2023-05-03-AHTC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEETING MINUTES For May 3rd Ad Hoc Transportation Committee Meeting began at 9.10am Participants present:Deepika Sawhney,Bridger McGaw,Varda Haimo,Sally Castleman, Howard Cloth,Carolyn Kosnoff,and Joe Pato. We were unable to approve the minutes as some members were unable to open the documents.We will be sending documents as pdfs or Microsoft word in the future. We discussed the Path Forward deliverables.Deepika mentioned the vulnerable segments of our population who may be dependent on mass transport and the need to include their feedback.Namely:The mobility impaired,the senior citizens who cannot drive,the economically vulnerable who dont have cars or means to transport themselves,including employees of in town commercial establishments,and students who may not have access to cars or have driving licenses etc.Not sure how to get adequate numbers of survey responses unless some extreme measure was taken -such as messaging that the ‘Lexpress was on the chopping block’ to get everyone’s attention. Varda explained how figuring out what town employers need in terms of mass transport for employees will require a regional solution.This information has been convered in the TriTown study.The need for investment to make an effective regional solution was not met with the various town managers’approval.Therefore it would not be an effective use of her time to do such a survey.The issue with lexpress is that of funding and the various cuts made to it over the years.That has led to the reduction in service and also the covid impact has led to ridership loss. Varda,Bridger:agreed on the need to figure out how to increase the funding for the Lexpress through builders projects etc in Lexington.One suggestion was to look to the Tritown recommendations to see what is possible given our funding. Importance of funding to create more flexible frequent services was voiced by many. Ms.Kosnoff explained how the builders'payments were mitigation funds for traffic, environmental impact etc etc.It was difficult to push builders for Lexpress funds when the service did not go to their sites.Many commercial concerns therefore were using their own shuttles etc to transporter employees.TDM -talk to town manager and town counsel,the funds arent enough,TDM is mitigation money,their developments.We cant ask them from Lexpress money when we arent serving their area.Especially if their employees arent getting there via the Lexpress.The Large commercial developments are outside the lexpress service areas. Sally’s memo was also talked about.Finding funding sources,new fees would be helpful, however parking meter funds are already allocated to town’s expenses,its decreased a lot lately and is already dedicated funds.And she expressed a willingness to look into micro transit optins