Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTAB Mtg Minutes 11 19 14 Please contact the Transit Advisory Board at TAB@ci.oshkosh.wi.us with any questions or concerns. TRANSIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 19, 2014 PRESENT: Diane Hoffman, Diane Lowe, Caroline Panske, Evelyn Meuret, Troy Monday, Mike Norton, Lee Williams STAFF PRESENT: Jim Collins, Transportation Director David Vickman, Transit Operations Manager Marlene Binder, Secretary Chairperson Caroline Panske called the meeting to order at 4:07 p.m. and welcomed both of our newest Board members, Evelyn Meuret and Lee Williams. Ms. Hoffman moved to accept the minutes of the October 15, 2014 meeting. Mr. Norton seconded the motion. Motion carried (7-0). CITIZEN’S STATEMENTS Chuck Hodge, of 202 Oxford Street, submitted letters he requested to be distributed to the Board members. He wanted to present the Board with a copy of a letter from East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. Mr. Hodge explained this letter from East Central is a reply to a letter he wrote with complaints he had regarding the disabled, elderly and disenfranchised being kept from participating in the planning of the federal ly funded projects in the transportation program. He says he will reply to this letter from East Central Wisconsin Planning. He went on to say that he pulled other letters from his file which contains hundreds and hundreds of pages of documentation. Mr. Hodge declared he submitted these letters so the public can know that this has been an ongoing problem, dating back to 2013 when Mr. Strong was transportation d irector. NEW BUSINESS 1. MALLARD AVENUE & GROVE STREET TRANSFER POINT BETWEEN ROUTES 1 & 4 Mr. Collins stated currently passengers must cross the street at this transfer point and he had received telephone calls from residents in the area concerned about the safety of these passengers. Mr. Collins said the resident of the duplex on the corner of Mallard Avenue and Grove Street said most passengers that walk to this transfer point come from a block west. He confirmed this information was consistent with input received from drivers of these routes. There was discussion about the bench and having the buses behind each other on Mallard Avenue. There was also discussion about snow removal. Mr. Charles Hodge, 202 Oxford Street, said he has 30 to 35 pictures that he has shown the director. He believes the bus drivers should monitor the bus stops and report snowed in bus stops and then the contractor could shovel these stops out in a timelier manner. He suggested Mr. Collins look into using the correctional facility inmates to shovel snow as part of their community service. Ms. Hoffman asked for clarification if a bus stop was not cleared and the city had the contractor clear it if the property owner was charged for the service or if it was absorbed by the Transit budget. Mr. Collins said generally TAB MINUTES 2 NOVEMBER 2014 Please contact the Transit Advisory Board at TAB@ci.oshkosh.wi.us with any questions or concerns. the property owner would be charged and he assumed this would b e the case but he was not sure of this. He said he would look into this. Ms. Panske stated she didn't want to wait on this item and inquired if there would be any benefit from an option 3. Mr. Collins replied he did not think there would really be much of a difference. Mr. Vickman added that he didn't see much difference but if we went with that option we would have to pour twice. Mr. Collins stated parking would need to be removed at the new transfer point and he would bring this before the December meeting of the Traffic Review Advisory Board. After passage there it would then go before the City Council, the second Tuesday in January. Ms. Panske said she would try to get the second reading waived so it wouldn't be pending till the following meeting of the City Council. Ms. Meuret suggested installing temporary no parking signs till the ordinance passes. Mr. Norton moved to accept option 2 of item 1. Ms. Hoffman seconded the motion. (Motion carried 7-0) There was discussion about ways to get information out to the public. 2. SHELTER UPDATE Mr. Collins reported the cement has been poured for the shelter on Witzel Avenue and Westhaven Drive. A chemical was added to the concrete because of the cold temperatures. The concrete will need to cure for 10 days before the shelter can be installed on it this Friday. 3. FEEDBACK ON ROUTE 3 CHANGE Mr. Collins told the Board that a comment was received from a rider pleased that Route 3 now went to Roosevelt School and two negative comments came in from UW-O. One east side rider did not think it was as convenient and now has to cross Algoma Blvd. to transfer buses. The second was from a student who thought they may have rode but with the change now will not. Mr. Norton inquired if we knew where the students from West High School were traveling to. Mr. Collins replied the drivers told him the majority of the students were from the south side of the city and wanting Route 8 at the Transit Center. He added as soon as the stop location for Route 3 at West High School is locked, we will market it to the student body. Ms. Meuret said she takes the Route 3 bus frequently by the university and doesn't mind crossing the street to transfer and has never missed her bus. She says this is working well. Mr. Williams asked if we thought about having students ride the bus in the morning. Mr. Collins replied this was brought up before and currently there are not enough students riding in the morning to warrant another bus however, this would be an option if numbers increased. Mr. Norton inquired about whether the number of wheel chairs that were turned away at this stop due to the overcrowding at the school. Mr. Vickman replied that this is tracked and to his recollection this happens very infrequent and when it does it is usually the Wal-Mart stop where it occurs. 4. RIDER SURVEY Mr. Collins said the survey was conducted October 28th. He told the survey included riders and non-riders and was also available online. East Central is compiling the data from the survey and hopefully the results will be ready to share with the Board at the December meeting. TAB MINUTES 3 NOVEMBER 2014 Please contact the Transit Advisory Board at TAB@ci.oshkosh.wi.us with any questions or concerns. 5. ROUTE 10 UPDATE Mr. Collins told the Board that the City is looking at eliminating Route 10 Saturday service to reduce its budget for 2015. He explained that Winnebago County supports a good portion of the local share for Route 10 and has increased its funding by $3,000.00 leaving the city's share at $3,200.00. However this could still be cut by City Council. He further explained that Saturday ridership averages 1.9 riders each way and weekdays it averages 3 riders each way or 6 per round trip. He continued to say that the performance of that route needs improvement and there are two options that came forward from riders. East Central has planning software that will project what ridership will approximately be with a change in the route. Winnebago County is not in favor of cutting Saturday service entirely but would support cutting the frequency of service. Mr. Collins is hoping to have time to work with East Central and Winnebago County to improve ridership for this route. ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING Ms. Panske would like information about the snow removal process presented at the next meeting. Mr. Norton asked for information about the snow removal process for parking lots and private p roperty. Ms. Panske would like to discuss possible bus service on Saturday, July 4th, 2015 ADJOURNMENT There being no more items to come before the Transit Advisory Board and upon being duly moved and seconded (Hoffman, Norton), the meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m.