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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-01-07-TAC-minTransportation Advisory Committee (TAC) Minutes — January 7, 2013 TAC Members Present: Sara Arnold, Francine Stieglitz, Sally Castleman, Elaine Dratch, Michael Boudett TAC Members Absent: Bill Levison, Peter Levy Staff: Jeanette Rebecchi, Charlotte Rodgers Liaisons: Nancy Adler, Council of Aging; Hank Manz, Board of Selectmen Guest: Judy Crocker, Chair, School Transportation and Safety Study Committee 1. Appreciation: The Committee expressed its appreciation to Sara Arnold for her many years as TAC chair. 2. School Transportation and Flexpass Update: Judy Crocker reported the following: • Town Meeting approved $315,000 in the town budget to subsidize school bus costs in 2012 -2013. • The school department only used $265,000. • The school budget request for 2013 -2014 includes $422,000 to subsidize school bus transportation costs; there will be six additional buses. • There are 611 school bus riders this school year; this is 41% of the school population, which is equivalent to the percent of school bus riders in 2002. • 255 students paid $50 extra to purchase a F1exPass for the current year as compared to 139 last year • Lexpress was given almost $13,000 for the F1exPass sales; this is added to Lexpress fares. • The proposed school bus fee for next year remains at $300 /student ($750 /family), but the proposed deadline will be May 10; after May 10 the proposed fee will increase to $722 (the actual cost) per student. Some committee members expressed concern that the deadline date for purchasing a school bus pass is so early and the penalty seems extreme. Ms. Crocker pointed out that the school department has to make a commitment to the school bus company by May 10 and then the routes have to be established. It was moved and seconded to support a continuation of the $50 surcharge for the F1exPass during the 2013 -2014 school year. VOTE: 5 -0 3. Transportation Forum: Francine Stieglitz reviewed the items that were discussed at the December Transportation Forum: • There is going to be a Lexington bike /walk/bus week in the spring. Grove Street will be paved and a conduit to Hanscom will be installed next summer. Plans are being developed to address congestion at the intersections of Maple and Mass. Ave. and Pleasant and Mass. Ave., and public hearings will be held; this is a potential TIP project. 4. Planning Board Review of By -Laws: The Planning Board is beginning a review of the By- Laws tomorrow night, January 9. At some point they may be looking at the Transportation Demand Management component. Ms. Dratch will discuss this with Richard Canale to determine if and when TAC should be involved. 5. Minutes: It was moved and seconded to approve the December 10, 2012 Minutes, as amended. VOTE: 5 -0 6. Lexington Bike/Walk/Bus Week: Ms. Rebecchi shared an outline of ideas that are being explored for this May 5 -11 event. She explained that this project is in the early planning stages. Ideas for Lexpress include free tickets, supporting a scavenger hunt and a transit trivia challenge. Ms. Castleman suggested that students might be interested in getting involved. 7. Transportation Services Update: Ms. Rebecchi provided data on ridership for the past six months. Comparing the first half of FY13 with the same period FY10 through FY12, ridership and revenue have remained relatively stable. FY09 shows higher ridership and revenue; there is no information to indicate why. 8. Route Changes: Ms. Rebecchi reported that the Town is exploring ways to provide transportation alternatives to Hartwell Avenue, the commercial area around Hartwell Ave./Bedford St. and Katandin at Hartwell Ave./Wood St. Route 6 is only carrying passengers on its early morning and mid to late afternoon routes. She provided a map showing an alternative Route 6 that runs on Hancock St., Grove St., Eldred St., Hartwell Ave., Wood St. and Mass. Ave. Committee members expressed concern about this change. It isn't clear who would use the bus on this route. It was suggested that a shuttle between Hartwell and Alewife might be more successful than Lexpress conducting this loop. It was agreed to discuss this again at a future meeting. Ms. Rebecchi said she has been looking at the low ridership hours on Lexpress and has considered deviated routes. Deviated routes require short basic routes that consist of spokes in a wheel. The current Lexpress routes are too long for this. This is a long range planning issue. 9. Mid -Day Free Rides: This is a popular program. The buses are carrying 10 -20 more passengers during off -peak hours. It was suggested that a participating passenger be interviewed to help us understand the pros and cons of the program and how it might be improved. 10. Meeting Dates: The Committee is scheduled to meet on the second Monday of the month at 2:30 p.m. The next meeting is on February 11. Materials Used at the Meeting: Proposed School Transportation Parent Fees, January 3, 2013 handout prepared by Ad hoc School Transportation & Study Committee; Lexington Bike/Walk /Bus Week, outline distributed by Jeanette Rebecchi; Lexpress Ridership Annual Summary: July 2012 - December 2012 prepared by Jeanette Rebecchi; Lexpress 5 Year Summary (July- December ONLY) 2 prepared by Jeanette Rebecchi; Lexpress ridership and revenue graphs: 5 year history prepared by Jeanette Rebecchi; New Route 6? map prepared by Jeanette Rebecchi Recorder: Sara Arnold