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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Committee Minutes 07.11.2023 (Approved) Transportation Committee Meeting Minutes July 11, 2023 Attendees: Al Hartman Jeff Armstrong Jim Collins, Transportation Director Evelyn Meuret Lynnsey Erickson, Council Steve Tomasik, GO Transit Operations Mng. Jim Stapel Sean Lynch Jane Weber, Secretary Also Present: OPD Representative – Sgt. Pettit The meeting of the Transportation Committee was called to order by Jim Collins who then requested roll call and explained protocol for public comment. Public Comment (A member of the public was present and approached the podium) Jolene Kornas (510 Congress Ave.) said she was representing her neighborhood and would like the city to consider changing the intersection of Congress Avenue & Wisconsin Avenue to a four-way stop to help slow traffic down. She said she has been a resident for 20-years and has witnessed dangerous near-miss accidents and fears it is going to become an even bigger issue after the new school opens by Jackson & Congress. Jolene said every corner house has experienced cars damaging trees in their front yard or even their house and shared some photos with the Committee members. Jim Stapel asked for clarification if she was asking for a stop light or stop sign; Jolene stated a stop sign. Jim also asked if some of the traffic is due to the University; but Jolene said the UWO traffic is further down by Murdock and New York and this traffic seems to be normal neighborhood traffic. Jim Collins said he will analyze the area and report back to the Committee at the next meeting as this is not a formal agenda topic for the July meeting. He also informed Jolene that she will be included on future correponsdence. Introductions: Since this was the first meeting of the merged boards of Transit, Bike & Pedestrian and Traffic & Parking, Jim requested members introduce themselves so everyone became familiar with fellow committee members. He said this Committee will consist of one Council Representative, four members and two alternates. Election of Chair and Vice-Chair: Jim said the first order of business is to elect a chair and vice-chair and he will then turn the meeting over to them. Jim Stapel made a motion to elect Al Hartman as Chair and Eveylyn Meuret as Vice-Chair, seconded by Lynnsey Erickson. Motion carried after roll-call vote. Discussion of meeting format: Jim Collins gave an overview of the meeting format which has been working well. His main question is if the Committee would like to continue reciting the Pledge of Allegience at each meeting which was something unique only the Traffic & Parking board was doing. It was decided by several members that this step isn’t necessary especially since Council meetings were also held on Tuesday evenings. 2 | Page Angled parking request on East 9th Avenue, east of South Main Street Jim Colins explained the developers of the Sawdust District and city staff have determined there is a need for on-street parking in this area. He is seeking committee approval to remove 1-hour parking on the south side from South Main to 150 feet east and the angle parking, north side from South Main east a distance of 375 feet and add angle parking north side (282 feet east of S. Main to 532 feet east), no parking, north side (532 feet east of S. Main to Pioneer Drive) and no parking, south side (from South Main to 282 feet east and from 444 feet east to Pioneer Drive). One amendment since the agenda was published is to change the 282 feet east to 242 feet east. This was a request from Reinke’s Monument to allow 40’ of parking by his business to accommodate a larger company truck and/or visitors. Jim said he met with Mr. Reinke and the request seems reasonable at this time. Al Hartman asked for a motion to approve amendment. Jim Stapel made a motion to amend as stated, seconded by Evelyn Meuret. Motion carried after roll-call vote. Al Hartman asked if there were any additional comments or questions; if not – he asked if there was a motion to approve recommendations. Jim Stapel made a motion to approve; seconded by Lynnsey Erickson. Motion carried after roll-call vote. Designate Central Street and W. Nevada Street as a yield right-of-way intersection and remove the same designation on Kentucky Street and W. Nevada Street. Jim Collins said this was already approved in 2022 but it was decided to wait until the summer before the new school opened to make the actual change. He also said there will be additional changes at the August meeting due to all the parking and loading zones etc. being on the wrong side of the street once the roads are flipped. He is working with the Sign Manager and the School District regarding loading zones to present those changes for approval next month. He also mentioned that there may be future adjustments after the school is actually open depending on the traffic flow. Jim Stapel made a motion to approve; seconded by Jeff Armstrong. Motion carried after roll-call vote. Staff Statements Jim Collins said they will be moving the stop sign at Central and New York to Kentucky and New York. He then had Steve Tomasik give an overview of the Transit ridership reports as this is new to several members of the committee. Jim said the reports are not an action item, just informational. Steve said the report provided useful information that compares current year vs. last year. It also helps him track specialized programs like student ridership, EAA and the GO Connect pilot program. Jim Stapel asked if student ridership makes up 1/3 of all ridership numbers; but Steve explained it is tracked separately. He also asked which program is bus vs. cab so Steve gave a quick overview of the programs. Jim Collins also mentioned that if it would be helpful at a future meeting, Transit could provide a presentation of the Paratransit programs or anything that would be helpful. Jim Stapel asked about the Oshkosh to Neenah program. Jim explained that GO Connect is the pilot on-demand, shared ride program that replaced the Route 10 bus to Neenah. It is a flat rate of $5 payable to the driver upon pickup which Jim Stapel thought was a much better deal than the expense of a bus. Jim Collins said the Pilot ends on March 31, 2024 but he is in discussion with the County to extend that pilot an additional year to gather more data. Lynnsey asked if the 5-8 ride average is actually multiple people since it is a shared cab, Steve stated it could be but these numbers actually reflect individual riders. 3 | Page Statt Statements (continued) Jim Collins explained that a TDP (Transit Delopment Plan) is basically a strategic plan that is conducted every 5 years to analyze everything including routes, ridership and get feedback from all sources including drivers and riders. After the information gathering period is over, there most likely will be a presentation to this Committee in the future of their findings and recommendations. Jim also gave an update on the Transit remodel project. He said Phase 1 of the project is 95% complete and he has now started Phase 2 which will include a climate controlled rider waiting area and public restrooms. He said between ARPA funds and a 5339 Grant, the project has approved funding. Jim said the school district approved the revenue agreement at their last school board meeting and it will be presented at this week’s Council meeting. The program had some minor changes and it will allow public school district students to ride for free for the next 3 years. Lynnsey asked if they will still get the pass at the schools; but Steve said one change to the program is requiring photo ID bus passes that will be obtained from the GO Transit Office. The schools will be given a temporary pass to give out to allow the student time to get to the office. The paper pass and mobile pass did not work well and caused many issues so the only pass allowed will be the new photo ID pass. This process will be more work for the office initially, but it should help eliminate fraud issues and provide the office with contact information if suspension letters need to be sent. Steve said one requirement is the parents signature on the initial form which clearly states that the student must follow the GO Transit ridership rules. Lynnsey asked if the parent has to come to the office with their student; Steve said no – the student may get the form signed and come in for the pass without the parent. He also said the staff will be accomondating the schools by offering onsite ID processing and attending the back-to-school fairs. She asked if this is a pass they use for the entire school year; Steve stated yes with an expiration date of 8/31/24 to get them through the summer months. Future Agenda Requests Al Hartman asked if there any additional agenda requests other than the one presented during Public Comment; to which there were none. Jim Stapel made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Evelyn Meuret. Meeting adjorned at 4:49 p.m.