City of Lawrence

Public Transit Advisory Committee

City Commission Room, First Floor of City Hall

November 13, 2017 minutes

MEMBERS PRESENT:	Alan Black, Heather Thies, Mark Hurt, Sarah Trumble, Lance Fahy, Zachary Kelsay
MEMBERS ABSENT:	James Pavision, John Augusto
STAFF PRESENT:	Robert Nugent, Wendy Koerner, Mike Sweeten, Serena Pearson, Danny Kaiser
PUBLIC PRESENT:	None

1. Call to Order

Alan Black, Chair, called the meeting to order at 4:15. Quorum met.

2. Approval of Minutes (Action Item)

Minutes from the October 9, 2017 PTAC meeting were presented to PTAC members for approval. There was a motion from Heather Thies to approve the minutes, Mark Hurt seconded, all in favor, no opposed.

3. Sales Tax Referendum – Bob Nugent explained that the sales tax referendum passed with 70 percent voting in favor of renewal of the 10 year .2 percent sales tax for transit in Lawrence. The group agreed that this was a community effort and validation of transit accomplishments in Lawrence over the last 10 years.

4. 2018 Service Planning Approach – Bob Nugent said that we could change some routes and base service on demand on current routes. This lends itself to a couple of questions: Do all routes need to cover the city from 6am to 8pm? What level of service do you need to have on routes and do we need that level all day? Should we put a second bus on a route during busy times?

Lance Fahy said that we may want to look at Route 3. There seems to be some issues with that route. He also said that there are areas on the Route 4 around Iowa and 9^th Street that may need more service. Bob replied that he agreed that we need to look at these routes a little closer and make a determination of what to do.

City Commission would need to be involved and give some direction in these areas. This would not give us a big change of service, but may put us on a different path.

Lance Fahy also mentioned that there are issues with people getting off the bus into grassy areas or holes that can be dangerous. Bob mentioned that sidewalks are a concern in this community. As we start into the amenities program, we will be pouring concrete. Wendy Koerner mentioned to Lance that if he sees holes at a particular bus stop to contact her and she will try to remedy the situation.

5. 2018 Amenities Plan (Action Item) – Bob Nugent stated that there has been a lot of discussion about improving amenities in our system (shelters, benches, etc.) With a transit center in the works, we have postponed putting out amenities since routes will be restructured and ridership may change in certain areas. There is money programmed into the 2018 CIP and there is a list of bus stops that are needing amenities. The list of future and improved amenities at bus stops is based on numbers obtained through the comprehensive operational analysis. This is a multi-year project. Zach Kelsay motioned to accept plan, Sarah Trumble seconded. All in favor, no opposed.

6. Vehicle Acquisition Plan (Action Item) – Bob Nugent explained that there is a list of paratransit vehicles that are past their lifetime in both years and mileage and need to be replaced.

He explained that we are looking at replacing those nine paratransit vehicles. This item will need to go before the City Commission for approval. The older vehicles will be retired once the new vehicles come in. If approved, we should have them within a year.

Zach Kelsay motion to approve, Heather Thies second, all approve, no opposed.

7. Updates:

a. Transit Center – The study is still going on and two surveys have been done. There will be a public meeting on November 29th. Many sites are being looked at and there is a good team of consultants.