COMMITTEE FOR TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY MINUTES

Transcription

1 COMMITTEE FOR TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY CALL TO ORDER Wednesday, April 13, 2016 MINUTES The Regular Meeting of the Committee for Transit Accessibility (CTA) was called to order at 1:03 p.m. by Chairperson Morrow in the Auditorium, Building A, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), 3331 North First Street, San José, California. 1. ROLL CALL Attendee Name Title Status Kathy Bonilla Member Present Christine Fitzgerald Member Present Katie Heatley Ex-Officio Member Present Troy Hernandez Member Absent Jeffery Jokinen First Vice Chairperson Present Lupe Medrano Member Absent Laura Michels Member Absent Aaron Morrow Chairperson Present Lechi Nguyen Member Present David Robinson Member Absent Mark Romoser Member Present Dilip Shah Member Present Barbara Stahl Member Absent Chaitanya Vaidya Second Vice Chairperson Present Lori Williamson Member Present Hope Cahan Representative/Board Chairperson Chavez CTA Ex-Officio Absent A quorum was not present and a Committee of the Whole was declared. 2. Orders of the Day Chairperson Morrow noted the following changes to the Agenda: 1) Agenda Item #14., Determine the Committee's Chairperson, First Vice Chairperson and Second Vice Chairperson for 2016, would be deferred to the June 8, 2016 Committee meeting; 2) Agenda Item #12., Rebranding of VTA Paratransit Service, would be removed from the Consent Agenda and placed on the Regular Agenda; and 3) Agenda Item #16., Amend Committee Bylaws, would be heard after Agenda Item #18. On order of Chairperson Morrow and there being no objection, the Committee accepted the Orders of the Day North First Street San Jose, CA Administration Customer Service

2 3. INTRODUCTION OF AUDIENCE MEMBERS David Ledwitz, Management Analyst; Malahat Owrang, Transportation Planner III; John Sighamony, Senior Transportation Planner; Adam Burger, Senior Transportation Planner; Stephen Flynn, Advisory Committee Coordinator; Dawn Cameron, County of Santa Clara; and Mitsuno Baurmeister, Diversity and Inclusion Manager. 4. PUBLIC PRESENTIONS Kathy Bonilla, Interested Citizen, expressed concern with the rebranding of Outreach and the difficulty that it may pose to those Outreach clients who recognize the current brand. 5. Board of Directors Report There was no Board of Directors Report. CONSENT AGENDA 6. Regular Meeting Minutes of June 10, 2015 Whole deferred the Regular Meeting Minutes of June 10, Regular Meeting Minutes of October 7, 2015 Whole deferred the Regular Meeting Minutes of October 7, Regular Meeting Minutes of January 11, 2016 Whole deferred the Regular Meeting Minutes of January 11, Second Quarter Transit Operations Performance Report Whole received the FY2016 Second Quarter Transit Operations Performance Report. 10. April 11, 2016 Transit Service Changes Whole received a report on the April 11, 2016 Transit Service Changes. 11. Chief Operating Officer's Report Whole received the Chief Operating Officer's Report. 12. (Removed from the Consent Agenda and placed on the Regular Agenda) Receive an update on the rebranding of VTA's Paratransit Services Program. 13. Next Network Plan Whole received a report on the Next Network Plan. Committee for Transit Accessibility Minutes Page 2 of 6 April 13, 2016

3 REGULAR AGENDA 14. Determine the Committee's Chairperson, First Vice Chairperson and Second Vice Chairperson for 2016 Whole deferred conducting voting to determine the Committee's Chairperson, First Vice Chairperson and Second Vice Chairperson for Envision Silicon Valley John Sighamony, Senior Transportation Planner, provided a presentation, highlighting: 1) Presentation; 2) Stakeholders; 3) Stakeholder groups; 4) March meeting; 5) Group #1 summary and notes; 6) Group #2 summary and notes; 7) Group #3 summary and notes; 8) Group #4 summary and notes; 9) Potential category policies; and 10) Next steps. Members of the Committee made the following comments: 1) expressed disappointment with the lack of focus on persons with disabilities, seniors and low income individuals who use the system; 2) expressed concern with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5310 Program process; 3) recommended a specific percentage of the funds be dedicated to a mobility management option. Upon request from Jim Unites, Deputy Director Operations and Committee Staff Liaison, Mr. Sighamony indicated he will provide a link to the Committee which notes the May public meetings. Whole received an update on Envision Silicon Valley. The Agenda was taken out of order. 17. Transit Ridership Improvement Program (TRIP) Transit Choices Report Adam Burger, Senior Transportation Planner, provided a brief overview of the program and a presentation, highlighting: 1) Transit Ridership Improvement Program; 2) Historical trends; 3) Market Assessment; 4) Transit Service Assessment; 5) Transit service information; 6) Ridership-coverage allocation is key choice; 7) Next steps; and 8) Community engagement. Mr. Unites provided clarification and indicated analysis will be done on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) impacts. The information will be brought back to the Committee. Chairperson Morrow requested staff provide future information as soon as possible to give the Committee as much time as possible to process. Member Bonilla left the meeting at 1:38 p.m. Members of the Committee suggested the following: 1) webcast meetings for people who are not able to attend; and 2) present the current paratransit coverage in a map and ensure as much area continues to be covered as possible. Mr. Unites noted there is an online version of staff meetings as well as an interactive microsite. Committee for Transit Accessibility Minutes Page 3 of 6 April 13, 2016

4 Ex-Officio Member Heatley indicated data was previously provided regarding Outreach but it was not included in the analysis. Mr. Unites noted the study is not at that point yet but the information can be brought back to the next meeting. Members of the Committee expressed concern with the following: 1) inability to use the websites with a screen reader and requested staff address the issue or give it to an agency that can make it more user friendly; and 2) impact on paratransit budget with changes in route network. Whole received the Transit Ridership Improvement Program (TRIP) Transit Choices Report. 18. Pedestrian Access to Transit Plan Lauren Ledbetter, Transportation Planning Manager, provided a brief overview of the staff report. Malahat Owrang, Transportation Planner III, provided a presentation, highlighting: 1) Overview of the Pedestrian Access to Transit Plan; 2) Schedule and progress; 3) Focus areas; 4) Focus area selection criteria; 5) Public outreach; 6) Public survey results; 7) Public survey key findings; 8) Virtual field review and walk audits; 9) Recommendations: Pedestrian improvement toolkit; 10) Identifying deficiencies: Example focus area C; 11) Recommendations: Example focus area C; 12) Recommended projects: Example focus area C; 13) Recommended projects Projects identified in local plans example: Focus area E Central Expressway/Castro; 14) Summary of recommended projects; and 15) Next steps. Members of the Committee discussed the following: 1) no data presented on locations frequented by seniors and the disabled; 2) the need for additional funds to be set aside for bus stop improvements in the Envision Silicon Valley (ESV) plan; 3) improvements outside of focus areas; 4) focusing on areas around mobile home parks and senior housing apartments as well as senior centers; 5) making the increase in bus stop shelters a priority; and 6) next steps. Whole received the Pedestrian Access to Transit Plan update. 16. Amend Committee Bylaws Stephen Flynn, Advisory Committee Coordinator, provided a brief overview of the staff report, highlighting the recommended changes to the Bylaws. Chairperson Morrow noted he submitted a name and information of a potential applicant to Mr. Unites and requested contact be made. Members of the Committee discussed the following: 1) problems with not having a quorum; 2) determining the meeting schedule based on the workflow; 3) filling human service organization positions; 4) ensure geographical representation of the whole county; 5) meeting day and time; 6) filling the floater positions; 7) member recruitment; 8) have Committee for Transit Accessibility Minutes Page 4 of 6 April 13, 2016

5 the quorum be a certain percentage of the appointed sitting members; and 9) timeline for Board approval and implementation. Members of the Committee expressed their support for the package moving forward to the Board and requested adding language that provides flexibility in whether or not a seat is filled by an individual or an organization with the priority given to the individual. Whole received a report to Amend the Committee Bylaws. 12. Rebranding of VTA Paratransit Service Aaron Vogel, Regional Transportations Services Manager, provided an overview of the staff report. Members of the Committee discussed the following: 1) fear that changing the paratransit identity or brand will cause confusion, especially for those with cognitive disabilities; 2) look at other options and not disregard the feedback of the disabled community; 3) suggested adding a VTA Logo and saying VTA Outreach so riders still hear a name they understand; and 4) Outreach logo recognizable to those with visual impairments. Chairperson Morrow requested the item come back to the Committee for further discussion. Whole received a report on Rebranding of the VTA Paratransit Service. 19. Work Plan Update REPORTS Whole received the Work Plan Update. 20. Committee Staff Report Mr. Vogel provided brief overview of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) car card that will be placed on buses and light rails. Mr. Unites indicated this was his last meeting as the Committee Staff Liaison and noted Mr. Vogel would be taking over. He noted it was a pleasure serving the Committee and thanked them for working with him. 21. Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC)/Citizens Watchdog Committee (CWC) Report Chairperson Morrow indicated the CAC is in the process of selecting auditor Macias, Gini, and O Connel, LLP (MGO) for compliance auditing services for the 2000 Measure A Citizens Watchdog Committee. 22. Chairperson's Report Chairperson Morrow indicated he noticed a change in the FY 2015 paratransit budget from $20.8 million to $17.8 million and requested staff clarification. Committee for Transit Accessibility Minutes Page 5 of 6 April 13, 2016

6 OTHER 23. ANNOUNCEMENTS There were no Announcements. 24. ADJOURNMENT On order of Chairperson Morrow and there being no objection, the meeting was adjourned at 3:02 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Menominee L. McCarter, Board Assistant VTA Office of the Board Secretary Committee for Transit Accessibility Minutes Page 6 of 6 April 13, 2016