TRANSIT ON THE MOVE LIAISON GROUP MEETING #1

November 4, 2004, 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
UA University Services Annex Building, 220 West 6th Street

Meeting Summary

1. Welcome

Freda Johnson, meeting moderator, called the meeting to order at 5:50 pm. Jim Glock, Director of the City of Tucson Department of Transportation, welcomed everyone and provided an overview of the project. He told the group that Transit on the Move is a great opportunity for Tucson and encouraged the group to follow the FTA planning process. Shellie Ginn, Project Manager for the City of Tucson Department of Transportation, also welcomed the group to the first meeting. Shellie stressed the importance of the project for Tucson and stated how crucial the partnership with the University of Arizona is in the planning process. David Duffy, Planning Director for the University of Arizona, said how exciting it is to have a close working relationship with the City of Tucson and to be part of a regional solution. He noted that the University is really a city within a city. David reported that the University is committed to holding the line on trip generators.

2. Introductions

Members of the Liaison Group, consultants, staff and others introduced themselves.

3. Ground Rules for Meetings

Freda asked the group for suggestions for Ground Rules for meetings. The following was recorded on a flip chart and accepted by all present:

Need an agenda
Meeting ends with action items
Everyone expresses opinion. Handle differences of opinions with no personal attacks
Establish atmosphere for consensus
One person talks at a time
Meetings start and end on time
Stay on task
Consensus preferred but use straw polls as needed
Clearly stated objectives
Clarify assumptions and inferences
No interrupting
Express agreement without repeating
Recognize [by moderator] by raising hands
Cell phones on quiet or vibrate
Speak up so everyone can hear

In addition, a question was asked about making motions. Freda mentioned that she is comfortable with parliamentary procedure or consensus. It was noted that consensus is good but parliamentary procedure may be needed in some cases. Another suggestion was made to have straw polls to show agreement and come to conclusion.

4. "Communication Procedures"

Freda asked if e-mail was an appropriate and useful way for everyone to receive project information including meeting notices and agendas. A comment was made that group e-mails can sometimes lead to online discussion groups. Joan Beckim agreed to send out information to individual e-mails not in the "bcc" format to protect members from unsolicited e-mail discussions. There will be a printout of e-mail addresses for Liaison Group members. For members with no e-mail, hard copies will be mailed or delivered. In addition, members will receive e-mail notice of additional materials that can be read or downloaded from the project website at www.tucsontransitstudy.com.

5. Technical Advisory Members (TAC) and their Role

Shellie described the role of the TAC as a technical sounding board for the consultant team. The TAC will review technical papers for accuracy and part of the alternative analysis. Shellie noted that Liaison Group members are welcome to ask for more information or ask questions about the TAC.

Freda mentioned that returned observer comment forms will be reported to the Liaison Group and to the consultant team and city staff. A question was asked if an organization could send different people to meetings. Freda said yes but they should be up to date on the project.

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6. Project Overview

Marc Soronson, Project Manager with SR Beard & Associates, introduced himself. He noted that he worked for the City of Tucson in the 1980s. Marc is currently a transportation planner with over 20 years of transit project development experience in San Diego, Dallas, and Miami. Most recently Marc has been involved in the City of Phoenix Light Rail Transit Project and served as the project manager and planning manager since 1996. Marc introduced Mathew Taunton a senior planner with S.R. Beard & Associates who is working with Marc on the Tucson project. Marc noted that federal projects are very competitive which require a great deal of documentation including ridership forecasts and planning. He mentioned that the partnership between the City of Tucson and the University of Arizona is a benefit that will help the process greatly.

Marc showed a PowerPoint presentation detailing the mission statement, scope of work, FTA planning process, project goals, study area, overall philosophy and alternatives under consideration. This presentation was distributed to the Liaison Group in hard copy in their notebooks. Matthew reported on the modern streetcar and showed photographs from Portland. Matthew said that the streetcars in Portland are 65 feet long and eight feet wide. The cars are not much of a disruption in either traffic or pedestrian areas. These cars can mix with traffic, share stops with buses, and do not interfere with on-street parking. The streetcars also operate safely in heavy pedestrian areas and work well to "connect the dots" or for short trips. The cars are ADA compliant and can carry bicycles as well. Real-time information can be paced in shelters or other locations along the route. In addition, Marc stressed how the modern streetcar supports economic development. Marc mentioned that Rapid Bus Circulators and Historic Trolley are the other alternatives being considered.

Marc reported that the project is currently reviewing the Tier 1 alignment alternatives. The alignments that survive further technical analysis will go to the next step. An Open House will be held on November 30 in the Historic Depot on Toole Avenue, to show progress to date. (Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Open House has been postponed and will be rescheduled. Please see www.tucsontransitstudy.com for updates).

Discussion and Questions:

Doug Crockett (Tucson Unified School District) asked about the obtrusiveness of the overhead power lines for modern streetcars. Marc answered that the overhead catanary is not obtrusive and blends in well in Portland. John Sedwick (Fourth Avenue Merchants Association) asked about the definition of New and Small Starts. Marc said that New Starts is an FTA program for major transit investments. To be eligible, applicants have to "make the case" which involves both qualitative and quantitative information based on a strict criteria developed by the FTA. The Small Starts program which is still in the legislative process will be a smaller amount of money available for smaller projects.

Steve Farley (Blenman Elm Neighborhood Association) noted that the boundary for the project is understandable but north of the boundary has a lot of potential ridership. He asked if the group could push the study north. Marc answered that the focus of this project is a small area. As part of the modeling process, park and ride lots can be added. He mentioned that Phase II would go north and feed additional lines. This should be identified in the PAG Regional Transportation Plan. Marc also noted that this project will look at what happened to SunTran with the implementation of this project.

Robin Steinberg (Feldman's Neighborhood Association) asked why the Pima Community College Downtown Campus was not included. She noted that students and faculty go between the PCC and the UA on a daily basis. Marc said that the consultant team and staff struggled with this issue. In the overall plan, there had to be tradeoffs. Marc noted that CatTran could help make the connection. One goal of this project is to look at low capital technology and stay off main traffic arterials.

Ross Bryant (Campbell-Grant Neighborhood Association) asked what the maximum federal contribution would be. Shellie answered that up to $75 million could come from the federal government but the City of Tucson would need to match those funds. The maximum the federal government will fund is 50% of the project costs.

David Walker (Menlo Park Neighborhood Association) asked about designing with R¡o Nuevo plans noting that different plans would require different modeling. David also mentioned that changes in car usage might impact forecasts over the next 20 years. Tom Fisher reported that PAG provides forecasts for 2025 using various inputs including projected SES and land use forecasts. Marc said that the FTA will approve the forecasts after the project justifies the forecasts to FTA. Then the FTA will defend the project to Congress to obtain funding.

Doug Crockett asked about accommodating both bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Matthew answered that the off the shelf technology can be customized with seats, for bikes, etc. Grace Rich (North University Neighborhood Association) noted that La Placita was developed in hopes of becoming a hub of activity. She asked if R¡o Nuevo is going to provide the number of people needed to make this project work. Matthew stressed that this project would not just carry people from one end to the other but everywhere in between noting the importance of short trips. Jane McCollum (Main Gate Square Businesses) mentioned that the University is committed to building a $75 million science center at R¡o Nuevo and Steve reported that 2000 residences will be built providing the high density needed for the project. Gary Oaks said that this project feeds R¡o Nuevo and brings economic development and activity centers. Steve Farley mentioned that R¡o Nuevo and Portland are similar in that Pearl Street tracks brought over $1 billion in development to a warehouse district which is now an economically vibrant area.

John Sedwick noted how the modern streetcar idea maximizes parking capability. One can park once and take the street car to many places. Doug Crockett asked if the project could show a one-mile and five-mile buffer to illustrate walking, biking and parking distances from the streetcar. Marc reported that the project is just beginning and this level of detail will be shown in the future.

Joseph La Mantia (Grant Road Neighborhood Association) asked if the historic trolley tracks are compatible with the streetcar tracks. Marc said the trolley tracks would probably not work with the streetcar. Joseph also asked if the poles would be wood or metal. Marc noted the poles would be metal and the catanary could go as low as 12 feet with poles every couple hundred feet. Lighting could be integrated on the poles. Jane McCollum asked where the tracks would be located. Marc answered that the tracks would be in traffic lanes.

7. Comments from Observers

There were no observer comments.

8. Confirm next meeting date

The next Liaison Group Meeting will be held January 13 at the UA USA building at the same time. An Open House will be held in the Historic Depot on Toole Avenue, on November 30. Due to unforeseen circumstances, this Open House date has been postponed and will be rescheduled. Please see www.tucsontransitstudy.com for updates.

9. Announcements

The PowerPoint presentation shown at this meeting will be available on the website.
> view PowerPoint presentation

10. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 7:30 pm.