HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-02-27-TGC-final-rpt Report of the Transportation Ad Hoc Study Committee
(Presented and Accepted by the Board of Selectmen on February 27,2012)
The Ad Hoc Study Committee was tasked to
• Review and make recommendations to the BOS for a new committee(s) structure to streamline
the oversight of transportation and safety related policies
• Specifically identify redundancies and overlap of responsibilities and recommend an improved
organizational oversight model.
Members represented the following boards and committees
Selectmen: Hank Manz and Norman Cohen
Planning Board: Michelle Ciccolo and Richard Canale
Transportation Advisory Committee: Bill Levison, Sara Arnold (alternate)
Traffic Safety Advisory Committee: Dave Cannon
Bicycle Advisory Committee: Peggy Enders
Sidewalk Advisory Committee:Jerry Van Hook
At Large:Jeanne Krieger, Chair
Staff: Linda Vine and Maryann McCall-Taylor
Background and Problem Statement
Lexington has serious transportation issues that are difficult to remedy, are often contentious
and cannot all be solved locally. We endure the impacts of overcapacity highways, cut-through
commuter traffic and inadequate public transportation. Neither Lexington nor the State invests
adequately in solutions. Lexington has not addressed the challenge of increasing automobile traffic by
embracing a sustainable transportation strategy.
It is a time honored Lexington tradition to form a committee when confronted with a thorny
issue. There are at least 17 committees involved in addressing transportation and safety issues
(Appendix i). Some of these Committees have been in existence for 30 years; most for nearly a decade
and one was launched during the tenure of the ad hoc Study Committee.The charges of the Committees
have changed little during this period, but there have been important changes in the Town's capacity to
deal with traffic related issues.
o New staff alignment-cfTransportation Program Recommendations, September 6, 2011
(Appendix ii)
o Enhanced staff expertise, relieving committees of day-to day operations involvement,
o Increased awareness of traffic issues due to the advocacy of the many committees, resulting in
increased public demand for more alternatives, such as bike and pedestrian accommodations,
as well as improved transit. Nonetheless there is
o Ever increasing congestion on Lexington streets.
The Transportation Element of the Lexington's Comprehensive Plan 1 offers a policy on
transportation for the Town. Despite the existence of this Plan, it is not clear how decisions are made or
by whom. The committees tend to be advocates for a portion of transportation and are often left to
operate on their own with little apparent input given, or sought,from the Board of Selectmen or the
Planning Board. In general, it is unclear how decisions are made and by whom, what the guidelines are
for making decisions, and what committee has jurisdiction over what. Communication and coordination
among the committees is lacking with the exception of information provided by liaisons who are
affiliated with one or more committees. The State administered federal transportation funding process,
the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) process, is not well understood and the Town may be
missing opportunities or moving projects along at a slower pace than could be realized with greater
attention.
All of these factors underscore the necessity of streamlining our approach to traffic issues to
ensure that resources are deployed effectively and focused on commonly accepted objectives.
Resources and Tools
Staff Involvement and the Role of Liaisons
Of the ten committee memberships analyzed (Appendix iii), 20 of the 91 members are liaisons;
six are staff. Several liaisons are affiliated with more than one committee. The significance of these
observations is open to interpretation when one considers that this ad hoc committee of 12 has two
assigned staff.
Committee members value their liaisons and staff, who keep them informed and advise how to
get things done. Regular attendance by liaisons and staff is preferred over sporadic attendance.
Transportation Committees, simply due to their number, are demanding of staff and liaisons. Those
serving as liaisons are constrained by time limitations and cannot attend all meetings.They view
themselves as committee resources, rather than participants. A more comprehensive review of liaison
roles is being conducted by Selectmen Deb Mauger.
The Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan 1
The Comprehensive Plan, adopted by the Planning Board in 2003, was forward thinking and
includes items yet to be done. It should be consulted. The values espoused in the Plan are as valid now
as they were nearly a decade ago. This is a document that can provide direction to both committees and
staff and assure focus on commonly accepted objectives.
Recommendations
Dissolve the Traffic Mitigation Group (TMG)
The TMG was intended to fulfill two functions:
a) Coordinate review of traffic related issues resulting from new development and
b) Recommend and administer traffic mitigation projects.
The TMG never functioned as intended, largely because as a committee of volunteers it lacked
the expertise to fulfill the charge and was set up with more responsibility than authority. Aspects of the
TMG role are conducted now by the Selectmen. TMG did attempt to identify and address broad
transportation issues. There continues to be a need to coordinate and communicate transportation
initiatives.
Establish a Quarterly Transportation Review
Conduct three or four meetings of all the Boards, committees and staff, including public safety,
involved in transportation planning and implementation to review programs and match objectives
against the Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan. Improved communication from these
sessions should reduce redundancy, identify synergies among the committees and align priorities. As
common goals are identified,the benefits of joint meetings and consolidating committees may be
recognized. By sharing information broadly, pressure on liaisons and staff to serve as conduits will be
relieved and the need to attend regularly scheduled meetings reduced.
A suggested schedule of reporting is attached (Appendix iv). Given the volume of information,
each group will be asked to present their programs twice during the year. Timing of these presentations
should be planned to coincide with the budgeting and funding cycle to assure that initiatives are aligned
with available resources.
All transportation related committee members should be encouraged to attend these review
sessions to ensure that information is broadly shared. Other town committees e.g. Tourism, Historic
Districts Commission (HDC), Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC), may find the topics
covered in the review sessions relevant to their missions.
Reporting data at these sessions will measure progress and support prioritizations. A few
metrics to be reported are suggested in Appendix iv, assuming collection of this data does not provide
an additional burden to staff. Other metrics may be identified by the group.
Attention should be given to the interface between the public and the various committees and
staff functions, perhaps through clarification of roles on the Town's website and related publications. It
is difficult for the average resident to know where to go or how to start getting transportation related
concerns addressed.
At a minimum these sessions should improve communication among the various committees
and Boards, serve to align priorities, focus resources and may even lead to more opportunities for
consolidation of committees.This is an evolving process designed to maximize the efficient transfer of
information. At the end of the first year,the governance issues should be examined again and the
review process evaluated.
Dissolve this Committee
Reference
1) http://www.lexingtonma.gov/planning/FinalTransportation Element.pdf
Appendix i Transportation Committees
1. Those with charters that explicitly mention Transportation: Lexington only
a. Bicycle Advisory Committee
b. Greenway Corridor Committee (off-road)
c. Estabrook School Access Ad Hoc Task Force
d. Lexington Center Committee
e. Sidewalk Committee
f. Traffic Mitigation Group
g. Traffic Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC)
h. Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)
i. Ad Hoc Committee on School Transportation (is there a charge yet for this)?
2. Those with charters that explicitly mention Transportation: Regional
a. 128 Central Corridor Coalition
b. Hanscom Area Town Selectmen Committee (HATS)
c. Hanscom Field Advisory Committee (HFAC)
d. Scenic Byway Working Group
e. Minuteman Advisory Group on Interlocal Coordination (MAGIC)
3. Those with charges that don't mention transportation but have not been deterred from dealing
with transportation issues anyway
a. Disability Commission
b. Tourism Committee
4. Those that don't deal with Transportation, but should
a. Economic Development Advisory Committee—Should have development and
monitoring of Transportation Management Association (TMA) as part of its charge
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Appendix ii
To: Carl Valente, Town Manager
From: Linda Crew Vine, Deputy Town Manager
Subject: Transportation Program Recommendation
Date: September 6, 2011
The staff team that was tasked with working on the Transportation Goal endorsed by the
Board of Selectmen at their 2011 Goal Setting has completed the attached draft report.
Contained in this packet you will find the following:
• A copy of the Transportation Planning Goal and associated tasks
• Summary of Options that were considered by the group
• Recommendation to adopt Option 3 and reorganize Human Services, Planning and
Police Departments
We recommend the following next steps:
1. Report back to the Board of Selectmen on 9/12/2011 and ask for their consideration
of this recommendation. Section 9 (b) of the Selectmen-Town Manager Act
requires the Selectmen to "reorganize...departments...under his supervision."
2. If approved by the Board of Selectmen, revise position descriptions and advertise
for the Transportation Coordinator and Planner.
3. Inform key stakeholders of the planned reorganizations.
4. Continue discussions with Department of Public Works, Department of Human
Services, Police, and Planning Department to transition program elements to their
respective departments. Confirm funding sources and allocations.
5. Develop a process with the Board of Selectmen to begin work on the governance
structure regarding board and committee organization.
Board of Selectmen Transportation Planning Goal for 2011
Goal: Provide an organizational framework for coordinating transportation planning and
implementation within the Town government by September 2011. The goal was endorsed
by the Board of Selectmen, by unanimous vote, at its goal-setting meeting on June 28th,
2011.
Tasks:
1. Identify all stakeholders.
2. Review the duties, interests and purposes of the various organizations, looking for
areas of common interest and overlapping responsibilities.
3. Verify that there is a continued need for each entity, or if it can be subsumed by
another party.
4. Identify options for transit operations, parking management and planning that will
address identified needs:
• Transit Operations—includes Lexpress, other transit programs, customer
service, and marketing.
• Parking Management—includes Center permit parking.
• Transportation Planning—Center Parking, Business Transportation,
Streetscape, Battle Green Master Plan, Pedestrian Safety Efforts, Bicycle,
TMOD and other area plans, TIP projects, regional planning efforts.
5. Propose options to the Board of Selectmen regarding location of the above operations
within the organization. Please note that an interim report was made to the Board of
Selectmen on August 1, 2011.
Process: An internal staff team consisting of Deb Mauger, liaison from the Board of
Selectmen, DPW Director Bill Hadley, Planning Director Maryann McCall-Taylor, DHS
Director Charlotte Rodgers, Police Chief Mark Corr, and Town Manager's Office staff
were tasked to work on this goal and offer recommendations for consideration by the
Board of Selectmen. This group held eight(8)planning meetings and involved a number
of stakeholders, including:
• Transportation Advisory Board
• Planning Board (Chairman)
• Council on Aging (Chairman
• Human Services Committee (Chairman)
• Transportation Staff
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Summary of Organizational Options that were Considered
Option 1: Continue with current model for Transit/Lexpress
operations, parking management and transportation
planning activities under DPW management structure.
Option 2: Re-organize and place Transit/Lexpress operations under
Department of Human Services. Parking Management
component remains with DPW and Transportation
Planning becomes a responsibility of the Planning
Department.
Option 3: Re-organize and place Transit/Lexpress operations under
Department of Human Services, Transportation Planning
under Planning Department. Parking component under
Police Department (this is the difference from option 2).
Option 4: Contract out Transit/Lexpress operations. Keep Parking
Management under DPW or Police. Transportation
Planning becomes a responsibility of the Planning
Department.
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Recommendations
1. Organizational location of transit operations, parking management and
transportation planning: We are recommending Option 3 that would re-organize
and place Transit/Lexpress operations under Department of Human Services,
Transportation Planning under Planning Department, and Parking component under the
Police Department.
We believe this option will offer the following service enhancements:
a. Department of Human Services assumes oversight of Transit/Lexpress
operations and marketing
Town Manager
Director of Human Services
Transportation/Lexpress Coordinator
28 hr/week—currently 35 hr/week
Department Clerk
21 hr/week—no change
Service Enhancements:
Transit Management within Department of Human Services provides for improved
coordination by placing transit operations under one department. This will allow
for joint oversight and coordination of Lexpress and the pilot taxi program offered
by the COA. Staff will continue to provide the coordinated financial needs
assessment and evaluation for all residents. This will allow a sharing of
administrative staff to help with dual program management. Hours will be
scheduled to provide full time coverage during the normal work day of 8:30 am—
4:30 pm. This model will retain the "hands on" customer service approach that
Lexpress has offered in the past. The Department of Human Services is charged
with the mission to serve all ages from youth to seniors and is in a unique position
to respond to the changing demographic needs of the community.
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b. Planning Department assumes oversight of Transportation Planning
Town Manager
I
Planning Board
-H Planning Director
1 I I
Senior Planner PT Planner Department Clerk
22 hr/wk.—currently 15 p
Service Enhancements:
A focus on all transportation planning issues will provide the town with a broader
view of what is happening, as well as making coordination easier. Currently there is
a 15 hr. /week position in the Planning Department budget. This position has been
left unfilled while different options for the duties and responsibilities of the
position were being explored. These hours will go toward a more robust position
that has transportation planning as the primary responsibility, we anticipate
approximately 60% of this employees time will be spent on transportation
planning. This means that transportation planning will now be a defined
responsibility of the Planning Department. In the past the responsibility has been
so diffuse (i.e. Planning, DPW, Selectmen, various boards and committees) that it
was never anyone's priority and was done as time allowed or a looming issue
demanded. By placing this responsibility within the Planning Department it will
facilitate coordination with development proposals, especially in light of the
Transportation Management Overlay District on Hartwell Ave.
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c. Police Department assumes oversight of Parking Program
Chief of Police
I I
Captain of Captain of Office Manager
p
Administration Operations
g
I
I I
v s Traffic Bureau
T FTE 35 hr/week- Department Clerk
currently 19 hr/week
Department
Arrowed lines represent staff - Account Clerk
authority by Captains. The
Office Manager will manage
most day-to-day work, but
planning, operations and Parking Enforcement
Officer
personnel matters governed
by Captains.
Attended Lot
- Part-time Staff
Service Enhancements:
Parking Management within Police Department provides for improved
coordination with Center parking enforcement efforts. It would allow for enhanced
flexibility to address varied function such as the permit program, parking lot
management and supervision.
The Traffic Office is currently staffed with one full-time Department Account
Clerk and a 19-hour Department Assistant. We would recommend eliminating the
Department Assistant position and replace it with a full-time Traffic Bureau
Manager. The Traffic Bureau Manager would be primarily responsible for:
• Supervising the data entry of parking tickets, citations and accident reports as
well as parking ticket collections by the Department Account Clerk.
• Supervising the Parking Enforcement Officer's schedule of enforcement,
parking meter repair, and parking meter collections.
• Supervising the staff at the attended lot and the collections from that lot.
• Advertising, selling and coordinating the issuance of parking permits.
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• Submitting reports on center parking use, parking scofflaws, high accident
locations and parking ticket/citation efforts by staff.
• As a backup to Department Account Clerk—assist public at service window for
parking ticket payments and inquiries; public information requests for accident
reports; and parking permit sales.
• Accounting for, and coordinating with Office Manager, the fees, fines and meter
collections.
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2. Governance: We are recommending in the short term to assign the groups that have
responsibility for transportation related activities to the following departments,please
see below.
In the long term we suggest a streamlined governance structure that would have
overall responsibility for coordination and oversight of transportations & safety issues
for the community. We suggest that the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager
jointly appoint a working group of 2 members from the Board of Selectmen and
Planning Board, one member from TAC, TSAC, Bicycle and Sidewalk Committees be
tasked to study this issue and bring back a recommendation.
Transportation Planning: Transit Operations: Police,Department of
Planning Department Staff& Lexpress/Department Public Works,Department
Economic Development Officer of Human Services of Human Service Staff
Staff
Center Streetscape and Battle
Transportation AdvisoryBicycle Committee
Green Master Plan(parking related p y
Committee Activities
issues)
Center Parkin StudyLiaison to MBTA Sidewalk Committee
g Advisory Board
Liaison to School Traffic Safe Advisory Calming Policy Department on School
Committee
Transportation
Hartwell Ave. TMOD Pedestrian Safety Efforts
Liaison to Regional Transportation
Advisory Council
Liaison to 128 Business Council
Traffic Mitigation Group
Liaison to TSAC
Greenway Corridor Committee
TIP projects/representative
South Lexington Transportation
Study
Liaison to MAPC and MAGIC
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Appendix iii
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Ash,Paul x
Hoyle,Keith x
Brown,James x
Larrabee,Richard x
LoTu rco,Ed x
Boutwell,Christian x
Moroze,Benjamin x
Payson,Harold x
Trach,Sandra x
Himmel,Jon x
Johnson,Peter x
Crocker,Judith x x
Ciccolo,Michelle x x x
Peterson,Tom x
Bitsko,Ralph x
Mauger,Deborah x x
Abrahms,Richard x
Dohan,Alexandra x
Enders,Margaret x x
Entin,Eileen x
Hausslein,Robert x x
Canale,Richard x x x
Kennedy,Stewart x x
Celi,Elaine
Fletcher-Jones,Lucy x
Davies,John x
Stieglitz,Francine x x
Lotz,Margaret x
Valenti,Mark
McKenzie,Sharon x
McGimsey,Bettina x
Coppe,Margaret x
Krieger,Jeanne x
Barrett,Michael x
Shaw,Sandra x
Simmons,Karen
Hadley,Bill
Pinsonneault,David
Mullins,Karen
Kelley,Peter
Carpenter,Laurel x
Frey,John x
Gagliardi,George x
Hartshorn,Marita x
Tabaczynski,Michael x
Van Hook,H Jerrold x x
Manz,Wendy x x
Burnell,George
Brown,Richard x
Johnson,Fred x
Kieslich,Maria x
Levin,Howard x
Lyon,Jeffrey x
McCall Taylor,Maryann x
Wettstone,Jonathan x
Ferro,Manuel x
Cannon,David x
Ades,Stephen x
Frymer,Stephen x
Murthy,Sudir x
Adler,Nancy x
Manz,Hank
Castleman,Sally x
Cohen,Martin x
Dratch,Elaine x
Levison,William x
Levy,Peter x
Link,Larry x
Rebecchi,Jeanette
voting memebers x 10 8 9 14 6 7 9 4 2 2 71
liasion 3 3 4 3 2 2 2 1 20
staff,ex-officio_ 4 1 1 6
Appendix iv Schedule for Quarterly Transportation Reviews
Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4
DPW staff
TIP (What's on it, status) x x
Street Reconstruction and x x
Maintenance Schedules
including bicycle and sidewalk
improvements
Planning Board (PB)
Zoning initiatives x x
Traffic studies
Regional Updates (PB and BOS)
MAGIC, Scenic by-way x x
128C3,HATS,H FAC
Advisory Committees (what they are x x
working on)
Sidewalk
Bicycle Advisory
TAC (including ridership
numbers)
Greenway Corridor
Center Committee
TSAC-#and type of requests received x x
and processed
Ad hoc Committee Updates x x
Estabrook Access Task Force
School Transportation
Additional Suggested Metrics
Accidents/intersection
128 Business Council trips