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[0:05]
Um, hello everybody. Would like to um go
[0:09]
ahead and call the multimodal
[0:10]
transportation advisory board committee
[0:13]
um together today again. And I hope
[0:16]
everybody's had a great summer. And I
[0:18]
want to remind everybody, and we'll talk
[0:20]
about this throughout the meeting, but
[0:21]
um it's triit week September 8th through
[0:24]
12th.
[0:26]
So, there's a lot of events going on and
[0:28]
we'll talk more about those today, but
[0:30]
uh just excited about the week so that
[0:32]
we can do our extra promotions of
[0:35]
transit during this week. Um um hey
[0:39]
there. Um it looks like um we have um
[0:44]
someone here from the community for the
[0:46]
public comment. So, I'd like to call up
[0:50]
Sandy Miller. Sandy, if you wouldn't
[0:52]
mind coming up, we'd love to hear from
[0:54]
you um to share your comments. I believe
[0:58]
they may have discussed with you. Hey,
[1:00]
welcome. Welcome. We appreciate you
[1:01]
coming tonight. We usually don't get
[1:03]
visitors, so we're excited. Anytime the
[1:04]
community can come,
[1:07]
share comments that. But now, Jen had
[1:09]
mentioned that you all meet and she
[1:11]
knows I do a fair amount of cycling. And
[1:13]
» Excuse me, can you step up to please?
[1:15]
» So, we'd like for you to come on up. So,
[1:17]
come on up and give us your name and um
[1:20]
where you live and we've got three can
[1:22]
give you three minutes um to share um
[1:25]
your thoughts and comments to our um
[1:28]
advisory board.
[1:29]
» Okie do. Um Sandy Miller um 103 Halls
[1:34]
Court um just kind of down the hill in
[1:36]
the Ape or Heatherwood Town Homes. Um
[1:40]
like I said, uh Jen had mentioned, you
[1:42]
know, you all do this and she said,
[1:43]
"Well, you cycle. Do you have any
[1:45]
thoughts or out?" I was like, "Well,
[1:46]
I'll shoot." Um, so I usually disappear
[1:50]
from my front door and head basically
[1:53]
west, but I end up going through Apex to
[1:56]
do so. Um, somewhere between
[2:01]
25 and 45 miles and kind of out and
[2:04]
about. Um, going through uh like the
[2:08]
roads like in Apex. Um, roads are in
[2:12]
great shape and you know, curbing and
[2:13]
lights and whatnot. And I've got three
[2:15]
blinkers um on my bike and loud
[2:18]
obnoxious clothing. So um I'm if you're
[2:22]
going to hit me, you're going to have to
[2:23]
try. Um so um let's see. And I've I've
[2:27]
really not had any issues um with, you
[2:30]
know, getting run off the road or
[2:32]
anything like that. Knock on something.
[2:34]
Um there have been a couple of occasions
[2:37]
I know and I don't know like I asked Jan
[2:39]
I said well you know uh in town, out of
[2:42]
town and she said whatever.
[2:44]
Okay. So, um there are some um in town
[2:48]
when roads have been improved um if you
[2:52]
will and say if one is coming like into
[2:55]
Apex off of um on old one and um there's
[3:00]
a neighborhood on the left and they
[3:02]
wanted to restrict
[3:04]
people coming out of that neighborhood.
[3:06]
So rather than being able to go left and
[3:08]
right out of there, they've got a burm
[3:11]
in the down the center of the road. It's
[3:15]
like, well, that I can see why that is a
[3:17]
good thing. But from from a cyclist
[3:20]
point of view, the shoulders to the
[3:22]
right of the white line are limited. Um,
[3:25]
so cars don't really want to wait for a
[3:29]
cyclist to go by. So despite the fact
[3:32]
that there's a burm there, they will
[3:34]
squeeze by and it's scary as heck. Um,
[3:37]
so and again, I'll I'll ride the white
[3:39]
line or to the right of it if I can. Um,
[3:43]
I will not ride, side note, in a group.
[3:46]
I know that there are a lot of bike
[3:47]
shops that do do that. I will not
[3:49]
because you get a group of cyclists and
[3:51]
they don't yield. And as a driver,
[3:55]
that's frustrating. as a cyclist is
[3:57]
scary as heck because again the drivers
[4:00]
get angry and it's it's a mess. So I'll
[4:02]
I'm a solo rider. So I'll squeeze over
[4:04]
to the right. Um maybe the only other
[4:07]
thing that drives me baddy, although I
[4:10]
can understand why from a um
[4:15]
uh roads standpoint, it is a good thing.
[4:17]
But the the ribbing, the um rumble
[4:21]
strips or whatever you call them,
[4:22]
they're on the right hand side of the
[4:24]
road and um in the center as well.
[4:26]
Again, I understand why um from a
[4:29]
driver's point of view. Oops. Is that my
[4:32]
three minutes?
[4:33]
» Sorry, you can finish your
[4:34]
» Okay. Um, but anyway, so great from a
[4:37]
from a car safety standpoint, from a
[4:39]
bike standpoint, also scary because I
[4:42]
can't go to the right of that white line
[4:44]
because it's, you know, shake your
[4:46]
fillings loose. So, you end up out in
[4:48]
the lane with the with the cars. So,
[4:52]
again, from a cyclist point of view, um,
[4:54]
I I really don't like those. And there
[4:57]
they've been added more and more places.
[4:59]
And again, I understand, but um from a
[5:02]
cyclist point, I really don't like that.
[5:04]
And it curtails where you can ride. So
[5:07]
anyway, is that my three minutes?
[5:09]
» Okie dokie.
[5:10]
» Thank you so much.
[5:11]
» Thank you for listening. I appreciate
[5:12]
it.
[5:12]
» We appreciate the input. Thank you.
[5:18]
All right. We'd like to call on the town
[5:21]
clerk's office um to go through some
[5:24]
administrative um updates.
[5:34]
Okay,
[5:35]
good afternoon. I am not Ashley U, but I
[5:38]
am here in herstead. Um, so presenting
[5:41]
to you all two items for consideration.
[5:44]
Uh, the first is proposing moving the
[5:46]
November 4th meeting um to the training
[5:49]
room uh training rooms 3A and 3B. Um, so
[5:53]
separate from the council chambers where
[5:55]
you all normally meet. And then the
[5:56]
second item is included in your agenda
[5:58]
packet is the meeting schedule for
[6:00]
calendar year 2027. This keeps um the
[6:03]
consistent second Wednesday every other
[6:06]
month at 4:45 at town hall. Um you have
[6:10]
the schedule in your agenda packet. I
[6:12]
have not received any comments on that.
[6:14]
So just looking for a motion to adopt
[6:17]
both the amendment of the schedule for
[6:19]
November 2026 as well as amendment to or
[6:23]
adoption of the 2027 meeting calendar.
[6:26]
So moved
[6:27]
» Or both?
[6:28]
» Yes.
[6:28]
» Okay.
[6:30]
» Would someone like to second?
[6:32]
» I'll second. Jennifer second.
[6:36]
We've got a motion and a second to um
[6:39]
approve the November 4th meeting to the
[6:42]
training room and to approve the meeting
[6:45]
calendar. All those in favor, please
[6:48]
signify by saying I.
[6:49]
» I. I.
[6:50]
» Anyone oppose?
[6:52]
» Okay. Both of those car.
[6:54]
» Thank you. Thank you.
[6:59]
» At this time, um, we'll go through the
[7:02]
meeting minutes
[7:07]
and I'll look to Chris Watson. Did you
[7:10]
have a couple?
[7:10]
» Yes. Just one quick comment before
[7:12]
handing it back over to you, Madam
[7:13]
Chair. Uh, I want to call everyone's
[7:15]
attention to the July 28th safety
[7:18]
subcommittee minutes. Um, on page two of
[7:21]
the minutes, which it will be page 43 of
[7:24]
your entire agenda packet, um, uh,
[7:27]
member Bruner has asked that we add the
[7:29]
following statement to, um, the bottom
[7:32]
of that page. Right after it says,
[7:33]
member Bruner shared that direct
[7:35]
complaints are difficult on a low
[7:36]
ridership route because it becomes
[7:38]
personal. Um, we are going to add um if
[7:42]
it's if it if it passes here on a low
[7:45]
ridership bus, complaining about a
[7:47]
specific driver is risky because the
[7:48]
driver can easily identify who made
[7:50]
their complaint and retaliate by not
[7:52]
picking you up at the stop. And then
[7:54]
there's one more change um to the same
[7:56]
minutes on page three. Essentially, we
[8:00]
will just be removing the statement
[8:02]
where it says briefly talked about
[8:04]
extreme heat, bus driver shortage, and
[8:06]
accurate bus stop signs C attachment.
[8:09]
Um, that is currently under the followup
[8:11]
from staff section. Moving that up to
[8:14]
emerging issues items. First, want to
[8:17]
pause, make sure that that's an accurate
[8:18]
representation of the request, and then
[8:20]
hand it back over to you for discussion.
[8:22]
» Correct. Thank I didn't realize that was
[8:24]
all going to come formally. I thought I
[8:26]
was editing drafts, but thank you for
[8:28]
carrying that over.
[8:29]
» So, that's just a request um for
[8:31]
revisions for the safety minutes and
[8:32]
then all the other regular meeting and
[8:34]
subcommittee minutes are as um what's
[8:37]
included in the packet. No changes to
[8:39]
those.
[8:41]
I'll hand it back over to you.
[8:43]
» Chris, um on those So, can you give us
[8:46]
the line number? That may be helpful
[8:48]
because I know we've got line numbers on
[8:49]
some of those pages.
[8:52]
just just for those that may be looking
[8:54]
and following along.
[9:02]
» Sorry, I thought I had it pulled up.
[9:23]
Okay.
[9:29]
I think you had mentioned page 43,
[9:32]
which would be page two of the minutes,
[9:34]
but I just want to make sure that we've
[9:35]
got the line number.
[9:36]
» Mhm.
[9:38]
» Correct.
[9:50]
Okay. So the first revision on page 43
[9:53]
of agenda packet page two it will be
[9:56]
line number
[9:59]
um
[10:05]
27.
[10:06]
So directly following line 27 carries
[10:08]
over to line 28, we will add the
[10:10]
statement that I read directly following
[10:12]
that sentence.
[10:14]
» Okay.
[10:15]
» And then the second one,
[10:18]
page three, carrying on to page four, um
[10:22]
the emerging issues related to priority
[10:24]
task. And then on that line 45, we will
[10:27]
move that
[10:29]
from the following section.
[10:32]
» Okay. Thank you. Any questions about
[10:36]
those before we
[10:39]
So, um, we'll start with, um, uh,
[10:44]
approval of the minutes starting with
[10:45]
the May 13th. I'd like to see if anybody
[10:49]
would like to entertain a motion to
[10:50]
approve the meeting minutes from the May
[10:53]
13th regular meeting. Would someone like
[10:56]
to make a motion?
[10:57]
» So, move.
[10:59]
» We have a motion.
[11:00]
» Seconded
[11:00]
» And a second.
[11:03]
So, sorry to interrupt, but I'm helping
[11:05]
to take notes. Would And I can't see and
[11:09]
» Okay.
[11:09]
» Okay.
[11:10]
» Who was who was the If you could just
[11:11]
state your name.
[11:13]
» Noah.
[11:14]
» Uh Noah.
[11:15]
» Noah top.
[11:17]
» For the motion. Yes.
[11:19]
» Patrick Curley for the second.
[11:20]
» Thank you.
[11:21]
» All those in favor signify by saying I.
[11:23]
» I. I.
[11:24]
» Anyone opposed?
[11:27]
» Okay. So moved. And at this point, um,
[11:30]
would someone like to entertain a motion
[11:32]
and please state your name, um, to
[11:35]
approve the minutes for the July 17th,
[11:37]
um, move to this is Gay. July
[11:40]
» Gay. Anyone second?
[11:42]
» I'll second. Second.
[11:44]
» Okay, it's a motion and a second. All
[11:46]
those in favor signify by saying I.
[11:49]
» I.
[11:49]
» I.
[11:50]
» Anyone oppose?
[11:52]
Thank you.
[11:54]
Now, we'd like to see if anyone would
[11:55]
like to entertain a motion for the
[11:57]
minutes for the July 6 infrastructure
[12:00]
subcommittee meeting.
[12:03]
» A motion.
[12:04]
» This Patrick Pat made the motion. One
[12:08]
second.
[12:10]
Uh, Gay, I'll second.
[12:12]
» Okay. All those in favor, please signify
[12:15]
by saying I.
[12:16]
» I.
[12:16]
» Anyone opposed? Thank you.
[12:20]
Um, at this point, we'll um ask for a
[12:23]
motion to approve the minutes from
[12:26]
Can I do both of those at the same time
[12:28]
with the edits? Are y'all okay with
[12:29]
that?
[12:30]
» That okay. The June 18th and the July
[12:35]
28th with edits that were shared um just
[12:38]
a few minutes ago um for the safety
[12:41]
subcommittee meetings. Is there a motion
[12:43]
um on that? I do have one question
[12:46]
» Before we approve um the item in our
[12:49]
minutes about possibly amending the name
[12:51]
of the committee. I know it may be later
[12:52]
in the agenda. I want to make sure if we
[12:54]
don't need to do it now.
[12:55]
» Correct. That will be later in the
[12:57]
» Later. Making sure. Then I'll make a
[12:58]
motion to approve the minutes. Jennifer
[13:00]
Aaylor.
[13:01]
» Thank you, Jennifer. Is there a second?
[13:04]
» I'll second it. Second.
[13:05]
» Okay. All those in favor signify by
[13:07]
saying I.
[13:08]
» I.
[13:09]
» Anyone opposed?
[13:11]
Okay. Thank you guys. a lot of minutes,
[13:13]
a lot of lot of great work going on. So,
[13:15]
thank you so much,
[13:16]
» Madam Chair, if I may take a point of
[13:18]
privilege. Um, last meeting that that I
[13:21]
attended was I missed the July meeting.
[13:23]
I was out of town, but the meeting in
[13:25]
May, uh, I very confidently stated that
[13:28]
the subcommittees could meet u, you
[13:30]
know, because there were not enough
[13:32]
people to make a quorum so the sub
[13:34]
committees could meet without public uh,
[13:37]
uh, disclosure or public um,
[13:39]
announcement of those meetings. I very
[13:41]
confidently stated that and I was very
[13:42]
confidently wrong in all of that. So I'm
[13:45]
I know that Chris and uh I think uh
[13:49]
Katie sorted that out with with the
[13:50]
subcommittees. So I appreciate everybody
[13:53]
kind of rolling with the incorrect
[13:55]
guidance that I had had provided at the
[13:57]
time. U and I do appreciate the
[13:59]
subcommittees getting together and
[14:02]
reading through the minutes and some of
[14:03]
the topics being discussed. So uh thank
[14:06]
you all for uh meeting and getting
[14:08]
together.
[14:09]
» Thank you. Thank you.
[14:13]
» Okay, at this time um we'll go ahead and
[14:16]
talk about the subcommittee work. Um the
[14:19]
fiscal year 2027 work plan subcommittee.
[14:22]
We have updates from each of the
[14:24]
committees. I believe um and uh I'll
[14:28]
start with community outreach.
[14:30]
Um
[14:32]
the community outreach committee met
[14:36]
on um July 17th from 3:00 to 5:00 at the
[14:39]
Mason Street Municipal Building. And
[14:42]
you've of course um seen the minutes,
[14:44]
but just wanted to give an update that
[14:46]
um during our meeting we looked at the
[14:49]
2027 tasks assigned and um uh went
[14:54]
through and really uh
[14:58]
set some goals and and looked forward to
[15:00]
try to getting a lot more community
[15:02]
engagement from our groups and to make
[15:04]
sure we're supporting the staff um out
[15:07]
in the community. um
[15:10]
uh at we decided that we wanted to
[15:13]
operate informally without a chair and
[15:15]
we would give updates to this committee
[15:17]
as a specific uh agenda item and I
[15:21]
volunteered to be the representative um
[15:24]
at this meeting. Uh, one of the primary
[15:26]
focuses that we had at our committee
[15:28]
meeting was to increase MTAB involvement
[15:31]
in community outreach and we discussed
[15:34]
ways for us to get involved. And so many
[15:37]
of you saw all of you saw the um signup
[15:40]
sheet that we did and actually we had an
[15:43]
event yesterday and we have an event
[15:45]
tomorrow and we've got an event this
[15:47]
weekend. So, a lot of a lot of great
[15:50]
events and a lot of great opportunities
[15:51]
for outreach for all of us. So, I think
[15:55]
um it's exciting that we can go ahead
[15:56]
and start getting more involved and that
[15:58]
was one of the things I think all of us
[16:00]
talked about at the work session. So, I
[16:02]
appreciate all of you signing up and I
[16:04]
think there's still a couple other spots
[16:05]
left, but we'll continue to do that to
[16:08]
continue to um educate the community for
[16:12]
us to work together with the staff and
[16:14]
to do all we can to increase transit,
[16:18]
increase communication, and and really
[16:21]
help people know um the resources that
[16:23]
are available. Um the the events coming
[16:26]
up were the Pleasant Park Access Study
[16:28]
that already happened on September 3rd.
[16:31]
Try Transit was yesterday. There's the
[16:33]
senior health fair on um Saturday. Touch
[16:36]
of Trucks coming up in October. And then
[16:39]
um we want to participate in future
[16:42]
North Carolina DOT projects.
[16:46]
Um outreach materials. I think the staff
[16:48]
has a lot of um um materials, but we
[16:51]
want to make sure we develop audience
[16:53]
specific materials for seniors and youth
[16:56]
and highlight transit benefits such as
[16:59]
free service, service every 30 minutes,
[17:02]
7 days a week, key destinations that are
[17:05]
served through transit, sustainability
[17:07]
and affordability, and bicycle
[17:09]
skateboard accessibility. Um under
[17:12]
number two, one of the priorities was
[17:14]
bus driver appreciation. I really want
[17:16]
to make sure we explore ways to
[17:18]
recognize Go Apex bus operators and
[17:21]
raise public awareness of transit and
[17:24]
ideas included coordinating um with go
[17:27]
carry initiatives because they have a
[17:29]
lot of initiatives going on. We want to
[17:30]
make sure we coordinate with them.
[17:32]
featuring uh driver profiles on social
[17:35]
media, encou encouraging riders to thank
[17:38]
drivers on designated day, thank you
[17:40]
messages, reordering go Apex thank you
[17:44]
cards, and encouraging elected officials
[17:46]
in our committee to to to ride and thank
[17:49]
drivers personally. So, we'll have plans
[17:51]
for that. Under number three, we wanted
[17:54]
transit promotion campaign and we
[17:57]
discussed opportunities um through the
[18:00]
potential look again campaign and
[18:02]
proposed activities for promote expanded
[18:05]
service, provide route maps, conduct
[18:08]
train the trainer, engage apartment
[18:10]
communities and employers and uh
[18:13]
consider public art as highly visible
[18:15]
bus stops. Um
[18:18]
number four, transit data and analysis.
[18:21]
Uh felt like the staff um at the meeting
[18:24]
discussed several transportation efforts
[18:26]
that are already underway. So we agreed
[18:28]
to pause that work for now and um look
[18:31]
at revisit it when future gaps are
[18:34]
merging and then the same for bicycle
[18:36]
and pedestrian outreach. We want to make
[18:38]
sure um we all talked about that there
[18:41]
was a lot of discussion on transit about
[18:43]
bicycle and and pedestrian
[18:45]
transportation and we the discussion in
[18:48]
our committee was adding bicycle and
[18:50]
pedestrian outreach to future community
[18:53]
outreach opportunities and maybe discuss
[18:56]
uh discuss appointing a cycle advocate
[18:59]
or champion for MTAB. And it was great
[19:01]
to have her public comment today and
[19:04]
include this topic on future MTAB
[19:05]
agendas. So our action items were create
[19:09]
the event signup which was done. Uh
[19:12]
draft a participation invitation,
[19:14]
reorder go apex thank you cards, develop
[19:17]
targeted outreach materials, create a
[19:20]
route map and plan a group MTAB ride. So
[19:25]
we need to do that. We're all going to
[19:26]
go ride the bus together. So that'll be
[19:28]
fun for us to do that. And then discuss
[19:30]
bicycle pedestrian outreach strategies
[19:32]
at future meetings. Um our future
[19:34]
meetings. And our next meeting is
[19:36]
September 21st at 3:30. So off to a
[19:39]
great start. So um uh I'd appreciate Do
[19:42]
you have any comments? Anything I left
[19:44]
out, Gay? And um
[19:47]
» I don't think so.
[19:49]
» Yeah.
[19:50]
» Okay. Off to a great start. Um at this
[19:53]
point, uh we'll ask for the
[19:56]
infrastructure committee to give a
[19:58]
report.
[19:59]
» Sure. Uh we met on uh July 6th. Um,
[20:04]
Sacket and Noah and myself and staff uh
[20:08]
met uh here and uh we identified three
[20:12]
kind of targeted uh tasks uh for our for
[20:15]
our subcommittee. The first one was
[20:18]
looking at street design and UDO
[20:19]
amendments and you know we'll revi
[20:21]
review and provide feedback to the peak
[20:23]
plan 20 uh 55 standards when they come
[20:26]
out later this month. We have a meeting
[20:28]
scheduled for later this month to
[20:29]
discuss that. So um and the bicycle and
[20:32]
pedestrian UDO uh updates in October. So
[20:36]
um
[20:37]
uh we have not met since that meeting
[20:39]
that first meeting but uh we do plan a
[20:41]
meeting later this month. Um second task
[20:44]
was for uh project prioritization for
[20:46]
the CIP and we'll we'll support the CIP
[20:48]
review process and advocate for
[20:50]
multimodel projects uh with there's some
[20:52]
key touch points in September uh with
[20:55]
preliminary staff request and also in
[20:57]
October which is after the where staff
[21:00]
requests are submitted and before the
[21:02]
fiscal year 20 uh 2028 budget hearings.
[21:07]
Uh hopefully the recommendations will
[21:08]
help integrate multimodal priorities
[21:10]
into the town budget which is you know
[21:12]
kind of the over overarching uh goal for
[21:14]
that. And the third task was uh
[21:17]
supporting uh grant uh submission
[21:19]
letters. The committee will work with
[21:21]
staff to draft letters supporting
[21:23]
transportation grants. U that's
[21:25]
generally in October and January. Um and
[21:29]
then uh the last thing is we scheduled a
[21:31]
meeting for September 24th to start
[21:32]
discussing the CIP and the peak plan
[21:34]
updates.
[21:37]
That's where we are right now.
[21:39]
» Thanks, Patrick.
[21:40]
» Thank you.
[21:40]
» Thank you.
[21:42]
» Thank you.
[21:44]
» And we'll call on the safety
[21:46]
subcommittee.
[21:47]
» Yep. Your safety committee's down here.
[21:50]
Elizabeth and I have met three times so
[21:52]
far in June, July, and August. Um we
[21:54]
addressed two of the main priorities on
[21:57]
the giant spreadsheet of um established
[22:00]
from our working group. uh the main one
[22:02]
looking at bus safety and then we
[22:04]
initially started out discussing the
[22:06]
slope of the bus like that boarding
[22:07]
slope issue. We've since expanded that
[22:10]
discussion a little bit to deal with the
[22:12]
detour to deal with issues of bus safety
[22:14]
at the individual bus stops, setting up
[22:17]
shelter, um better lighting, um better
[22:20]
marking and signage, excuse me, for the
[22:22]
bus stops. Um and then just the overall
[22:25]
uh factors that go into selecting a bus
[22:28]
and some of that is out of our control
[22:29]
as there is a third party also involved
[22:31]
and with go carry um to establish the
[22:34]
kinds of buses we have available for use
[22:36]
but just making sure we can address
[22:38]
those safety concerns. Um and in our
[22:40]
most recent meeting in August, we
[22:41]
discussed um like loading and unloading
[22:44]
with passengers with carts and baby
[22:46]
strollers and some of the um rules and
[22:49]
decision-m that those have to be closed
[22:51]
as you board the bus. Um being possibly
[22:54]
an unreasonable request for moms with
[22:56]
small children or uh people coming from
[22:58]
the food pantry with a fully loaded cart
[23:00]
having to unload those items and then
[23:02]
board the bus. Um it's timeconuming. It
[23:04]
could be potentially dangerous if they
[23:06]
trip and fall unloading those packages.
[23:08]
So, just things to to address and the
[23:10]
town has been very helpful and
[23:12]
responsive in addressing some of the
[23:13]
concerns we've established or things
[23:15]
we've asked for feedback on um as
[23:18]
they've met with town of Kerry
[23:20]
representatives and local law
[23:21]
enforcement as well um for safety around
[23:23]
like the Mason Street bus terminal to
[23:26]
make sure that the riders as you have to
[23:27]
debus when the drivers go on break that
[23:30]
people are safe and that you're not
[23:32]
being um approached by some of the um
[23:35]
unhoused individuals that spend their
[23:36]
day on the bus. and then debus and
[23:39]
panhandle while they wait um just to
[23:41]
make sure people are safe and able to
[23:43]
ride that bus and not have to worry
[23:44]
about those concerns getting from point
[23:46]
A to point B. Um our next meeting I
[23:49]
believe is October 1st and we will also
[23:51]
try to address our second agenda item um
[23:54]
dealing with safe walking to school
[23:56]
which also addresses sidewalks,
[23:57]
crosswalks, um signage, driver awareness
[24:00]
that you're in a school zone, things
[24:02]
like that.
[24:04]
» Thank you. question. Um,
[24:09]
is the is the subcommittee, the two of
[24:14]
you, um, planning to attend the, I
[24:18]
guess, awareness event on e- scooters
[24:21]
and ebikes that the town has publicized
[24:23]
for October.
[24:24]
» I don't know that we have planned to go
[24:25]
to that. We can certainly try to add it.
[24:27]
I am going to the senior healthcare, see
[24:30]
when the the e scooter event is
[24:32]
happening.
[24:32]
» Okay.
[24:33]
» See what the information is about.
[24:35]
» Okay. I know that has more of a youth
[24:37]
focus that I'm understanding.
[24:38]
» It does have more of a youth focus, but
[24:41]
the
[24:43]
um I'm planning to attend, but I wasn't
[24:47]
sure if either one of you it's for the
[24:49]
community as well to help understand
[24:52]
um what the uh guidelines and laws and
[24:56]
the dos and don'ts and what you can and
[24:57]
can't do.
[24:58]
» I'm definitely interested in the issue
[24:59]
itself. I don't think I knew that when
[25:01]
they had actually set up the date for
[25:02]
it. But I saw they were planning
[25:03]
something, but I'll definitely try to
[25:04]
see if we can make that happen to get
[25:06]
more input.
[25:07]
» Okay. I think it's in October. I'll have
[25:09]
to check.
[25:10]
» Yeah, I know the mayor's at least
[25:11]
listening to some of those issues and
[25:13]
concerns thankfully.
[25:14]
» That'd be good to share with the
[25:15]
committee everybody, but I'd like to
[25:17]
maybe attend that, too.
[25:20]
» Whenever you find out,
[25:22]
» I think that's a good example of needing
[25:24]
specialized expertise. Like, I would
[25:26]
have nothing to add to a discussion of
[25:28]
e- scooters except, you know, a couple
[25:30]
personal observations. I think we do
[25:33]
certainly need a bicycle representative.
[25:35]
I hope the town council will think about
[25:37]
that with future nominations and someone
[25:40]
with insight into all the scooter moped
[25:42]
issues.
[25:49]
Thank you for all the updates. Great
[25:51]
committee work. Um we do have a couple
[25:54]
of requested actions. Um I um uh was
[25:59]
added um on to the committee outreach um
[26:05]
community outreach subcommittee and I
[26:07]
think that needs to be a motion. So
[26:10]
would someone um be interested in um
[26:14]
» I'll make a
[26:16]
» To add me to the subcommittee.
[26:19]
» Is there a second?
[26:20]
» Second. Okay.
[26:21]
» Thank you. D.
[26:23]
» All those in favor please signify by
[26:24]
saying I. I
[26:26]
» Okay. Any oppose?
[26:29]
» Thank you. We also um have asked to
[26:32]
rename the safety subcommittee to the
[26:34]
safety and accessibility subcommittee.
[26:38]
Is there a motion um on the floor to
[26:40]
rename that subcommittee?
[26:44]
I move that we rename that safety
[26:47]
committee to the safety and
[26:48]
accessibility subcommittee. If anyone
[26:50]
wants an explanation, let me know.
[26:55]
This is Patrick. I second that.
[26:57]
» Okay. All those in favor signify.
[26:59]
» This would be a point to have
[27:00]
discussion, right?
[27:01]
» Yeah. I'd love to hear.
[27:02]
» Yeah.
[27:04]
» Well, use the steep boarding slope as an
[27:06]
example. Someone was climbing up there,
[27:09]
slipped and fall, elderly person breaks
[27:11]
their hip on cement. It's a safety and
[27:13]
an injury. But what's really happening
[27:15]
with the steep boarding slope is the
[27:17]
folks who are at risk, people who
[27:19]
consider it dangerous to get up and
[27:21]
down, they have simply stopped riding.
[27:24]
based on my observations and what bus
[27:26]
drivers have said. So what became a
[27:28]
safety challenge for the riders they
[27:31]
observed as an intolerable risk and so
[27:35]
they simply stopped riding. So we've
[27:37]
spent a lot of time in the subcommittee
[27:38]
hoping that they'd switched over to
[27:40]
paratransit. In most cases the oldest
[27:43]
riders who were using walking canes who
[27:46]
battled the slope had uh English as a
[27:48]
second language limited English skills.
[27:51]
So how do we find them to make sure they
[27:53]
know that if the bus doesn't work there
[27:55]
is a paratransit option that just
[27:57]
there's a lot of overlap between safety
[28:00]
and accessibility and for me I I think
[28:04]
accessibility is the bigger barrier at
[28:06]
the moment it's perceived safety risks
[28:09]
mean people are not writing
[28:12]
» Thanks
[28:14]
so expands the scope of
[28:16]
» Well I think the rest of the group sort
[28:18]
of wants it to narrow the scope I want
[28:20]
talk about every operational risk there
[28:22]
is, but there is a sense that the two
[28:24]
really overlap.
[28:27]
» Yeah. I wouldn't necessarily say that
[28:28]
expands the scope, but that would be a
[28:31]
different conversation,
[28:32]
» But it um perhaps more accurately
[28:35]
describes Yes.
[28:36]
» Right. what they're looking at.
[28:40]
» Understood. Yeah. Any other discussion?
[28:43]
» There's a m sure.
[28:47]
» Okay. I just real quickly going to uh I
[28:50]
looked up the escooter event location is
[28:54]
to be determined, but it's on October
[28:56]
3rd at 10:00 a.m.
[28:58]
» Thank you.
[29:01]
» Thank you. So, there's a motion um on
[29:04]
the floor and a second to rename the
[29:06]
safety subcommittee to the safety and
[29:08]
accessibility subcommittee. All those in
[29:11]
favor, please signify by saying I.
[29:13]
» I.
[29:14]
» I.
[29:14]
» Anyone oppose?
[29:16]
Okay, thank you. Appreciate that
[29:19]
recommendation.
[29:20]
» Before we leave this topic, may I ask a
[29:23]
question?
[29:24]
» Um,
[29:26]
so as part of the infrastructure kind of
[29:28]
subcategory,
[29:29]
um during the work session back in
[29:32]
March, I believe, uh we identified kind
[29:35]
of street designs as a an opportunity
[29:38]
area
[29:40]
uh to look at. And I kind of want to tie
[29:41]
that back to the public comment that we
[29:42]
just received, you know, around our
[29:44]
street designs. Um, but I don't think I
[29:47]
heard anything from the infrastructure
[29:49]
subcommittee around uh street designs in
[29:52]
general. It was the updates were a
[29:54]
little bit more focused on the uh the
[29:56]
investment planning and all that, which
[29:57]
was another part that we had identified.
[30:00]
Is that still something that that the
[30:01]
subcommittee is looking at or and simply
[30:04]
hasn't gotten to yet? um where you know
[30:08]
where does that kind of sit or is is
[30:10]
anybody covering that uh that street
[30:12]
design question because again like you
[30:14]
know just taking some of the public
[30:15]
feedback you know there's there's some
[30:17]
demand for making our streets a little
[30:19]
bit more uh you know alternate transit
[30:23]
uh friendly right and so I don't want to
[30:25]
lose sight of that that's that topic
[30:27]
that we had discussed back in March
[30:29]
» Yeah we're supposed to meet in September
[30:31]
24th a couple weeks uh to discuss the
[30:34]
street design and the UDO amendment for
[30:36]
for
[30:36]
» Wonderful. Thank you. Sure.
[30:39]
» And could I interject there as well? Um,
[30:42]
also as part of our peak plan, our
[30:45]
comprehensive plan and transportation
[30:47]
plan update, the scope includes
[30:50]
examining our street sections and
[30:52]
updating those based on um
[30:57]
context area. Not to get into too much
[30:59]
detail right now, but the street might
[31:02]
look different in an area more uh
[31:05]
suitable and oriented toward walking,
[31:08]
biking, taking the bus compared to other
[31:10]
areas. So that's part of that peak plan
[31:13]
scope um and will be included in the
[31:17]
public forum three as well as shared
[31:19]
with the board for
[31:27]
» Any other questions about subcommittee
[31:29]
work.
[31:33]
So, um, one of, um, the next, um, agenda
[31:37]
item is bicycle outreach and engagement.
[31:41]
And, um, in our community outreach
[31:43]
subcommittee, we talked about, um,
[31:46]
possible strategies for reaching
[31:48]
bicyclists. So, we put that as an agenda
[31:50]
item to open it up for discussion to see
[31:55]
what
[31:57]
we have any ideas about ways, additional
[31:59]
ways um that we reach out and get more
[32:03]
input from the bicycle community. It
[32:06]
sounds like
[32:09]
the October 3rd date is great for us to
[32:11]
know because that that's part of that as
[32:12]
well.
[32:17]
So, we're looking for suggestions on how
[32:18]
to reach out to the bicycling community.
[32:22]
» I do have a quick question for some and
[32:26]
our public comment speaker may have some
[32:28]
input on this. Um, are the trail heads
[32:30]
for like the tobacco trail. Is there
[32:33]
bulletin boards still? I used to run out
[32:35]
there and there used to be places where
[32:36]
you could put information up and I
[32:38]
didn't know if we could do something
[32:39]
like a QR code or something to get
[32:41]
people like to do an input survey or
[32:44]
something kind of how we've talked about
[32:45]
doing on the bus kind of in the same way
[32:47]
just to reach a different group.
[32:52]
» I I don't know if that's still there. I
[32:53]
go there once in a while but I don't
[32:54]
know if there's still a bulletin board
[32:56]
there or not.
[32:56]
» Yeah, I know there used to be. I just
[32:58]
don't know what this the setup looks
[32:59]
like out there anymore. One place I I I
[33:02]
play disc golf at this nature park on
[33:04]
Saturday mornings and there are bicycle
[33:07]
gatherings and literally
[33:10]
100 I don't know maybe 100 bicyclists.
[33:13]
» Yeah. Like one cycling clubs.
[33:14]
» Yeah. Yeah. Huge packs of bicycles going
[33:16]
up. And it' be a great place. You know,
[33:18]
it's more of a inerson kind of thing
[33:20]
than than posting or but you know I
[33:22]
don't know if that's a possibility. I
[33:24]
guess we have to figure out like if it's
[33:26]
a scheduled meeting every Saturday or if
[33:28]
it's once a month or like if it's a a
[33:31]
cycling shop organizing that to be able
[33:33]
to
[33:35]
» Connect with them. I know like
[33:37]
meetup.com has Apologize I'm yelling
[33:40]
over the train. Um meetup.com has like
[33:42]
cycling I'm sure and other hobby
[33:44]
hobbyist kinds of things. Um that would
[33:46]
maybe be good outreach to talk to
[33:48]
cycling shops to see if they know um
[33:50]
some of those local gatherings. I can
[33:53]
try and talk to them when I'm there next
[33:54]
and see where they're coming from, how
[33:56]
to reach. It's a big It's a large number
[33:58]
of bicyclists.
[34:00]
» Yeah. Is there someone that's kind of
[34:01]
clearly they're a leader or organizer?
[34:02]
» There's a pace car they have, you know,
[34:04]
with flashing lights and stuff. So, I
[34:05]
mean, it's pretty serious, you know. So,
[34:07]
yeah.
[34:09]
» I've been keeping notes of Facebook
[34:11]
comments from serious cyclists who have
[34:13]
lots of opinions and seem to have
[34:15]
expertise and connections, so I can
[34:17]
share those with the subcommittee. I
[34:18]
guess just a handful of folks who seem
[34:21]
like they would be good resources.
[34:24]
» There's there's also a um the Carolina
[34:27]
Brewing Company has a cycling club. They
[34:29]
meet on Sundays, I believe. Uh but a lot
[34:33]
of people from Apex go um to uh you
[34:37]
know, so there's there's some organized
[34:39]
clubs in the area like that.
[34:43]
Is the thought that we're trying to get
[34:47]
input from the cyclists on what they
[34:49]
would like to see or are we trying to
[34:51]
address identified concerns?
[34:55]
» I think I think a little bit of both
[35:00]
learn more about the needs and
[35:01]
» Okay
[35:03]
» And uh we just haven't haven't focused
[35:06]
on that as much. So, we sort of felt
[35:09]
like there was opportunity for
[35:12]
gathering more information and then as
[35:16]
we're
[35:18]
having infrastructure
[35:20]
conversations and further conversations
[35:24]
about meeting the needs of bicyclists,
[35:26]
making sure to share that information
[35:27]
back. So,
[35:28]
» Okay,
[35:34]
» Great. Well, thank y'all. Thank y'all.
[35:36]
That gives us a start and again we've
[35:38]
got a meeting coming up in a couple
[35:40]
weeks and that'll that'll help us have
[35:42]
further conversation about that topic.
[35:45]
At this point we'll um call on Katie.
[35:47]
She's going to talk to us about the 2035
[35:49]
weight bus plan.
[35:55]
Chair
[35:56]
just a point of uh clarification. I
[35:59]
think we need to follow up on the
[36:00]
escooter event that's being held on the
[36:02]
October 3rd date because I'm not sure
[36:04]
that that's a town event. Um, and so I
[36:08]
want to clarify. Um, let us let us
[36:11]
research that and follow back up with
[36:12]
you.
[36:13]
» Okay.
[36:14]
» Cuz that that may be something one of
[36:16]
the elected officials is hosting. Um,
[36:18]
and so I just want I don't want this
[36:19]
committee to be misled or confused that
[36:22]
it's a townled event or town sponsored
[36:24]
event. So, let us reconnect on that and
[36:27]
we'll follow out
[36:28]
» Follow back up with you all.
[36:29]
» Thank you.
[36:30]
» Okay. Thank you.
[36:36]
» All right. I'm going to use this new
[36:38]
setup here. Um, do I have control of the
[36:42]
PowerPoint? Yes. Okay. Hello. Um, I'm
[36:45]
just here to give an overview of the
[36:48]
Wake bus plan update that is um in
[36:52]
progress currently.
[36:54]
um give an overview of what what the
[36:57]
project is, how Apex fits into it, and
[37:01]
what you all can do to provide input um
[37:04]
to this this plan. Um so the Wake bus
[37:08]
plan is one of a few different types of
[37:11]
plans that is part of the overall Wake
[37:14]
Transit program. So, you're probably all
[37:17]
familiar with that program, but um just
[37:19]
as a refresher, it's the countywide
[37:21]
investment strategy um for transit
[37:25]
improvement and expansion in Wake County
[37:27]
that is primarily funded through our
[37:29]
halfsent sales tax that was approved in
[37:31]
2016. Um and there's a myriad of
[37:35]
planning that gets done to ensure that
[37:38]
um there's, you know, investment that is
[37:42]
well thought out throughout the county.
[37:44]
So, the Wake bus plan follows the
[37:46]
overall Wake Transit Plan update and it
[37:50]
focuses just on bus services um and
[37:54]
associated capital projects. Um and it
[37:57]
also develops short range transit plans
[37:59]
for the main uh transit agencies in the
[38:02]
area which are Go Raleigh, Go Triangle,
[38:04]
and Go Kerry. Um, and those short-range
[38:07]
transit plans are actually detailed to
[38:09]
the project level of identifying which
[38:11]
routes are prioritized for funding
[38:14]
within the next three years. Um, so it
[38:16]
gets pretty detailed.
[38:18]
Um, where it sits in the overall plan
[38:21]
hierarchy for Wake Transit is kind of
[38:24]
what I alluded to before. It's it's more
[38:26]
detailed than the overall 10-year
[38:29]
strategy. Um, and it it kind of gets at
[38:34]
the bus service for those main three
[38:36]
agencies. Um, and it's not the only
[38:40]
planning that gets done at that level.
[38:42]
There's also other planning um that we
[38:44]
do as part of the CFA program and that
[38:46]
gets done for other types of projects.
[38:49]
Um, so it does not include CFA projects.
[38:52]
So Apex and all the other smaller
[38:55]
municipalities are responsible for our
[38:57]
own detailed transit planning. Um and we
[39:02]
apply for funding through the CFA
[39:04]
program. So this bus plan does not cover
[39:07]
that program. Um, it also doesn't
[39:10]
include rail or other types of transit
[39:12]
projects that the overall strategy might
[39:15]
include. And it doesn't include projects
[39:19]
that those other agencies, GO Carry, Go
[39:21]
Triangle, and um, Go Raleigh might um,
[39:26]
uh, initiate that aren't funded through
[39:28]
the Wake Transit program. So they they
[39:31]
have their own funding sources that they
[39:33]
might choose to fund projects through
[39:35]
and those wouldn't be included in this
[39:36]
because this is really feeding into what
[39:38]
what is funded through that that
[39:40]
program.
[39:43]
So I just said the CFA program which
[39:45]
we're a part of is is not part of this
[39:47]
bus plan. So how is this relevant to
[39:48]
Apex? Um well we do have a pretty big
[39:52]
stake in this process because it leads
[39:55]
to project ideas that could still serve
[39:59]
Apex. So the go triangle route 305, the
[40:03]
the go triangle route 311 and the go
[40:05]
carry route 9 are all routes that are
[40:08]
funded through the wake transit program.
[40:10]
And the town of Apex doesn't put any
[40:12]
budget, you know, towards those routes
[40:16]
from from our town budget, but we still
[40:18]
benefit from them. Um, and so with the
[40:21]
bus plan, now is the town's chance to
[40:24]
weigh in on new proposed improvements
[40:27]
and expansions, you know, into the
[40:29]
future. Um, this plan will also
[40:34]
um look at ways to prioritize community
[40:39]
transportation hubs, which were
[40:41]
identified as a new item in the the
[40:43]
latest overall transit plan update that
[40:46]
was approved last year. And we think
[40:48]
Apex is a great place for a community
[40:51]
transportation hub and is a great um
[40:54]
kind of uh match for what we're planning
[40:57]
with the Apex mobility hub that we've
[40:59]
talked to you all about before that um
[41:02]
could be a potential future passenger
[41:04]
rail station, bus transfer area, etc.
[41:07]
So, so we're looking at at those through
[41:10]
that lens as well um from a staff point
[41:12]
of view. But these are all things that
[41:14]
are up for uh review and public comment
[41:17]
as it goes through this wake bus plan
[41:20]
update for potential funding.
[41:23]
So where we are right now in the project
[41:25]
is is phase one and that is really um
[41:31]
what the what the project team is
[41:33]
focusing on is gathering input from the
[41:35]
public and stakeholders about what are
[41:39]
what we prioritize first. Um,
[41:43]
there's a public survey out right now
[41:47]
that I'll get to in a in a minute that's
[41:50]
really just throwing a bunch of stuff
[41:51]
out there and asking for reactions. Um,
[41:54]
it doesn't mean that any of those things
[41:56]
are set in stone yet. And um really that
[42:01]
this this point of the project is
[42:02]
gathering input. um into 2027 is when
[42:06]
the project team is is planning to try
[42:09]
to use that feedback to develop the list
[42:11]
of recommendations and in which point
[42:14]
there will be more for review and and
[42:18]
comment on. Um, so the idea is to
[42:22]
finalize this for
[42:24]
summer 2027 with some projects
[42:28]
potentially getting funding as as soon
[42:30]
as FY28 depending on how the timing
[42:32]
works.
[42:34]
Um,
[42:36]
as far as our marketing for phase one,
[42:39]
um, uh, one a member of the the Campo
[42:43]
project team, uh, did a tableabling
[42:46]
event, um, totally like Spanish language
[42:49]
focused at Compare Foods on August 5th.
[42:52]
Um, our planning team sent out an email
[42:55]
blast on August 12th. Chris put up
[42:58]
flyers in our Go Apex bus shelters. And
[43:01]
then tomorrow we'll be outside of the
[43:03]
Mason Street Municipal Building as part
[43:05]
of our triit week um booth and we'll
[43:09]
have information about this project as
[43:10]
well. Um we did get some preliminary um
[43:13]
feedback from the project team that go a
[43:16]
that apex in general is um
[43:20]
proportionately over represented so far
[43:22]
in the survey results which is a good
[43:24]
thing for us because it means that more
[43:27]
people from Apex are providing input
[43:29]
than they would guess just based on our
[43:31]
population proportion. So, it seems like
[43:35]
the out outreach is working so far, but
[43:38]
we could always use more input as the
[43:40]
project goes on.
[43:42]
Um, oh, and yeah, and Gay signed up for
[43:45]
uh a slot tomorrow, so she'll be there,
[43:47]
and Linda will also be there in the
[43:49]
afternoon, so we're excited about that.
[43:52]
Um, so I just wanted to give a quick
[43:53]
overview of the routing concepts. Um,
[43:56]
has anyone actually taken the survey yet
[43:58]
by chance?
[43:58]
» Yes.
[43:59]
» Okay, awesome.
[44:00]
» And attended one of the meetings.
[44:01]
» Oh, great. Okay, awesome. Um,
[44:04]
» And in person, a focus group.
[44:06]
» That's great. Yeah,
[44:07]
» It's transit related. We're there.
[44:11]
» Um, so you're familiar with this, but
[44:13]
for those who haven't taken it yet, I
[44:14]
encourage you to take it. Um, there is a
[44:17]
map that is currently only found within
[44:19]
the survey itself that outlines some
[44:22]
kind of initial proposed routing
[44:24]
concepts that are in no way finalized,
[44:26]
but are out there for reaction. Um, and
[44:31]
the project team is seeking input. Apex
[44:34]
staff did not develop these project
[44:36]
concepts, so we're reacting to them as
[44:39]
well as you right now. Um, but the
[44:42]
there's three that
[44:45]
would serve Apex essentially. Um there's
[44:47]
a proposed go carry route 10 concept
[44:51]
that um would travel from downtown Apex
[44:54]
to the Wake carry area through 1010 road
[44:59]
and Kildair Farm road um which would be
[45:03]
an hourlong runtime and would
[45:06]
essentially be stylized as a go carry
[45:10]
route if it if it gets prioritized for
[45:12]
funding.
[45:14]
Um there's also a proposed new go
[45:18]
triangle route called the triangle
[45:19]
regional express concept which would go
[45:23]
from Fuway Marina to Holly Springs to
[45:25]
Apex and then get on 540 as an express
[45:30]
to the regional transit center in RTP.
[45:34]
Um,
[45:36]
again, these are still conceptual, so
[45:38]
the routing isn't finalized, but the
[45:40]
idea would essentially be a connector to
[45:43]
get, you know, folks from Fugua, Holly
[45:46]
Springs, Apex to um regional
[45:49]
connections.
[45:52]
And then there's also a proposed Apex
[45:54]
Raleigh Express which would replace Go
[45:57]
Triangle route 305 to try to streamline
[46:01]
the routing from Apex to downtown
[46:03]
Raleigh.
[46:05]
um hopefully save a little time, but we
[46:06]
we don't have any numbers yet on the
[46:10]
actual timing, but it would it's
[46:13]
conceptualized to start at Vidia, go to
[46:18]
downtown Apex, and then get on 64, hop
[46:21]
off at Tryan Road for Wake Med, and then
[46:25]
back onto the freeway to downtown
[46:28]
Raleigh.
[46:31]
Um, and I'm I'm not going to go over
[46:34]
these in details, but there's basically
[46:36]
a question asking about reactions to
[46:38]
those routing concepts and then some
[46:40]
kind of general kind of ranking
[46:42]
questions about what types of priorities
[46:45]
um, respondents have for transit
[46:48]
improvements. So, you know, more
[46:50]
amenities at bus stops, more crosswalks
[46:52]
and sidewalks, what's the priority
[46:55]
there? because there is funding for
[46:56]
pedestrian improvements associated with
[46:58]
transit access in the plan. Um
[47:03]
what types of services are the most
[47:05]
important to focus on? That's you know
[47:07]
up to individual respondents to
[47:10]
determine. You kind of pull and um sort
[47:14]
um priorities.
[47:17]
um
[47:19]
kind of similar question, what what
[47:21]
types of service improvements
[47:23]
and then anything else you would like to
[47:25]
see. So, it's open-ended. Um so, I just
[47:28]
wanted to bring attention to that and
[47:30]
request that you take a look and and
[47:32]
fill out the survey if you have time. Um
[47:35]
we're still looking through it ourselves
[47:37]
at the staff level, but I I already have
[47:39]
some just, you know, conceptual
[47:41]
questions for the project team that
[47:43]
we'll be working through. But I also
[47:45]
just open the floor and if there's any
[47:47]
questions that we can either relay to
[47:49]
the project team or that you just might
[47:51]
have about the project.
[47:52]
» Katie, will you be able to get the
[47:54]
filtered survey responses for just the
[47:56]
apex population?
[47:58]
» Um I can request them.
[48:01]
» I think that would be useful for us.
[48:03]
» Yeah, I think it's um through public
[48:05]
input and I believe that they have the
[48:07]
ability to do that. Um so I can I can
[48:10]
request that. Yeah.
[48:16]
May I ask a question?
[48:17]
» Yeah.
[48:18]
» Um
[48:20]
based on the proposed routes, the three
[48:23]
routes that you just referred to,
[48:26]
um is there any connectivity overlap or
[48:29]
conflict with our own go Apex bus routes
[48:34]
that we have been planning out?
[48:38]
I'd say there's probably not that much
[48:40]
conflict actually with with what's
[48:42]
planned so far. The the emphasis is on
[48:47]
in the concepts that we've seen so far
[48:50]
on making regional connections which we
[48:52]
didn't really focus on with the
[48:54]
prioritization study. I did have a brief
[48:57]
discussion with the project team about
[48:59]
the proposed change to the 305 into an
[49:03]
more of an express route format because
[49:06]
right now the 305 does have local stops
[49:09]
in town and it serves the um or was
[49:12]
planning to serve the Pine Plaza Drive
[49:15]
area. Um
[49:18]
it the routing on the 305 has been
[49:20]
shifted a little bit for um operational
[49:23]
reasons for go triangle, but it was
[49:24]
their intent to serve that area. And we
[49:26]
just talked through potential timing of
[49:29]
Go Apex route 2 concept which would
[49:33]
serve that area and and the the ARX
[49:37]
conversion and not wanting to leave a
[49:40]
gap where there wasn't um service in
[49:43]
that area. Um, so that was like an early
[49:46]
piece of feedback I had for them. So I
[49:47]
think the timing of that one is probably
[49:49]
the the thing we would need to pay the
[49:52]
closest attention to. Um, but as far as
[49:55]
the the Triangle Regional Express, um,
[49:59]
there's
[50:01]
um, it would only be um, an improvement
[50:04]
because it would provide access down to
[50:06]
Fugay, which we don't have right now. um
[50:08]
and would still kind of mirror what we
[50:11]
have with the 311 um which has started
[50:14]
up service in August. Um it doesn't
[50:16]
actually go all the way down to Holly
[50:17]
Springs or Peuway. Um so I'm rambling
[50:21]
now, but there aren't actually a lot of
[50:24]
conflicts that I see. I think it it
[50:26]
would improve overall regional
[50:28]
connectivity without probably impacting
[50:32]
our local connectivity too much.
[50:34]
And would these routes
[50:37]
congregate in the um mobility hub that
[50:40]
we were planning?
[50:41]
» So they would they're all proposed a
[50:44]
little bit differently, but a comment
[50:46]
from staff would be that we would need
[50:48]
them to serve that location to provide,
[50:50]
you know, transfer opportunities.
[50:53]
Um so that's a big priority for us. Um
[50:57]
there the the concepts the routing
[51:00]
hasn't been finalized, but that would be
[51:01]
an important factor for us.
[51:03]
» Thank you.
[51:05]
I would say for the express route
[51:08]
replacing the go triangle 305 that in my
[51:10]
observation there's lots of people apex
[51:12]
people included who do use that to hop
[51:15]
off at surprising kind of local stops.
[51:18]
They're not using it just to go all the
[51:20]
way to Raleigh. I think that classic
[51:23]
commuter who's going from a suburb into
[51:25]
Raleigh to work, that's not what in my
[51:28]
experience the passengers look like in
[51:29]
the 305. So, I would hate to lose too
[51:32]
many of those intermediary stops. I
[51:35]
mean, keeping Wake Carry is important
[51:37]
and as you say, the Lake Pine Shopping
[51:39]
Center, but then there's just odd
[51:41]
unusual stops where I'm not quite sure
[51:43]
what people are getting off to do, but
[51:45]
it's always been all the way along 305.
[51:49]
Lots of people hop on and off rather
[51:51]
than like I often find if I ride the
[51:53]
305, I'm the only person left when we
[51:55]
get to Raleigh. People are not commuting
[51:57]
directly to downtown Raleigh. They're
[51:58]
getting off and in between places.
[52:01]
» Does the current 305 route go by Wake
[52:03]
Mad Carry?
[52:04]
» Yeah, it sure does.
[52:05]
» So, they're keeping some of the same.
[52:07]
» Yes. Although, we should make a big
[52:10]
stink about getting a much much better
[52:12]
bus stop there.
[52:14]
» We've talked a little bit about that,
[52:15]
too. Yeah, that's a it's a challenging
[52:18]
area for pedestrian connectivity. Um
[52:23]
Yeah. But coming out of the hospital,
[52:25]
you know, I mean, for even a mammogram,
[52:27]
for anything, it's like kind of a
[52:28]
horrible, horrible place to wait.
[52:32]
» Uh 305 goes to Holly Springs now,
[52:34]
doesn't it?
[52:35]
» Yeah. Now the 305 goes all the way down
[52:37]
to the Walmart in Holly Springs.
[52:39]
» And if they replace 305 with this
[52:42]
express, are we losing that kind of
[52:43]
tail, the ability to go to Holly Springs
[52:45]
from AF?
[52:46]
» Yeah, that's a good point. So, it would
[52:48]
essentially have to be replaced by that
[52:50]
other route, the
[52:53]
the Triangle Regional Express that would
[52:56]
go all the way down to Holly Springs and
[52:58]
Fugquway. But that's a good point. Yeah.
[53:00]
So, the timing of that would be
[53:02]
important, too.
[53:03]
» And the new 311 that goes up Highway 55,
[53:06]
that does go to Holly Springs Classic
[53:08]
Park and ride spot. And well, just to
[53:11]
make a little comment about the 311
[53:13]
during the first two weeks it was in
[53:15]
operation. I rode it for a curiosity.
[53:18]
Everyone else on it that Friday were
[53:20]
they were curious riders. They the
[53:22]
drivers said they hadn't had anyone who
[53:23]
was legitimately commuting. And on
[53:25]
various transit posts, transit websites,
[53:28]
people make videos about transit. They
[53:30]
all were commenting that at least thus
[53:32]
far in the first two weeks there weren't
[53:34]
any legitimate that no one saw a
[53:37]
legitimate person who parked and rode to
[53:39]
a highpaying technology job in the
[53:42]
research triangle park that it was so
[53:45]
that's like really interesting whether
[53:46]
the park and ride model I think we
[53:49]
should watch 311. It'd be thrilling, you
[53:51]
know, if they had 20 commuters riding
[53:54]
that repeatedly, you know, at least
[53:56]
during the morning and the afternoons.
[53:57]
But thus far on the days that I rode,
[54:00]
everyone was uh retired or disabled. And
[54:03]
they were just curious like not a single
[54:05]
one of us were going to use it for any
[54:07]
kind of employment purpose. And the
[54:09]
drivers kept asking, "Oh, are you going
[54:11]
are you would you use this for a
[54:12]
commute?" No. No. No one ever was. So I
[54:16]
think we just need to watch it and think
[54:17]
about what are realistic expectations
[54:21]
for a more affluent employed population
[54:23]
to use the bus.
[54:25]
» I wonder what their outreach efforts
[54:26]
look like if the if the route's fairly
[54:28]
new with that parking ride. Like did you
[54:31]
tell anybody that this was available
[54:33]
that you could park and then get into
[54:34]
your job at RTP?
[54:36]
» Right. Outside of bus world. I think
[54:37]
that's the problem. If you're a bus
[54:38]
person and you follow the bus news then
[54:40]
you saw it everywhere. Have we told the
[54:42]
RTP companies, hey, if you've got staff
[54:44]
over here that live this far out, we've
[54:47]
got a route for them.
[54:49]
» I will say one other little thing about
[54:50]
the 311 is Go Triangle is great about
[54:53]
having a public comment period, and it's
[54:55]
well promoted again to bus world. I
[54:58]
don't know about promotion to the
[54:59]
general public, but they post service
[55:01]
change comment periods on the bus stops
[55:03]
and in the bus. And so I and I know
[55:06]
there were other people the same way
[55:08]
with the 311 service change. There were
[55:10]
three of my requested route changes for
[55:14]
Apex residents on the 311. For example,
[55:17]
now it stops at High House and 55 where
[55:21]
you can catch the Go Carry 4 and there's
[55:23]
a Walmart neighborhood mart on one side
[55:26]
of the intersection, a Dollar Tree on
[55:28]
the other. And it was going to bypass
[55:29]
that. And now it's stopping at the
[55:32]
Aldi's on uh Highway 55 in Apex where I
[55:36]
knew from a social media comments that
[55:38]
there are people who live near there who
[55:40]
really wanted access to the bus. So for
[55:42]
them the 311 rather than being regional,
[55:45]
it can be a short hop towards downtown
[55:47]
Apex where they can catch the one. I
[55:49]
mean that's in some ways the most
[55:51]
valuable thing it does. And by that I
[55:53]
mean maybe four or five people but you
[55:55]
know ridership is low. So getting a few
[55:57]
more people to be able to catch into the
[55:59]
one which means they can catch into the
[56:01]
nine or they could go to the four and go
[56:03]
to the depot. Just the universe kind of
[56:06]
opens up but on its own go triangle they
[56:10]
were not going to do those stops. So it
[56:11]
was a really good reminder to me that
[56:13]
being loud and vocal and getting other
[56:15]
people to say the same thing that you
[56:17]
can change your route to serve our local
[56:19]
population.
[56:23]
Any
[56:31]
other comments or questions?
[56:37]
» Any other comments or questions?
[56:43]
» Thank you, K.
[56:44]
» Okay. Yeah, that was an action. Yeah.
[56:46]
» Thank you so much.
[56:48]
» Okay. This time we're gonna call on
[56:51]
Jenna to talk about letters of support
[56:54]
for the infrastructure grants.
[57:04]
Hi, good evening. So this requested
[57:07]
action is based on the task identified
[57:10]
in the group's annual task work plan.
[57:14]
So, at our last, excuse me, at our last
[57:15]
subcommittee meeting, we discussed
[57:18]
potentially giving the authority to the
[57:20]
sub the infrastructure subcommittee
[57:23]
to be able to sign infrastructure grant
[57:25]
applications. And this is really in the
[57:28]
event that there's not a regularly
[57:29]
scheduled MTAB meeting. And they would
[57:32]
be signed on behalf of the subcommittee.
[57:35]
And yeah, just wanted to get this
[57:36]
group's thoughts and see if this is
[57:38]
something you'd be interested in.
[57:43]
I think it makes sense to be able to
[57:45]
look at grant applications and when they
[57:48]
talk about signing the letters of
[57:49]
support to be able to encourage the town
[57:51]
to then apply for infrastructure grants
[57:54]
» For the town to Yeah. All right. With a
[57:56]
letter on behalf of the subcommittee to
[57:58]
support the town's grant application.
[58:02]
Yeah,
[58:02]
» I think that makes total sense. I mean,
[58:03]
if we're trying to get things done,
[58:07]
» I agree cuz I think as a subcommittee,
[58:10]
we would have more insight into the
[58:13]
short-term and long-term plans of the
[58:15]
town and how the application would fit
[58:18]
into that plan
[58:20]
» And we would work with the staff to
[58:22]
develop the letters. Correct.
[58:23]
» Yeah. We dropped it up and then asked
[58:25]
for review if that sounds good.
[58:27]
» Yeah. And and my question was that is um
[58:31]
this would be the town wants to apply
[58:33]
for a grant. It may be helpful to have a
[58:35]
subcommittee submit a letter of support.
[58:39]
» So it's essentially just supporting what
[58:41]
the town is already planning to do.
[58:43]
» And if it fits into the larger MTABS
[58:46]
schedule, we may just bring it to the to
[58:48]
we would bring it to this group. But if
[58:49]
the timing doesn't work out Yeah.
[58:52]
» But we do only meet every other month.
[58:54]
So you don't want to slow things down.
[58:58]
Jenna.
[58:58]
» Yeah.
[58:59]
» Just a point of clarification again. The
[59:01]
the letter would be on behalf of the
[59:03]
subcommittee or the full board,
[59:06]
» Whoever signs it. Correct.
[59:09]
» If if it was signed by the subcommittee,
[59:11]
it would be on behalf of the
[59:12]
subcommittee.
[59:13]
» Okay.
[59:13]
» Is what we're proposing.
[59:14]
» Okay.
[59:16]
» So, the subcommittee would not
[59:17]
necessarily sign on behalf of the board.
[59:20]
» Correct.
[59:20]
» They would sign on behalf of the
[59:21]
subcommittee
[59:22]
» If it goes to them. That's correct.
[59:24]
» That's what we're proposing. cuz I think
[59:25]
the idea is because we meet every other
[59:28]
month if there's an application in the
[59:31]
interim, not having to wait an entire
[59:33]
two month period to sign that letter of
[59:35]
support. Is that the thought?
[59:36]
» That's correct.
[59:37]
» Yes. Okay.
[59:40]
And that makes
[59:42]
sense to me, too. What What discussion?
[59:45]
Any other discussion?
[59:48]
If no discussion, um would someone like
[59:51]
to entertain a motion?
[59:55]
» I move to grant authority to the
[59:57]
infrastructure subcommittee to sign
[59:59]
letters of support for infrastructure
[1:00:00]
grant applications.
[1:00:02]
» I'll second that. This is K.
[1:00:07]
» Thank you.
[1:00:08]
» Any discussion on that? Any more
[1:00:10]
discussion? Any questions?
[1:00:13]
If not,
[1:00:15]
okay. All those in favor, please signify
[1:00:18]
by saying I.
[1:00:19]
» I.
[1:00:19]
» I.
[1:00:20]
» Anyone oppose?
[1:00:22]
Okay, that's great. I think that's a
[1:00:24]
great efficiency. That'll be great for
[1:00:26]
y'all to review those. Okay, at this
[1:00:29]
point, we'll call on Chris uh Watson to
[1:00:32]
just give us someformational updates.
[1:00:34]
Thanks, Chris.
[1:00:38]
» Um, thank you. I do not have any
[1:00:40]
specific highlights. I did just want to
[1:00:42]
remind everyone um that some of the
[1:00:45]
information that Katie presented on the
[1:00:48]
weight bus plan materials and links are
[1:00:50]
included in theformational items as well
[1:00:52]
as some of the peak plan 2055 um
[1:00:56]
additional information and links as
[1:00:58]
well. So, if you haven't already, um,
[1:01:00]
please review those to learn more about
[1:01:02]
both the W bus plan and upcoming PE plan
[1:01:05]
items. And then the subcommittee meeting
[1:01:06]
dates should also accurately be
[1:01:08]
reflected in theformational packet. But
[1:01:10]
other than that, do not have any other
[1:01:11]
highlights.
[1:01:18]
A question on the
[1:01:20]
ontime performance for bus route one. I
[1:01:24]
don't know if it's because it's the
[1:01:26]
summer seasonality, but there seems to
[1:01:28]
be a continuing negative trend of
[1:01:30]
on-time performance
[1:01:33]
from April to through July from 85% to
[1:01:36]
75.6%.
[1:01:38]
Do we know why?
[1:01:40]
» Yeah, I know we've had some incidents um
[1:01:42]
during that time period, but I'll first
[1:01:43]
hand it over to Katie in case you want
[1:01:45]
to provide any specific context with
[1:01:46]
some of those specific percentages.
[1:01:50]
Um, so we're up I'm looking at the graph
[1:01:53]
right now. Can you hear me? Sorry.
[1:01:56]
» Yes.
[1:01:56]
» Um, and we're it looks like for FY26
[1:02:01]
we're in the 80s. So I'm I'm I'm
[1:02:05]
wondering if you're looking at the the
[1:02:07]
wrong fiscal year on the graph because I
[1:02:09]
know last year we did have some ontime
[1:02:12]
issues primarily.
[1:02:13]
» No. So, right. So, FY26, but then the
[1:02:16]
first month being July continuing to dip
[1:02:20]
and wanting to know outside of the two
[1:02:22]
incidents mentioned on July 7th and July
[1:02:25]
20th, is there any other known
[1:02:27]
explanation?
[1:02:29]
» Um, I don't have those details.
[1:02:31]
» Okay.
[1:02:32]
Well, I have theories about this. As a
[1:02:34]
bus rider, it's very concerning to me
[1:02:36]
that the bus is being detourred through
[1:02:38]
the Salem Streetscape construction zone
[1:02:41]
and that forces it over both sets of
[1:02:44]
railroad tracks at Hunter across from
[1:02:47]
Town Hall. So, it's not just, you know,
[1:02:49]
we saw in the incidents that a bus
[1:02:51]
missed a loop entirely because of the
[1:02:53]
railroad tracks. It's routine. I took
[1:02:56]
the bus yesterday on the first stop
[1:02:59]
coming out of the construction zone at
[1:03:01]
Suvita grocery store and it was already
[1:03:04]
10 minutes late which is you know pretty
[1:03:06]
unacceptable that early in the route.
[1:03:10]
The other issue that's happening is
[1:03:12]
there's a forced disembarkment at the
[1:03:15]
municipal building and this partially
[1:03:17]
explains boarding counts as well. So try
[1:03:21]
to put this in context. Normally if I
[1:03:23]
ride go Apex to a destination I board
[1:03:26]
once, ride it to Walmart, reboard and
[1:03:29]
take the bus close to home. Now what
[1:03:31]
happens and this happens almost in every
[1:03:33]
round trip. You go through the municipal
[1:03:36]
building layover point. You used to be
[1:03:38]
able to stay on that bus. You know it's
[1:03:41]
only there for 3 to 10 minutes. So you
[1:03:43]
stay in the air conditioning etc. But
[1:03:46]
now it's a forced disembarkment since
[1:03:48]
midappril. And that explains some of
[1:03:50]
these numbers. So everyone has to get
[1:03:53]
off. Not great for weather exposure, for
[1:03:56]
safety, all kinds of problems. And then
[1:03:58]
you reboard. So my trip that's two
[1:04:01]
segments now is always counting as three
[1:04:04]
segments. So that inflates numbers, but
[1:04:06]
it's well known that the process of
[1:04:08]
boarding and disembarking slows down bus
[1:04:12]
service. So that's just another thing at
[1:04:15]
the missile building. Every single time
[1:04:17]
they have to wait for everyone to get
[1:04:18]
off. in some cases, but someone who
[1:04:21]
requires the ramp to walk off on because
[1:04:23]
of the steep boarding slope and then
[1:04:26]
because of now staff disagree with me. I
[1:04:28]
believe that it's the detour and the
[1:04:30]
railroad tracks are a big reason the bus
[1:04:33]
is in my mind almost always behind
[1:04:36]
schedule. Staff think it's traffic on
[1:04:38]
Highway 55, which would certainly be a
[1:04:40]
factor, but the the bus is behind
[1:04:43]
schedule. So, the drivers are losing
[1:04:46]
their break. They don't get a lunch
[1:04:47]
break. only break they get is at the
[1:04:50]
municipal building transfer point. So if
[1:04:52]
they're behind schedule and they only
[1:04:54]
get two minutes, they don't even have
[1:04:55]
time to go to the restroom, eat a
[1:04:56]
banana, smoke a cigarette. The drivers
[1:04:58]
are speeding up once they're on the
[1:05:01]
route, once they get out of the
[1:05:02]
construction zone. It used to be that Go
[1:05:05]
Apex would travel 15 to 20 m an hour.
[1:05:07]
It's really slow because it's usually
[1:05:09]
empty. It's usually doing the route and
[1:05:11]
not stopping to pick people up. So the
[1:05:13]
risk is normally ahead of schedule. Now
[1:05:16]
the bus is coming out of downtown behind
[1:05:18]
schedule and loop after loop after loop
[1:05:21]
and the drivers are picking up speed.
[1:05:23]
They're going like 45 to 50 m an hour on
[1:05:26]
these rinky dink little buses, an Arbach
[1:05:29]
and a Champion. And this is documented
[1:05:32]
in videos. We're bumping and we're
[1:05:34]
rattling and people are going airborne.
[1:05:36]
People are being tossed out of their
[1:05:37]
seats by a speeded up bus. So very
[1:05:40]
strange things are happening with the
[1:05:43]
drivers compensating for the detour,
[1:05:46]
pulling into the municipal building a
[1:05:48]
little bit late, dumping passengers off,
[1:05:50]
racing to the restroom, making cell
[1:05:52]
phone calls, picking up passengers. You
[1:05:54]
can see how quickly we're late again,
[1:05:57]
loop after loop, and then you get a
[1:05:58]
train there, and you kind of see why,
[1:05:59]
well, they just give up on finishing a
[1:06:02]
1-hour route.
[1:06:05]
» No, thank you. That actually answers my
[1:06:08]
next question which would be what to
[1:06:09]
explain or how to explain the increase
[1:06:11]
starting in May but your forced
[1:06:13]
disembarkment just explain that. So are
[1:06:17]
we. So what what changed in in April May
[1:06:19]
to that people cannot stay on the bus?
[1:06:22]
Do we know?
[1:06:23]
» I'm sorry. Say that louder.
[1:06:24]
» So what what changed in April or May
[1:06:26]
with the disembarkment? is go carry the
[1:06:31]
Cary decision is that they were g what
[1:06:33]
go carries transit director said to me
[1:06:36]
and I'll let staff correct with their
[1:06:38]
own interpretation but what I was told
[1:06:40]
is that it's always been the policy is
[1:06:43]
that just drivers have always been
[1:06:45]
ignoring it and now that the municipal
[1:06:47]
building has a little tiny shelter it's
[1:06:50]
two seats and a wheelchair space a
[1:06:52]
little shelter that go triangle paid for
[1:06:55]
for the 305 that sort of let them say,
[1:06:58]
"Well, we're going to force people off
[1:06:59]
the bus, but they have somewhere to
[1:07:01]
stand or sit as protection from the
[1:07:03]
rain." And that led them to enforce this
[1:07:05]
policy.
[1:07:06]
» But then when people get back on the
[1:07:07]
bus, we count them again. Like, so
[1:07:09]
somebody sitting there with a clicker
[1:07:11]
going like, "Oh, yep. We got another
[1:07:13]
rider."
[1:07:13]
» And so now that it took a little
[1:07:15]
conversation, right, to get Terry
[1:07:17]
decision makers to admit that in fact it
[1:07:19]
did help a lot with boarding statistics
[1:07:21]
for the Go Carry 9, which is low
[1:07:23]
ridership, and for Go apex number one.
[1:07:26]
forces an extra up and down. But there's
[1:07:29]
also the whole security issue that the
[1:07:31]
percentage of homeless riders is
[1:07:33]
increasing fast and furious. When we
[1:07:36]
went to a vision zero safety conference
[1:07:39]
as part of the go apex delegation, a
[1:07:43]
police sergeant from Apex police was
[1:07:45]
there and he was the first person to me
[1:07:47]
who confirmed that ridership
[1:07:49]
demographics have 100% changed. We are
[1:07:52]
so likely in the winter most passengers
[1:07:55]
were homeless. They were coming from
[1:07:56]
Raleigh or Kerry, sleeping on the go
[1:07:58]
apex bus. And so part of the force
[1:08:01]
disembarkment is about homeless
[1:08:03]
passengers. It makes it a less desirable
[1:08:06]
route. It used to be if you never had to
[1:08:08]
disembark, you could go back and sleep
[1:08:10]
and just circle hour after hour after
[1:08:12]
hour. Go Apex One was the best place to
[1:08:15]
sleep if you were homeless and it was
[1:08:17]
usually an empty bus. No one was going
[1:08:18]
to bother you. you go to the back and
[1:08:20]
you never have to get out. So that's
[1:08:22]
part of it. But if you're going to force
[1:08:23]
the homeless to get off the bus every
[1:08:26]
hour, so it's a less desirable place to
[1:08:28]
sleep. What happens is if you have
[1:08:30]
someone like me, an older woman who's
[1:08:32]
housed, it's now me plus the homeless
[1:08:35]
passenger who's sitting at the municipal
[1:08:37]
building. The drivers with their radio
[1:08:39]
connection dispatched, they go to the
[1:08:41]
back. So they're a little more safe from
[1:08:43]
the homeless. I had my first experience
[1:08:45]
of being panhandled at the municipal
[1:08:47]
building. And this was in the morning.
[1:08:49]
It was like 10:30 in the morning. But
[1:08:51]
the homeless fellow waited until there
[1:08:54]
was no one. There weren't dog walkers.
[1:08:56]
There weren't employees. There wasn't
[1:08:57]
cars. And came over and asked for money.
[1:08:59]
And I was okay saying no. But a few
[1:09:02]
moments later, his buddy, a second
[1:09:04]
homeless person, got off the 305. And
[1:09:07]
now it was me plus two homeless men. And
[1:09:09]
you just think about that, right? If
[1:09:11]
this had been a late route, if it had
[1:09:13]
been after dark, the municipal building
[1:09:15]
is closed, there's inadequate lighting,
[1:09:17]
there's no security, unlike the other
[1:09:19]
transfer points where the homeless
[1:09:20]
congregate, we don't have a security
[1:09:22]
guard there. That for me it meant do not
[1:09:25]
ride at night, right? That there's just
[1:09:28]
enough of a risk of some pressure of it
[1:09:30]
feeling less safe. So there's all those
[1:09:33]
complicated factors of why go carry is
[1:09:37]
doing forced disembarkment. The final
[1:09:39]
thing and you're being nice to let me
[1:09:41]
talk about this. It's a burning issue in
[1:09:42]
my head is if you are someone like me,
[1:09:45]
someone or someone older or someone with
[1:09:46]
walking cane and you have trouble with
[1:09:48]
the boarding slope and now we're forcing
[1:09:50]
us to do an extra up and down. For me
[1:09:53]
personally, the down hurts more than
[1:09:56]
going up for my injured hand. Then for
[1:09:59]
me it was the final straw. I try not to
[1:10:01]
ride go apex anymore. I mean that was
[1:10:03]
just it. We have a detour. We have a
[1:10:05]
sleep soap. We don't have enough weather
[1:10:07]
protection. we have less security
[1:10:08]
concerns. And then finally, the up and
[1:10:11]
down. It's more serious than you might
[1:10:13]
think for the vulnerable passengers. If
[1:10:15]
you're young, able-bodied, really
[1:10:16]
athletic, then it's not that much of a
[1:10:19]
big deal unless it's extreme heat and
[1:10:21]
rain. But for others of us, it was sort
[1:10:24]
of a final straw there.
[1:10:28]
» Thank you.
[1:10:29]
» Thank you.
[1:10:30]
» I'm also
[1:10:30]
» I did want to point out a few things.
[1:10:32]
So, we did increase the level of service
[1:10:35]
provided in April. um and it continues
[1:10:38]
to increase since then. So I don't think
[1:10:41]
the wrership increases, you know, 100%
[1:10:46]
due to the the Mason Street Municipal
[1:10:49]
Building um policy enactment um by
[1:10:52]
Goary. Um
[1:10:55]
additionally, I just wanted to point out
[1:10:56]
that some of Elizabeth's comments are
[1:10:58]
speculative. we don't have confirmation
[1:11:01]
of all of these items and we have other
[1:11:04]
anecdotal evidence that that you know is
[1:11:07]
not necessarily corroborating all that
[1:11:09]
information. So I do want to point that
[1:11:10]
out that this is one person's
[1:11:12]
observation
[1:11:14]
and you know we do continue to work with
[1:11:16]
goary to make sure we're providing a
[1:11:18]
good service. So I I do really want to
[1:11:20]
point that out.
[1:11:23]
» Thank you. I also wonder if some of this
[1:11:25]
discussion can also be appropriate for
[1:11:27]
the safety subcommittee to continue to
[1:11:28]
kind of brainstorm some of these
[1:11:30]
concerns and mitigation strategies um
[1:11:32]
just because there's a lot that you
[1:11:34]
brought up.
[1:11:36]
» I think also to know your question about
[1:11:39]
um delays um for example last couple
[1:11:42]
weeks there was a small delay when the
[1:11:45]
senior center was closed. Uh some of the
[1:11:47]
construction workers were parking their
[1:11:48]
vehicles in that circle lot. So, I mean,
[1:11:50]
that was a simple, quick fix, but those
[1:11:53]
um routes, those trips were probably
[1:11:56]
going to be delayed, too. So, it's
[1:11:57]
probably a combination of some of the
[1:11:59]
concerns that Elizabeth brought up and
[1:12:00]
also just some, you know, day-to-day
[1:12:03]
impacts.
[1:12:04]
» Sure.
[1:12:13]
So, so the April, May, June 2026 numbers
[1:12:16]
reflect the
[1:12:18]
change in service frequency. So, the
[1:12:21]
numbers went up, the the ridership
[1:12:22]
numbers went up, but the the boarding
[1:12:24]
per trip and the cost went down and the
[1:12:26]
cost went up a little bit. Is that fair
[1:12:28]
to say? Okay.
[1:12:31]
» And that is average boardings per trip
[1:12:33]
rather than per hour.
[1:12:34]
» Mhm. So, it's not like you're dividing
[1:12:36]
that by two buses.
[1:12:39]
» I don't believe that's how that's split
[1:12:41]
up.
[1:12:41]
» Yeah. Revenue hour basically means for
[1:12:44]
one vehicle. So, if we have two vehicles
[1:12:47]
in service, um that's per vehicle.
[1:12:52]
» So, like in J July, we think during an
[1:12:55]
hour with two different buses, there
[1:12:57]
were over five people
[1:12:59]
riding during that hour. Is that what
[1:13:01]
the statistic means?
[1:13:02]
» Correct. Yep.
[1:13:11]
Except of course you didn't have to
[1:13:12]
recalculate based on the forced boarding
[1:13:14]
at the municipal building. See it gets
[1:13:16]
really tricky to convert this into human
[1:13:18]
beings.
[1:13:28]
Could I just ask one question? label of
[1:13:30]
average boarding per trip and maybe it
[1:13:32]
was discussed how do we define trip?
[1:13:35]
» What is a trip?
[1:13:37]
» What is a trip?
[1:13:39]
» Um so the official measurement for
[1:13:42]
transit ridership is called an unlin
[1:13:45]
passenger trip which is one person
[1:13:47]
boarding and one person al lighting the
[1:13:50]
bus. Um so it's it's um not a round
[1:13:56]
trip. It's not somebody transferring to
[1:13:58]
two different buses. It's one one body
[1:14:02]
on one boarding.
[1:14:06]
» So So one body. So if me and Sam are
[1:14:10]
there, if I board, is it a trip?
[1:14:13]
» Yep.
[1:14:15]
» And just because she's waiting, that's a
[1:14:17]
trip or she doesn't even need to be
[1:14:19]
involved.
[1:14:21]
» I'm not sure.
[1:14:22]
» Get on the bus, then it doesn't count.
[1:14:23]
» It doesn't count, right? Yeah. So
[1:14:25]
waiting passenger doesn't count just
[1:14:26]
once you get on. But even if you go just
[1:14:28]
to one next step it's still a complete
[1:14:30]
trip.
[1:14:31]
» Correct. Yeah.
[1:14:32]
» Versus somebody who went to the from the
[1:14:34]
start to the end that's also a trip.
[1:14:37]
Correct.
[1:14:37]
» Correct. Yeah. And larger agencies are
[1:14:40]
required to measure something called
[1:14:41]
passenger miles traveled which kind of
[1:14:44]
gets that that that statistic that
[1:14:45]
you're getting at. Um, but we don't we
[1:14:49]
don't get that to that level of detail
[1:14:52]
of like how many miles people are
[1:14:54]
traveling.
[1:14:55]
» Got it.
[1:14:56]
» Could we do we have the technology to
[1:14:58]
look at that?
[1:15:00]
» Um, go Carrie probably has the
[1:15:02]
technology to do that through their
[1:15:04]
APCs, but we it's not part of our
[1:15:07]
contract to necessarily get it. We could
[1:15:09]
request information on that.
[1:15:18]
Thank you.
[1:15:24]
» Sorry, one more question,
[1:15:25]
» Please.
[1:15:26]
» The ontime percentage on page 72
[1:15:30]
versus the ontime
[1:15:33]
percentage on page
[1:15:36]
76.
[1:15:38]
What's the difference
[1:15:43]
» For a specific month or
[1:15:44]
» Let's just say June it says 94.4%
[1:15:49]
on page 70.
[1:15:50]
» Uh it's paratransit the doortodoor
[1:15:53]
service for disabled people is on the
[1:15:56]
low second set. Yes. Versus a fixed bus
[1:15:59]
route. Got it.
[1:16:04]
» And why is one higher than the other on
[1:16:06]
time?
[1:16:08]
So the door-todoor service is a
[1:16:11]
reservationbased trip service. Um so
[1:16:14]
those are a separate set of ridership um
[1:16:18]
that are it's calculated differently. So
[1:16:20]
those are the the vans that will pick
[1:16:22]
folks up and drop them off at a specific
[1:16:24]
address. Um and so they're they're
[1:16:28]
they're a different form of travel and
[1:16:30]
so we have to report those numbers
[1:16:32]
differently to FTA and to um our funding
[1:16:36]
partners. Um so it's just they're
[1:16:38]
considered different data sets.
[1:16:40]
» Thank you.
[1:16:54]
Any other questions on the info items?
[1:17:04]
Okay, next up is other business.
[1:17:06]
» Thank you.
[1:17:12]
» Thank you. Okay, this is the um other
[1:17:16]
business section where any board member
[1:17:19]
can bring up anything um to introduce a
[1:17:22]
topic that's not included on the regular
[1:17:24]
agenda. Does anybody have um one of
[1:17:27]
those items they'd like to discuss or
[1:17:29]
bring to the bring to the advisory
[1:17:32]
board?
[1:17:43]
Okay,
[1:17:45]
seeing none, if we don't have any other
[1:17:48]
business,
[1:17:50]
» Just one comment about you'll see
[1:17:51]
November 4th is our next meeting. Just a
[1:17:53]
reminder with the um proposal. Yeah.
[1:17:57]
» And we'll send out reminders before
[1:17:59]
» Next regular meetings, Wednesday,
[1:18:00]
November 4th. Um it'll be here before we
[1:18:04]
know it. So again, um, to everybody,
[1:18:07]
happy transit week and I appreciate all
[1:18:10]
the works everybody done and I believe
[1:18:12]
this is a first.
[1:18:14]
» Get out a little early.
[1:18:16]
» We need to move to ajourn.
[1:18:18]
» Yes, it will. Um,
[1:18:19]
» So moved.
[1:18:20]
» Yeah. Do we have a second?
[1:18:22]
» I second it. Second.
[1:18:24]
» Okay, we have a motion, a second. All in
[1:18:26]
favor of adjourning?
[1:18:27]
» I Anyone oppose and stay long.
[1:18:32]
» Thank you guys so much. Great work
[1:18:33]
everybody. Thank you.
[1:18:38]
» Wow,
[1:18:39]
» That's official.