pages: TransportationCommission/2016-05-25.pdf, 8
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TransportationCommission | 2016-05-25 | 8 | whole framework comes into place they would be able to provide a solution for everyone. Eric Schatmeier spoke as an Alameda resident and said he was in opposition to the staff proposal for three reasons: 1. The plan is inconsistent with the three elements the Commission specified should be a requirement for approval for any future plan; 2. The plan is technically flawed and incomplete and 3. He felt the plan was developed in a vacuum. He explained that in the proposal staff focused on one of the three elements included in endorsing the last plan and he wanted to emphasis the other two, which are maintenance and growth of ferry ridership and the provision of adequate parking at the ferry terminal. He felt if the plan is implemented in January 2017 as proposed there is a real danger of reversing ridership gains the ferry has achieved and pushing usage down that would result in eliminating 100 daily parking opportunities and then charging a fee for the few scarce spaces that would be left. He said the fee represents $40 to $80 per month added to regular ferry fares that are already higher than comparable BART and AC Transbay bus fares. He explained that he did not know of any demand modeling that would not predict the loss of ridership because of raising the fare 20-40%. The staff report explained that parking charges encouraged customers to look for alternative ways to get to the ferry station, but analysis, ridership surveys or demand modeling did not back up this assertion. Also, he said the plan does include what ferry customers who do drive would be willing to pay to park, what will result when various fee levels are implemented, or if there is a contingency plan to determine what the City and WETA would do to get ferry riders back if the program is scrapped because it failed. He stated that the Commission did not approve a principal that said provide adequate parking or shuttle services. The Commission focused on parking because the unfortunate reality is that shuttle services are not adequate alternatives. He provided a press release from Marin County where Golden Gate Transit under pressure of exploding ferry ridership implemented the Wave Shuttle service to meet peak period boats. The article said two of the three routes were being discontinued because of low ridership. He pointed out that the Golden Gate Ferry boats are double the size of Alameda's boats and run almost triple of the frequency, so how could the shuttle service work in Alameda. He said as a user of transportation he would love to get people to use public transit for their entire work trip, but many will not and if commuters opt to give half their trip to public transit than he called that a win. He felt the plan was devoid of details regarding the number of shuttle vehicles that would be deployed, how many motorists could park at the satellite parking areas, what capital resources would be available and how the parking charges would cover parts of the plan's costs. Furthermore, he said with the issue of planning in a vacuum the plan involves multiple constituencies, but the plan ignores ferry riders who should be part of the conversation. He believed the riders may react negatively and vent their anger at a public meeting or they will quit riding the ferry altogether. Ultimately, he felt the plan as implemented and written would be counterproductive to the City and state's transportation goals and the Commission should insist on something better. Kevin Connolly thanked Jennifer Ott and Liam Garland for their hard work on this piece of planning. He emphasized that this plan is currently in the concept phase and the devil is in the details and he acknowledged the HOAs and their work. He explained that ridership is booming and a person not getting in their car to commute is a positive thing. He expected initially that ridership may flatten or reduce and there will be some short-term pain, but the activity is not sustainable and impacts the surrounding neighborhoods. He said alternative options are necessary and building structure garages is not an option, but satellite parking is potentially an option that must be paired with shuttle service. He explained that WETA ferry service operates Page 8 of 17 | TransportationCommission/2016-05-25.pdf |