{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-01-22", "page": 1, "text": "Transportation Commission Minutes:\nWednesday, January 22, 2014\nCommissioner Jesus Vargas called the Transportation Commission to order at 7:00 p.m.\n1.\nRoll Call\nRoll was called and the following was recorded:\nMembers Present:\nJesus Vargas (Chair)\nChristopher Miley (Vice Chair)\nGregory Morgado\nMichele Bellows\nEric Schatmeier\nMembers Absent:\nSandy Wong\nThomas G. Bertken\nStaff Present:\nStaff Payne, Transportation Coordinator\nStaff Patel, Public Works Transportation Engineer\nStaff Haun, Public Works Director\n2.\nAgenda Changes\nNone.\n3.\nAnnouncements / Public Comments\nCommissioner Schatmeier mentioned that the AC Transit Board approved the fare changes and\nhe was unable to attend the board meeting to see if they reviewed the Commission's comments.\nHe then said fare changes would take effect in July 2014.\nJim Strehlow, Alameda resident, stated that he was unable to attend the November Commission\nmeeting. He referred to the Alameda Point plan and saw too many streets that were coded to\nhave cycle tracks on the presentation map. He urged the Commission to review the budget to\nmake sure funds are spent wisely.\nStaff Patel replied there was a presentation from the Planning Board and the plan has not gone to\nthe City Council for approval.\nCommissioner Miley said that just because the map and routes are in the plan does not prevent\nCity staff and the Commission from looking at other options.", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-01-22.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-01-22", "page": 2, "text": "Page 2 of 7\nCommissioner Bellows asked for clarification on whether the plan required complete\nconstruction of the cycle tracks. If not, then we would put a hierarchy in place and figure out the\nbest use for the money.\n4.\nConsent Calendar\n4A.\nTransportation Commission and Planning Board Minutes:\nWednesday, October 23, 2013\nCommissioner Vargas called for a motion to approve the meeting minutes.\nCommissioner Bellows moved to approve the meeting minutes. Commissioner Miley seconded\nthe motion. The motion was approved 5-0.\n4B.\nTransportation Commission Minutes:\nWednesday, December 11, 2013\nStaff Payne stated that she would carry the approval over to the next Transportation Commission\nmeeting.\n4C.\nQuarterly Report on Activities Related to Transportation Policies and Plans\nCommissioner Miley asked if there was a completion date set for the Webster Smart Corridor\nProject.\nStaff Patel replied that the construction is done and the next step is integration. The Alameda\nCounty Transportation Commission (ACTC) contractor installed Intelligent Transportation\nSystem (ITS) elements along the project limits.\nCommissioner Miley referred to the I-880 North at 23rd and 29th Avenue Interchange project and\nrequested that ACTC staff present any updates to the Commission for the next meeting.\nStaff Patel said he requested ACTC to present their updates with the Transportation Commission\nand City Council.\nCommissioner Miley asked staff if a date was set for construction.\nStaff Patel replied construction is set for sometime this summer. The public can obtain\ninformation about the project on the Caltrans website. However, he said staff wants to find out\nhow ACTC intends to manage closures, traffic mitigation, and the coordination of other Bay\nArea projects near the City.\nCommissioner Vargas called for a motion to approve the Quarterly Report.\nCommissioner Miley moved to approve the Quarterly Report. Commissioner Bellows seconded\nthe motion. The motion was approved 5-0.", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-01-22.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-01-22", "page": 3, "text": "Page 3 of 7\n4D.\nTransportation Priority List Update\nCommissioner Vargas called for a motion to approve the updated priority list.\nCommissioner Bellows moved to approve the updated priority list. Commissioner Miley\nseconded the motion. The motion was approved 5-0.\n5.\nNew Business\n5A.\nShore Line Drive/Westline Drive Bikeway Project: Revised Eastern Section and\nParking Inventory\nStaff Payne presented the update.\nCommissioner Vargas opened the floor to public comments.\nBert Morgan, resident of Shore Line Drive, stated the City overlooked the inadequate number of\ncrosswalks for the neighborhood. He further explained that Grand Street and Westline Drive\nhave two crosswalks and towards Alameda South Shore Center there are two crosswalks. He felt\nthat many people cross midblock while cyclists and cars speed around them. He worried that the\nplan represents a hazard because the traffic on Shore Line Drive is increasing, and there will be\nmore with the development of Alameda Point.\nJoyce Larrick, resident of Shorepoint Court, said her cul-de-sac is across from Crown Memorial\nBeach and there are over 800 residential units within the area. She stated that there is only one\ncrosswalk that goes over to the park and she is concerned with the lack of a crosswalk at\nWestline Drive. Ultimately, she wants the City to focus on overall safety in the neighborhood.\nKlaus Schniedergers, resident near Shore Line Drive, felt the side streets are difficult to exit with\na car or bicycle, and he wanted to make sure there is support to keep the area safe.\nBruce Kibby, local bicyclist, thought it would be a good idea to have a cycle track along Shore\nLine Drive. Additionally, he felt City staff cleverly resolved the issues pertaining to pedestrian\nsafety, handicap parking and visibility. He approved the project.\nPhyllis Klein commutes to school every day and travels along Shore Line Drive. She felt that\nthere is a lot of traffic on Shore Line Drive, and was concerned about the potential lack of\nparking for residents in the evening.\nJon Spangler, Alameda resident and a League of American Cycling Instructor, said he helped to\nrefine the Alameda Bike Plan in 1999. He explained that the current plan is much better than\nwhat was first introduced by City staff. Moreover, he mentioned that Fernside Drive has\na\nsimilar treatment, but carries 2-3 times as much traffic and Shore Line Drive is not meant to be a\ncommuter route for cars.", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-01-22.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-01-22", "page": 4, "text": "Page 4 of 7\nCommissioner Morgado referred to Mr. Morgan's comments and said if a bicyclist runs a stop\nsign they could be cited for a traffic violation. He asked Sergeant Simmons if the police could\nfocus on writing citations in the area.\nSergeant Simmons, Alameda Police Traffic Section Supervisor, said that it is an issue all over the\nCity and they are focusing on that issue citywide.\nCommissioner Schatmeier referred to Mr. Spangler's comments on the plan and how it improved\ndue to public involvement. He felt that it was a better plan due to public input and he would like\nto acknowledge that the process helped to produce those comments and the refinements to the\nplan.\nCommissioner Vargas applauded staff's work and the inclusion of a summary of changes to the\nplan.\nCommissioner Vargas requested a motion from the Commission.\nCommissioner Miley moved to approve staff recommendations. Commissioner Schatmeier\nseconded the motion. The motion was approved 5-0.\n5B.\nCity of Alameda Paratransit Program Annual Review\nStaff Payne presented the report.\nCommissioner Schatmeier said he reviewed the paratransit service performance graphs and there\nis a huge upwards spike for taxi service in the first part of 2010-2011 fiscal years. He wanted to\nknow the reason for the spike.\nStaff Payne replied that at the time the City did not provide a shuttle and the City did not have\nrestrictions on distance for the medical return taxi subsidy. The results showed users traveling\nfrom different counties for appointments. The City sought to constrain the costs while\nmaintaining service. Staff Payne stated that the current subsidy only allows users to travel within\nAlameda County and users receive only five vouchers per month.\nCommissioner Schatmeier explained that the cost control narrative says that shuttles are the most\nefficient way to provide service, but the taxi service is $5 per trip, which is a third of the cost of\nthe shuttle trips. He felt that it makes sense to preserve the $5 per trip cost and to encourage more\ntaxi trips. He thought that this would be the best option because taxi service is available seven\ndays a week and the shuttle service is only available three days a week. Thus, if you want to\nprovide the most service then provide the option with the greatest availability to people.\nStaff Payne replied that the goal of the shuttle service was to have the service implemented over\ntime with demand increasing as well and then the operating costs would reduce.\nCommissioner Schatmeier stated that he approved of paratransit service, but he wanted the\nservice to be meaningful and accessible. He viewed the best passenger count documented was", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-01-22.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-01-22", "page": 5, "text": "Page 5 of 7\nJuly 2012. When he heard the plan that asked for a budget increase, he wanted to make sure\nstaff reviewed where access was needed and where the greatest number of people accessed the\nservice. Ultimately, he urged the Commission to be vigilant about how the money is spent and\nreview with a critical eye. Additionally, he was interested in erecting a route map around the\nshuttle stops.\nStaff Payne replied that staff will purchase schedule holders for the stops. She wanted to know if\nCommissioner Schatmeier approved the schedule holders along with requesting a route map.\nCommissioner Schatmeier replied yes.\nCommissioner Miley said the Oakland Broadway Shuttle displays their route map clearly.\nAdditionally, he does not have major issues with the increase to the program, but he is concerned\nwith the financial impact. Specifically, he was concerned with implementing service and then\neventually having to cut it back. He asked staff about the timeline for service increases and their\nplan once they have to cut back on services.\nStaff Payne said the infusion of funds was from a one-time capital project fix such as benches\nand bus stop schedule holders. It is an increase to the budget this one time and taken care of the\nnext fiscal year. She explained the increase in funds would increase the number of vouchers for\nthe subsidized taxi programs. If the funds are used, staff would revert back to the number of\nvouchers they usually give. However, she felt a public forum would be needed to review the\nreduction of services.\nCommissioner Miley asked Staff Payne if the decrease in funds would be from the amount that it\nis increasing for this year.\nStaff Payne said every year there is a base budget amount of around $150,000 for the next fiscal\nyear. When adding together the costs of the paratransit program, they would have to dip into the\nprogram's reserve to pay for the costs. They were advised to dip into the reserve to not lose the\nmoney they initially received.\nCommissioner Miley asked staff if the reserve was held by ACTC.\nStaff Payne replied yes, through ACTC from Measure B funds.\nCommissioner Miley asked if the City and East Bay Paratransit (EBP) meet to discuss issues or\nbest practices.\nStaff Payne replied when they survey passengers, they ask questions pertaining to the City\nprogram and EBP. She said after the survey results are reported, they pass the information along\nto EBP. Moreover, she said Alameda's subsidized taxi and shuttle program help to close the gap\nfor EBP service because the EBP service requires passengers to reserve 24 hours ahead of time.\nCommissioner Schatmeier asked staff if the survey includes all three of the services that are\nprovided in Alameda. He also wanted to know if there are questions asking about service", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-01-22.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-01-22", "page": 6, "text": "Page 6 of 7\npreference especially since services could increase or decrease in the future.\nStaff Payne replied that the survey asks questions about all the paratransit services yet there are\nno questions about service preference, which could be a question added in the future.\nCommissioner Vargas asked staff if there is a difference with wheelchair accommodations\nbetween taxis and shuttles.\nStaff Payne replied that the shuttle has two wheelchair spaces and not all taxis have wheelchair\naccess. The one issue they have is that most taxis have a separate special rate for wheelchairs,\nwhile one taxi company (Welcome) installed a taxi meter onto their wheelchair van.\nCommissioner Vargas asked staff if many of the users leave from senior care centers to doctor\nvisits.\nStaff Payne referred to Figure 2 and said a total of 35 trips per month are taken from medical\nappointments to home.\nCommissioner Miley asked staff where the majority of passengers are traveling.\nStaff Payne replied they tend to be from Mastick Senior Center, Trader Joe's Shopping Center\nand residents of group homes.\nCommissioner Vargas requested a motion from the Commission.\nCommissioner Vargas moved to approve staff recommendations. Commissioner Schatmeier\nseconded the motion. The motion was approved 5-0.\n6.\nStaff Communications\n6A.\nStaff Communications\nStaff Payne replied that the next Commission meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 26,\n2014 and the following items would be discussed:\nStaff from the Water Emergency Transportation Authority is expected to attend the\nmeeting.\nPark Street Pedestrian Safety Project\nCommissioner Miley asked staff to invite ACTC to the next meeting.\n7.\nAnnouncements/ Public Comments\nJim Strehlow commended the City's Public Works Department because they swiftly cleaned the\nmain corridors and side streets after a fierce windstorm in December.", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-01-22.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-01-22", "page": 7, "text": "Page 7 of 7\nCommissioner Miley commended the City's Public Works Department and the Police\nDepartment for their work in December as well.\nCommissioner Vargas welcomed the new Public Works Director Bob Haun.\nBob Haun, Public Works Director, said they responded to the wind storm at 7:30 pm that night\nand worked straight through until 4:30 am the next day. He commended all the staff for their\nefforts in clearing the debris.\nCommissioner Vargas asked Bob Haun about the City's water conservation efforts.\nBob Haun replied that they are working on a report for the City Council due February 4th and\nthey plan to make a 20% reduction of water use that might result in some brown turf areas\naround town.\nJon Spangler stated that he is a member of the BART Bicycle Task Force representing Alameda\nCounty. He said on October 21, 2013 BART implemented new bike rules that allow bicycles on\nall trains in all directions with the exception of the first three cars during commute hours and the\nfirst car during all hours. He explained that the policy is successful so far and all indications look\ngood. In the meantime, BART's demonstration cars will arrive this year and there is a road show\nschedule available on the BART website.\n8.\nAdjournment\n8:10 pm", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-01-22.pdf"}