terminus alignment criteria Compatibility with future Vine extension to Integration with existing Vine stations Opportunity to improve safe access to Environmental impacts Cost-effectiveness Seamless connection to other routes Economic development potential Ridership potential 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 East terminus alignment criteria Opportunity to improve safe access to transit and bike/pedestrian connectivity Environmental impacts Cost-effectiveness Seamless connection to other routes Economic development potential Ridership potential 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Suggestions for future outreach Outreach methods o Meet with neighborhood associations o Ask the riders for input
Page 11 o Hold meetings on Route 37 o Offer online survey o Reach out to groups that don t normally attend open houses and offer briefings, including people with disabilities and older adults (e.g. National Federation of the Blind, Clark County Chapter) Open house feedback o Provide visuals of project site o Meeting location was too far from Mill Plain Advertising and notification o Place ads on TV o Post notices on buses o Use social media, email, and texts Other comments Announcements are not loud enough on buses Interest in how the project will integrate with existing Vine Next steps During fall 2018, the project team will consider the public comments received as they further develop design options, identify potential station locations, and conduct traffic and environmental analysis. C-TRAN will host the next CAC meeting in October and a public meeting in early November 2018. At these meetings, the public will have an opportunity to comment on the design and proposed stop locations. Project staff will also continue to conduct direct outreach and briefings with community organizations.