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Home My WebLink About2018-06-05-TAC-min Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) minutes June 5, 2018 Members present: Bill Levison, Hank Manz, Co-Chairs; Sara Arnold, Andra Bennett, Sally Castleman, Elaine Dratch, Member Absent: Su Shen Liaison: Bob Creech, Planning Board Staff: Susan Barrett Guest: Pamela Lyon Mr. Levison called the meeting to order at 7:10 PM, Rm. 245, Community Center Public Comments: Ms. Barrett reviewed some comments from Discovery Day, as well as a contact from Michael Martignetti. There was some question about what the Town had formally agreed to for the Manor House housing complex, regarding Lexpress service. Ms. Barrett will examine this. Changes to service, beyond Emerson Garden pull-in and the proposed 7:30AM change, will need to wait until the Transportation Study is complete Minutes of May 14, 2018- Moved by Ms. Arnold and accepted unanimously. Grant Project- Regionalization- Foursquare ITP chosen as vendor. Kick-off meeting June 13. Lexpress- refer to attachments. Discussion regarding the currently unused time slot of 7:30- 8 AM: Presently, Lexpress starts at 6:30, with a % hour break at 7:30. This break is paid for by the town. Tests must be done to ensure that a timely return to the Depot can be scheduled if the buses operate at 7:30 AM. Issues are: • Fears by drivers that bus will be late, which they dislike. • Filling that time slot will cause drivers to exceed Govt. daily time limits, which in turn means that M&L would need to find substitute drivers. • If 6:30- 7 AM route, which has extremely low ridership, is eliminated, drivers lose weekly pay, contractor loses hours, and four regular riders lose service. Ms. Arnold moved that TAC approve additional odd- numbered route at 7:30 (or 7:35 for the odd- numbered routes and 8:05 for the even-numbered routes, if that works better.)TAC approved Ms. Barrett studying timing issue further to determine action. Also moved that this should not be a "pilot program" but should continue through Fiscal Year 2019. Motion Unanimously Approved School Start time discussion. LPS is considering different start times for each grade level grouping. Ms. Barrett sent a letter to LPS noting that Lexpress does not currently have large enough buses to handle the potential increased capacity if large volumes of students needed to arrive/depart at same time via Lexpress. She suggested that start times be staggered for traffic alleviation. Transportation Update. See attached info. Recommendations for Goal Setting from TAC were submitted to the Selectmen. Lexpress brochure/map. Based on some info on the MBTA Lexpress map, discussion was to include more public transportation options, such as the REV, the MBTA bus routes, and the Alewife/Waltham (AWF) commuter line, as well as Flexpass. The point is to educate people about all services, so that they can further explore their options. Discussion included how to best incorporate this info for best visibility. Lex Connect. Because of higher-than-expected usage by Brookhaven residents and other users, Lex- Connect, which is funded through private donations, is running out of money. Ms. Barrett and Charlotte Rodgers will meet with Brookhaven, which donated $1500 toward costs in FY19, to explore increasing their support of the service. Ridership Reports Ms. Barrett is hosting a Lexpress Workshop on Saturday,June 16th for people of all ages. This is in response to the people who were on a waiting list for the Middle School Learn Lexpress event, but it is open to anyone with an interest in learning more about Lexpress. Writing Minutes Mr. Levison presented an outline of Guidelines for Formatting and Reviewing TAC Minutes. Future Meeting Dates were chosen. All meetings to be from 7-9 PM in Room 245 at the Community Center. Dates:July 16, August 13, Sept. 17, Oct. 15, Nov. 12, Dec. 10. Meeting adjourned at 8:55 PM. Respectfully submitted, Elaine Dratch The following materials were used at the meeting: Meeting Agenda TAC Minutes from May 14, 2018 Goal Setting Memo Memo to TAC from S. Barrett-Transportation Update Guidelines for Formatting and Reviewing Minutes Ridership Reports- 2017,2018, May 2018 Memo to LPS regarding Potential HS Transit Options Transportation Commuter Patterns-graphic Sample brochure/Lexpress Maps