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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982 Transitr • • J -1 - Transit Committee Supt. Kinsella reported that in June of 1981; a request was made for transit service to Nate°'s Floral Estates on the southside.; He -reported that Bernie Carpenter,.TransitSupervisor, is'currently'` undergoing a complete route analysis of the transit system and incorporating that route, plus one or two other areas, into the system in addition to our current schedules. Supt. Kinsella reported that' a report would not be available until some time in February mainly because of the question of evaluation of the overall realign-. ment that would be.necessary.to incorporate these areas. Therefore, the matter is still in Committee until the -required -report is available. OP' Supt. Kinsella said that he was not quite up to date on the status of the request for hospital:bus service. He believes that dis cussions have. been had by Mr. Dougherty, hospital officials and - County officials. -.Officials are continuing to discuss mutual understandings and the lack of -practicality to revise bus routes because.of.lack of parking and other problems. • S.ipt. Kinsella reported on the West Village request for bus, service. Mr. Carpenter is reviewing the rider survey in the. area which.is three riders in the morning versus the eight or nine riders that were projected from his evaluation. Supt. Kinsella stated that the matter will have to'be reviewed on a continuing basis.because the holiday season at Cornell.affects some people who live in the West Village area and work at Cornell. When Cornell returns to full schedule, the City will be able to further identify the positives and negatives `of that experimental route extension. Status.of Bus Runs on West Hill Comm. Walker asked about the bus runs on West Hill, requesting a report from Mr. Dougherty at the next meeting of the Board. .;_//o/0 Trial Bus Run on Rt. 3 Asst. to Supt. Dougherty reported on the extra hour trial on Rt. 3 buses on West Hill --that 10 persons were carried during that hour for a total revenue of $3.17 as compared to 60 persons riding the following hour. Three persons rode the bus that hour on Saturday, compared to 37 persons the following hour. He suggested that Supt. Kinsella write to the gentleman who circulated the petition for the bus service, advising him of the ridership. ,),A 09. Mayor Shaw suggested that the Parking and Traffic Committee analyze the trial run when it nears the 90 -day trial period and make recommendation. Experimental Bus Run on Rt. 3 Comm. Brown reported on the activity on the experimental bus run on Rt. 3 for the extra hour in the morning and asked that it be dropped. Mayor Shaw commented that it would expire on March 31st. 3/„5_ 111 Alderman Banfield asked that the. bus be posted with notice -of the trial run ending for the information of the riders. -2- Ithaca Transit ystem - Report of Operations By Comm. Varricchio: Seconded by Comm. Brown RESOLVED, That the Board accept the report of the last quarter of 1981 and the year end summary of the operations of the Ithaca Transit System. Asst. to the Supt. Dougherty asked the Board to note that the subsidies for the System have gone up every year and he stressed that this trend may very well change in the near future and the City should not be too complacent about it. .He feels that a hard look should be taken at the expenses involved in operating the System and our own. cash fare'income,token income, etc: in connection with it. i/7/7. A.vote on the. resolution resulted as follows: Carried Unanimously Ithaca Transit System's Report By Comm. Brown: Seconded by Comm. Varricchio RESOLVED, That the Board acep the Ithaca o arTransit System's Report of Operations for the period �Supt. Kinsella commented on the report. f„ A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Carried Unanimously Ithaca Transit System Report of Operations Comm. Brown called attention to the Transit System Report of Operations for the second quarter of 1982 which was received with the agenda. • Ithaca Transit System Report 'of Operations Comm. Brown presented the Ithaca Transit System Report of Operations through the third quarter of 1982. /°V'oAs- • -3- Capital Grant Application - Ithaca Transit Buses By Comm. Varricchio: Seconded by Comm. Walsh that are at the end WHEREAS, Ithaca Transit mustreplace of their useful productive life, and WHEREAS, the City has been notified of the availabnisty.ofo. Section Department of Transportation; Federal Highway Admi,18 Capital Assistance Grant, and WHEREAS, .a grant application for capital assistance must be submitted to the Federal Highway Administration; //PO NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Board. of Public Works recommends that the Common Cototal il set aside costffminusttlenFederal s to cover, the difference betweenproject and State contribution, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Board recommends that the Common Council authorize the Mayor to sign and submit the capital grant application. Asst. to the Supt. Dougherty gave a background report on events leading up to the Capital Grant Application. Discussion followed on the floor. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Carried Unanimously Section 18 Operating Assistance Funds- ' By Comm. Varricchio: Seconded by Comm. Walker ' WHEREAS,.the City•has been notified of the Federal Highway Adminis- tration, Section 18 Operating Assistance.availability, and WHEREAS, City staff have been..negotiating the -distribution -of these Section 18 funds. with the County, and WHEREAS, staff feels a satisfactory solution has been reached; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works agrees to the distribution of the 1981 Section -18 Operating Assist- -ance funds and requests the Mayor to notify the County Commissioner of Planning of the.City's agreement. Discussion followed on the floor. A vote on the -resolution resulted as follows: Carried Unanimously Supt. Kinsella thanked Asst.. Dougherty and staff for their patience and perseverance on this project. He stated -that a lot of work has been done and a - lot of time spent in reaching a satisfactory agree-. Ment . 1/40- Award of.Professional. Service Contract By Comm. Walsh: Seconded by Comm. Varricchio 31>d515' RESOLVED, That a professional services contract. in the amount of $1,750, be awarded to Scanlon i Joyce Certified Public Accountants for their proposal in regard to doing an audit in the Transit Operating Assistance Program: grantwhich is required for receiving that assistance. Carried Unanimously Uistri ution of 1982 Section 18 Funds By Comm. Brown: Seconded by Comm. Sturtevant WHEREAS, the City has been notified of the Federal Highway Administration, Section 18 Public Transit Funding availability, and WHEREAS, City staff have been negotiating the distribution of these Section 18 funds with the County, and WHEREAS, staff feels a satisfactory solution has been reached; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works agrees to the distri- bution. of the 1982 Section 18 Public Transit Assistance funds and requests the Mayor to notify the County Commissioner. of Planning of the City's agreement, and execute said agreement. Discussion followed on the floor. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Carried Unanimously • • • -4- Bicycle P.acks_ Alderman Banfield asked that the possibility of including hike racks on buses when specifications are let on new buses be referred. to the Parking, Traffic and Transit Committee. • Jack Dougherty reported that this had been looked into a number of years ago, and the conclusion at that gime was that the inclusion of bike racks was not a good idea. Alderman Barfield asked Mr. Dougherty for a report on this so that the matter could be reported hack to Council. 5.-pot8d- Use of Bicycle Racks on City Buses Asst. to Supt. Dougherty reported that he had previously given Alderman Banfield a complete file on the investigation into the use of bicycle racks on city buses, including letters from the Chief of Police, Insurance Company and correspondence with people in other cities. Mayor Shaw asked . that the Parking, Traffic .,arid Transit -/ �j/�� Committee review this matter and make recommendation. Bicycle Racks on Buses By Comm. Brown: Seconded by Comm. Varricchio RESOLVED, That the report from the Transit Supervisor regarding bicycle racks on buses, be accepted. IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED, That this report be forwarded to the Common Council and read into the minutes of their next meeting as well as the minutes of this Board meeting. Discussion followed on the floor. s"///0 - Supt. Kinsella commented that this resolution came outas a result of Alderman Hoffman's request that the matter be referred to the BPW Traffic and Transit Committee. The Transit Supervisor spent qu.ite. a bit of time on acquiring this documentation, and it was hopedthe documentation would be written into the minutes and serve as a reference in the future regarding bike racks on buses. Request from David Banfield, Alderman, Re. Bike Racks "To: Bernard Carpenter, Transit Supervisor March 19, 1982 I spoke with Deputy Chief Walter Pagliaro on this date concerning bike racks on the buses, and he said that conditions have not changed. since Chief Pagliaro strongly reaffirmed his opposition to placing bike racks on the buses. S/c,f I called Mr. O'Brien, Maintenance Manager with the San. Diego Transit Corp. and he is sending us a report on some of the problems they have encountered using bike racks on their buses. (Attachment "A").: I spoke with Douglas Devine, Vice President, Marketing, Sunsh.in.e. Recreation, manufacturer of bus racks. Mr. Devine explained that there were problems with the bike racks, such as accidents caused by the protrusion of the racks, requires two people to remove the racks to work and service the buses, and it is just hard to mobilize bike riders to use the bus racks. I also spoke with Thomas W. Friedman, Senior Transit Planner with Metro of Seattle. Mr. Friedman explained that they also tried the -rear racks and experienced many problems. They are now trying a front mounted rack (Attachment "B"). In addition to the delay caused by determining which bike to load first, there is a potential safety hazard should the driver be looking in his side view mirror as he pulls from the curb and. a passenger runs around to. the front of the bus.to load his bike. I also. spoke with Mr. Stevens with the University Bus Service of Fair- field Conn. and he said he considered bike racks; however, the cons far outweighed the pros and decided against installing .racks.on their buses." Memo to David Banfield from B. Carpenter, dated March 19, 1982 Listed below are some pros and cons of bike racks. I have left some blank spaces under the pros in hope that someone more enlightened than •T could fill them in.. PROS 1. Could increase bike rider use of buses. 2. Tend to promote the progressive image of the Transit System. 3. 4. 5. S/10- 6. CONS 1. Increase the length of buses, thereby decreasing the number of buses at some of our stops which would affect our transfer system orwe would have to remove some parking meters. 2. Must have more than one rack. 3. Requires two people toremove and replace racks for engine compart- ment access. 4. Attractive nuisance, children and some adults attempting to ride on the racks. (Seattle Metro experience). 5. Increases risk for insurance claims. 6. Racks would require daily safety inspections. 7. Smaller riders would need assistance. Drivers not allowed to leave bus. 8. Delay buses on scheduled runs. 9. Short season for use. 10. Theft potential. Bikes cannot be locked in. 11. Front loading racks can hold only two bikes, cannot guarantee space. .Might deter riders. Dave, as you know, I take great pride in the Ithaca Transit System, and the effective and efficient manner in which it is operated. This is due inpart to the support given by the Board of Public Works and. Common Council. If I thought that adding bike racks would enhance the operation I would certainly support doing so; however, based on the information to - date, I. am of the opinion that it would not be in the best interests of the city to pursue the bike rack proposal any further." Copies to. Don Kinsella, Lucy Brown, Jim Varricchio • -4a- Comm. Brown and Mayor Shaw suggested that the Council people that are interested in this matter list the pros as they see them. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: SJ�1I rJ Carried Unanimously • • -5- Northeast Transit Contract Comm. Cleveland By Comm. Brown: Seconded by RESOLVED, That the Board authorize the Mayor, on the City Attorney's recommendation, to execute a 7-montcontract thtoe ocontinue wieth added Northeast Transit, same conditionsandfee, service to Cass Park. Discussion followed on the floor. Or4/D- A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Carried Unanimously. Northeast Transit Agreement Comm. Brown reported that the City of Ithaca Transit Supervisor, along with representatives of Cornell, the County and the Townof Ithaca, have discussed a proposed agreement for the Northeast Transit opera- tions for the. calendar year 1983. The Northeast: Transit Committee has prepared a document for the Northeast Transit program which is essentially that currently in effect with two exceptions: 1. Billing is changed from monthly to quarterly. 2. Charges are to a special fund in the Transit accounts instead of a trust agency .account. pi; .-/g Resolution By Comm. Brown: Seconded by Comm. Gutenberger RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works acceptssaidagreement and authorizes the Mayor, with City Attorney's review, to sign said agreement on behalf of the City of Ithaca. Carried Unanimously -6 - Lease of -Bus By Comm. Brown: Seconded by Comm. Gutenberger. WHEREAS, the Transit Division is experiencing a delay in the receipt 111 of parts for repair of buses, and WHEREAS, the extended downtime of City buses may adversely affect the Division's capability to provide services on schedule, and WHEREAS, temporary use of a backup bus by lease from Broome County is available; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Mayor be authorized to sign a Lease Agreement with Broome County for one bus on a month-to-month basis pending the receipt and delivery of new buses concurrently authorized in our equipment schedule. Discussion followed on the floor. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Carried Unanimously • Bus Systems Transfers By Comm. Brown: Seconded by Comm. Walker WHEREAS, the operations of the Ithaca Transit, East Ithaca Transit, Northeast Transit and Ithaca -Dryden Transit (TOMTRAN), have numerous passengers who transfer from one system to the other, and WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of City residents and transit passengers to receive optimum service from- Ithaca Transit, now,. therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Board hereby authorize the exchange of transfers between Ithaca Transit and the aforementioned transit agencies for a six-month trial period from January 17 to July 15, 1983. Discussion followed on the floor. The Board asked that Bernie. Carpenter meet with the committee to answer some questions on revenue projection and other concerns of the board. JP'/V/E- Tabling Resolution By Comm. Schickel: Seconded by Comm. Gutenberger RESOLVED, That the resolution regarding bus systems transfersbe tabled. Carried Unanimously Bus Transfers Resolution to Remove Item from Table By Comm. Brown: Seconded by Comm. Walker RESOLVED, That the Bus System Transfer resolution which was tabled at the December 8, 1982 meeting be lifted from the table. Carried Unanimously Resolution . By Comm. Brown: Seconded by Comm. Walker WHEREAS, the operations of the Ithaca Transit, East Ithaca Transit, Northeast Transit, and Ithaca -Dryden Transit (TOMTRAN), have numerous passengers who transfer from one system to the other, and WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of City residents and transit passengers to receive optimum service from Ithaca Transit; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Board hereby authorize the exchange of transfers between Ithaca -Transit and the aforementioned transit. agencies for a six-month trial period from January 17 to July 15, 1983. Amendment to Resolution By Comm. Walker: Seconded by Comm. Schickel RESOLVED, That the inain .resolution include availability of a monthly report as to the transfers both ways, to those systems and to our system, as well as a bi-monthly report basedoninterviews of passengers atthe stops where the two systems interconnect as to whether or not they are nowusingthat system where before they were not 'Discussion followed on the floor.- - �� g�'k� 'A vote on.:the-amendment resulted as follows: • Carried Unanimously 'Main Motion as Amended WHEREAS; the operations of the_Ithaca Transit, East Ithaca vTraensit, Northeast Transit, and Ithaca -Dryden Transit (TOMTRAN), ..passengers who transfer fromone system to the other, and WHEREAS, it is in the best interest fCity residents Transit;transit passengers to receive.optimu therefore, be. it RESOLVED, That this Board hereby authorize the exchange of transfers between Ithaca Transit and tTel7ntooJulyt15nsit 1983geandes bef�t r a six-month trial period fromJanuary further RESOLVED, That:a monthly report as tthe birmonthly reportabased ons, to hse inter - systems and tb our system, as well asa as views of passengers at the nowstopswhere rthatetwo systems system where beforeotheytwere to whether. or not they are g not, be made available for review. /�1g?j A vote on the Main Motion as Amended resultedas fdlloWSCously i Report on action taken on left -over 1981 items: Requests for bus service Nates Floral Estates, Hospital service; and West Village (x,,1..3) 1 Report - Bus Transit Operations 2 Capital Grant Application - Section. 18 Operating Assistance Funds(Trans.i;t) Mayor authorized to sign application;Negotiation of distribution of funds w/County and need for bus replacement. 3 Bicycle Racks requested to be included on new buses-JAD to report 4 - 4a Experimental Bus Run Rt. 3,dropped Tr"th i. t Contract for audit of /Operati:ng Assistance Funds awarded --Scanlon & Joyce, CPA Northeast Transit Contract executed for 7 mos. same fees and conditions and 1 3 service added to Cass Park. - BPW Accepts 1983 Agreement -Mayor to sign. 5 Establishment of Operating Account for Northeast Transit bus service (See Finance - pg. 14). Mayor authorized to sign Lease Agreement w/Broome County for one bus on month-to-month basis until delivery of new buses 6 Discussion re exchange of bus transfers between Ithaca Transit and other transit agencies (Northeast, East Ithaca, Tomtran) 7