Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Committee Minutes 9.10.2024 (pending approval) Attendees: Al Hartman Paul Esslinger, Council Jim Collins, Transportation Director Evelyn Meuret Jim Stapel Steve Tomasik Jeff Armstrong Sean Lynch Deb Martin Jane Weber, Secretary Also Present: OPD Representative – Lt. Kraemer The meeting was called to order by Al Hartman who then explained protocol for public comment. Public Comment – Tim Neubauer (322 Court St.) was present to comment on a non-agenda item. He owns a large victorian house on Court & Washington which he recently renovated, and plans on moving in with his seven children soon. His concern is having a bus stop located right out in front of his property. He has called the office several times and registered complaints on See-Click-Fix. He said he continues to find homeless people using this shelter at all hours of the day and often stationed overnight. Since the shelter does get quite warm in the sun, it is very hot to sit inside so this group of people camp out on his front yard. They even get as bold as to sit on his front steps. Every day he is picking up garbage out front (even including dirty diapers). He was led to believe that the people that drove buses were responsible for keeping it clean. He did some research as this shelter is supported by a neighborhood organization. He called their representative and they said they were fine with the shelter being removed which is what he is requesting at this time as a stop without the shelter, might not cause as many issues. (Since this was not a scheduled agenda item, this concern will be discussed at a future meeting) Roll Call & Approval of Minutes Chairperson Hartman requested roll call, and Evelyn Meuret made a motion to approve the minutes from the August meeting, seconded by Paul Esslinger. Motion carried after roll-call vote. Old Business – N/A New Business 1) Request to convert from a yield-controlled to stop-controlled intersection (12th & Minnesota) Jim stated this was a citizen request and said after conducting his research protocal, due to crash history and visual obstructions he does recommend the request. Jim Stapel made a motion to approve, seconded by Paul Esslinger. Motion carried after roll-call vote. Transportation Committee Meeting Minutes September 10, 2024 2 | Page 2) Update Parking Regulations around the new Menomonie Elementary School Jim said now that the new school is open, he has been working with their Facility Manager on the traffic flow and current ordinances. On Melvin, the request is to convert a bus loading zone area to a regular loading zone. On Hazel, the request is to convert the handicap area to a regular loading zone. Paul Esslinger made a motion to approve the request, seconded by Jeff Armstrong. Motion carried after roll-call vote. 3) Update Parking Regulations on Algoma Blvd. Jim said with the recent transit route changes, the bus no longer goes down Algoma Blvd., UWO Police requested converting the bump out area where the bus shelter was previously to 60-minute parking. Jim Stapel made a motion to approve the request, seconded by Evelyn Meuret. Motion carried after roll-call vote. 4) Update Parking Regulations in the Recreation Department Parking Lot Jim said he received several complaints of people getting tickets in this lot and several feel it wasn’t very clear as to where they were allowed to park. Jim met with the Rec. Dept. Director and they agreed adding a row of 2-hour parking would help. People have commented that it is difficult to know if the signs stating “Reserved – Rec Department” were for staff only or if anyone using the facility were allowed to park there. Deb asked where people were supposed to park if they attend a function later in the day; Jim said in the 400 W. lot across the street if all of the allocated spaces were full. Jim Stapel made a motion to approve the request, seconded by Paul Esslinger. Motion carried after roll- call vote. 5) Update Parking Regulations in the Grand South Lot Businesses have requested additional permit salls in this lot due to the recent increase in parking enforcement. Jim said this lot has plenty of parking stalls available that are not used regularly so he didn’t see a problem with converting some of the stalls. Jim Stapel made a motion to approve the request, seconded by Paul Esslinger. Motion carried after roll-call vote. 3 | Page 6) Update Parking Regulations in the 200 West Lot Jim said this lot had similar issues. Business on East Main needed additional permit stalls. Upon observation, over half of the lot was consistently pretty empty so this request should be no issue. Jim Stapel made a motion to approve the request, seconded by Paul Esslinger. Motion carried after roll-call vote. 7) Request to allow Transportation Director or designee authority to change parking stalls in the downtown parking lots between 2-hour, permit or leased as demand dictates. Jim Staple asked for clarification of permit vs. lease. Director Collins said a parking permit is not a guaranteed spot; it gives the person access to any marked permit spot that is available throughout the city parking lots. A “leased” spot is $50 per month or $500 per year with a 3-month minimum. The person gets a custom reserved sign and has access to that spot 24/7. Deb asked if a permit is specific to one person, not vehicle. Jim said at this time it is a hang tag so yes. As far as the request, Jim Staple has no issues to approve, but would like Director Collins to give an update on a 6-month or annual basis of changes that were made. He also said this issue may need to be revisited as buildings get purchased as parking is a key component for business owners. Director Collins said this will be a more efficient way to change from 2-hour to permit stalls as demand changes without the 4–6-week approval process. Jim Stapel made a motion to approve the request with the added request to get an updated at least annually of changes made, seconded by Paul Esslinger. Motion carried after roll-call vote. 8) Update Parking Regulations on Nebraska Street and 10th Avenue Jim said this request is to convert 10-minute parking to 4-hour parking on Nebraska Street on school days (7:00 am – 4:00 pm). On 10th Avenue, north side, where the elementary school drop area is, the request is to go to 30-minute parking during school hours. Jim Stapel made a motion to approve the request, seconded by Paul Esslinger. Motion carried after roll-call vote. 9) Paratransit Study Presentation by the East Wisconsin Regional Plan Commission Kate Blackburn & Chris Colla (ECWRPC) were asked to do a study and present it on the paratransit program. Currently, the City has a 3-year contract with the current vendor with an option for up to two, one-year extensions. One recommendation is better software to allow for better dispatching, tracking and reporting. GO Transit could make improved software a requirement with the next RFB. Some peer cities handle their paratransit in-house and some use a 3rd party vendor. Another challenge identified was offering 24-hour service. This is something unique that Oshkosh does. Most transit providers follow FTA requirements which states that paratransit hours 4 | Page match fixed route hours. If the hours were decreased, it would make the service more attractive and may entice more vendors to submit proposals. Chairperson Hartman asked what recommendation Jim is looking for from the board at tonight’s meeting. Jim explained this is just informational at this point. He plans to put this issue on a future agenda and ask for a formal recommendation. The hope is to make the contract more attractive to vendors and to improve the quality of service. Operations Manager Tomasik said he feels the paratransit riders deserve a higher quality service and some other peers are odopting the on-demand concept. He thinks software would help as the patron could track and see where their cab is located in real time. Deb Martin asked how it works for elderly or disabled riders that don’t own a computer or smart phone; Steve said other options such as calling via phone would still be available. Steve also reiterated the paratransit program requirement is to match fixed route service. Our current fixed route service does not offer 24/7 service. Kate said when they did the study, offering in-house paratransit would cost at least $440k so that probably isn’t a feasible option. Paul Esslinger said it makes it very difficult to budget when there are so many large ticket items up for approval (ex: $800,000 ambulance request). Steve said one good thing about public Transit are all the Grant and Federal funding options. Steve said the only program that he feels needs 24/7 service is the Access-to-Jobs program which could be handled separately. Al Hartman reiterated that this issue will be considered further at a future meeting. Staff Statements ❖ Ridership Update – Steve said as a result of 131 staff hours at on-site events at various schools and working overtime to cover the office shortages, a total of 657 student photo IDs has been distributed. ❖ WisGO Electronic Fare System – The installation process is about 50% complete and all buses should be completed soon. Students will be used to test the system before rolling it out to the general public slated for October 1, 2024. We decided to honor paper passes until the end of the year to make the transition period more of a soft roll-out. Jim Stapel asked about if the parochial schools are part of the pass program as all he has heard about were the public schools. Jim Collins said OASD contacted the parochial schools about participating but they declined. At current time, they decided to purchase bus passes for the few students that may need them. Deb Martin asked where people could get the new cards; Steve said the Transit Office, City Hall and Public Library will be the card distribution points. Al asked about the $8 million dollar pedestrian bridge that was in the news; Jim stated that this bridge has been in the city’s Bike and Pedestrian plans for many years. Staff worked with an engineering firm to develop the concept. This project was identified as a need in a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan that East Central prepared. As a result of these plans, the city applied for a Safe Streets for All Grant and recently found out Oshkosh was awarded grant funds for this project. The pedestrian bridge will connect from near Taft over Highway 41 to the west side so that pedestrians and cyclists can avoid the round-a-bouts and safely cross during busy traffic. 5 | Page Future Agenda Requests Paul Esslingler asked the staff to look at the intersection of Bowen & New York. He thinks the timing of the lights may need to be adjusted or the light removed. He said it appears the light isn’t needed due to low traffic flow. Adjournment Paul Esslinger made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Jim Stapel. Motion carried after roll-call vote Meeting adjourned at 5:20 pm.