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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-MATC-2019-04-22 MOBILITY, ACCESSIBILITY AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MINUTES PRESENT: Chair Lerner Commissioners (6) Barden, Parkes, Chang, Brouwer, Brylinsky, Lyczko OTHERS PRESENT: Common Council Liaisons – McGonigal and Nguyen Information Management Specialist - Myers Jeff Goodmark – From Lime EXCUSED: Commissioners Powers and Roberts Approval of the March 25, 2019 Mobility, Accessibility, and Transportation Commission Meeting Minutes- Resolution By Commissioner Brouwer: Seconded by Commissioner Chang RESOLVED, That the minutes of the March 25, 2019 Mobility, Accessibility, and Transportation Commission meeting be approved as published. Carried Unanimously Chair Lerner stated that Commissioner Chang would need to recuse himself from the discussion and vote on the topic of e-scooters related to a conflict with his employment. Statements From the Public: Fay Gougakis, City of Ithaca, addressed the commission to express her opinion of e-scooters and to state her complete opposition to them being introduced in the City of Ithaca. CC Liaison Report: CC Liaison Nguyen reported that staff is working with New York State to lower the city speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph and to exchange a piece of Route 13 south to the city limit in exchange for parts of Routes 79 and 96 in the city. CC Liaison McGonigal stated that the advantage of the swap of roadways to the City will be the ability to control traffic lights and synchronize them to improve traffic flow. Chair’s Report: Vice Chair for May meeting – Commissioner Lyczko Future Topics May - snow survey - follow up June, July and August – leave open for follow up on ongoing projects. Commissioner Brylinsky suggested the June meeting be used to review the ADA Training that will be held June 11th and the ADA Coordinator position. E-Scooters: Approval of E-Scooter Pilot Program Recommendation – Resolution By Commissioner Barden: Seconded by Commissioner Brylinsky Date: April 22, 2019 Time: 6:00 PM Location: Common Council Chambers, 3rd Floor, City Hall Mobility, Accessibility and Transportation Commission April 22, 2019 2 RESOLVED, That the revised e-scooter pilot program recommendation dated April 22, 2019 replace the previous recommendation from the March 25, 2019 Mobility, Accessibility and Transportation Commission meeting for discussion and possible vote. Carried Unanimously Chair Lerner stated each item in the recommendation would be reviewed separately and amendments made where needed. Commissioner Barden reported that since the last Matcom meeting, they received some public comments, which have been incorporated into the recommendations dated April 22nd. One of the questions that came up was why does the recommendation reference Lime only. It was because it was known how they operate; if the city wants to make the recommendation non company specific it can. Commissioner Parkes arrived at 6:20 p.m. Chair Lerner stated that he discussed with Chief of Staff Cogan and Alderperson Murtagh, Chair of the Planning and Economic Development Committee about how the recommendations should be reviewed. They suggested that when there are disagreements on certain key points to provide two or three alternatives for the Planning and Economic Development Committee. Amending Resolution: By Commissioner Barden: Seconded by Commissioner Lyczko RESOLVED, That item I(G) be amended to change the word “or” to the word “and”. Carried Unanimously IIA – Operations Oversight – discussion followed on the floor regarding differing opinions of what a curfew should look like especially as daylight differs throughout the year. Commissioner Barden stated that, for her what is important, is the curfew reflect the intent of the e-scooter pilot recommendation, and not limit a curfew to daylight hours. Whatever curfew time is approved, it is important to recognize that e-scooters are being used as transportation to and from jobs. Further discussion followed on the floor regarding how curfew times would be controlled. Mr. Goodmark explained that Lime has two options; one is a manual kill switch that would shut all e- scooters down at a particular time, even mid ride. He stated this would not affect brakes and be a gradual shut down. The other option is that there are no rides past 10 pm and begin collection at 9 pm. A message can be sent to riders that Lime will begin collecting e-scooters at 9 pm. Mobility, Accessibility and Transportation Commission April 22, 2019 3 Amending Resolution: By Commissioner Lyczko: Seconded by Commissioner Brouwer RESOLVED, That item IIA be amended to remove the language “allow Lime to propose” and instead read as follows: “Propose a flexible curfew based on the time of year. Later in the summer and earlier in the winter”. Carried Unanimously IIC – CC McGonigal stated that he thinks Common Council would appreciate having Matcom’s opinion on what it thinks is the best option. Discussion followed on the floor regarding commissioner’s opinions on whether or not e- scooters should be allowed on hills. Commissioner Brylinsky stated that she least likes option 3 because it will be onerous to enforce Amending Resolution: By Commissioner Brylinsky: Seconded by Commissioner Barden RESOLVED, That item IIC(3) be removed as one of the options for use of e-scooters on hills. Ayes: Barden, Brylinsky, Brouwer, Parkes Nays: Lerner, Lyczko Abstentions: 0 Motion Failed (5 affirmative votes required for passage) Item IIIA(3) – Commissioner Barden updated the language based on input from Commissioner Brylinsky; the difference is in the timing starts when something is reported. Amending Resolution: By Commissioner Barden: Seconded by Commissioner Brylinsky RESOLVED, That item IIIA(3) be amended to read as follows: “A fine per e-scooter should be assessed to damaged, abandoned, and/or improperly parked e-scooters not addressed after 1 hour of reporting during in-use hours or by the start of the next access period during curfew hours. This fee should then increase per improperly parked e-scooter that remains in their location for 2 hours after the e-scooter has been reported. Suggested increments of $25.00 after 1 hour; $100.00 after 2 hours.” Extensive discussion followed on the floor regarding fees, abandoned e-scooters, curfews, and hours of operation. A Vote on the Amending Resolution Resulted as Follows: Carried Unanimously Item IIIB – Commissioner Barden stated that Jennifer Dotson, Executive Director for the Center for Community Transportation has recommended language for this item because it broadens the intent of the permit fee and per ride fees. She is in favor of broadening the way in which the fees are designated to a particular fund and what will be funded as a result. Mobility, Accessibility and Transportation Commission April 22, 2019 4 Amending Resolution: By Commissioner Barden: Seconded by Commissioner Brylinsky RESOLVED, That item IIIB be amended to read as follows – “These fees should be sent to a designated fund, the balance of which should be applied towards administrative overhead, active transportation improvements and supports, such as stenciled parking, bike corrals, bike lanes, community awareness and behavior campaigns, broad outreach, education and/or enforcement efforts for any and all road and sidewalk users, data gathering efforts, steps to improve transportation equity, etc.” CC Liaison McGonigal stated that it is very important that the Board of Public Works be involved with any proposed infrastructure proposals and make any decisions. A Vote on the Amending Resolution Resulted as Follows: Carried Unanimously Item V – Data Collection – specifically item V(B) Commissioner Lyczko stated, based upon her experience working for the Tompkins County Health Department (TCHD), the city should not rely on Cayuga Medical Center (CMC) or TCHD for data. The e-scooter incidents are not a reportable issue, and it would be hard for them to compile data; and what Matcom will get is anecdotal. The best place for data would be from law enforcement. She also cautioned that this data would contain personal information. Commissioner Barden explained that their recommendation is based upon other cities programs. There are constant thoughts on safety and no way to track personal injury, that’s why it was put in. Chair Lerner suggested language such as “the city will make efforts to gather whatever information data from whatever sources are available”. Amending Resolution: By Commissioner Barden: Seconded by Commissioner Parkes RESOLVED, That item V(B) be amended to read as follows – “Lime and the City of Ithaca shall make appropriate efforts to gather accident and injury data from relevant sources as it pertains to both bicycles and e-scooters. A report compiling injury data should be provided by the end of the proposed pilot period.” Carried Unanimously Amending Resolution: By Commissioner Barden: Seconded by Commissioner Brouwer RESOLVED, That item VII(A) be amended to read as follows – “Consult the City Attorney regarding Ithaca City Code 157-13A (Commons – Bicycles and other wheeled devices) since it does not explicitly reference both scooters and e-scooters”. Carried Unanimously Amending Resolution: By Commissioner Parkes: Seconded by Commissioner Barden RESOLVED, That item VII(B)(1) be amended to add the word “skateboards” after the word “e- scooter”. Mobility, Accessibility and Transportation Commission April 22, 2019 5 Carried Unanimously Amending Resolution: By Commissioner Brylinsky: Seconded by Commissioner Barden RESOLVED, That item VIIB(2) be amended to remove the italicized language. Carried Unanimously Amending Resolution: By Commissioner Lyczko: Seconded by RESOLVED, That item VII(C) be amended to remove the word “robust”. Motion failed for lack of a seconder Chair Lerner stated that the recommendations dated April 22, 2019, complete Matcom’s assigned work on the project. If Matcom is to be involved in data gathering and/or review of the pilot program and/or other follow-up, a new Commission Project Form should be completed to spell out specific tasks, resources, etc. Commission members extended their thanks and appreciation to Commissioners Barden and Powers for their excellence and hard work on this project. ADA Issues: Commissioner Brylinsky announced that the ADA Training will be held on Tuesday, June 11th from 6 pm - 8 pm in the Second Floor conference room at City Hall. The training is not being opened up to the public due to the finite space of the room. Please let Commissioner Brylinsky know of any others that might like to attend. She is hoping that keeping the number low will allow time for Matcom members to ask questions particular to the commission’s work. The ADA point people from the three other commissions will plan to attend the training as well. ADA Coordinator Commission Project Form – Commissioner Brylinsky stated that Matcom needs to approve the form before it can go on to the City Administration Committee for final approval; so far the only comments she received have been from Chair Lerner. She and Commissioner Roberts will take the lead on the project and will also have support from the other commissions. She reviewed the form with commission members. Motion to Clarify Commission Project Form for ADA Coordinator: By Commissioner Brylinsky: Seconded by Commissioner Barden RESOLVED, That the Commission Project Form section titled “ADA Coordinator Position” be amended to add a last sentence that reads “The goal of this project is to submit a budget, rationale, and job proposal for a fulltime ADA Coordinator to Common Council”. CC Liaison McGonigal stated that this is an important topic. There was discussion at the last City Administration Committee meeting about having this be a two part position that would not be exclusive to ADA responsibilities. There was also talk about exploring collaboration on the position with the Town of Ithaca, and Tompkins County and possibly looking for grant funding for the first year. All of these considerations should be included in any recommendation. He also shared that Transportation Engineer, Kent Johnson, has voiced his interest in the position. Mobility, Accessibility and Transportation Commission April 22, 2019 6 A Vote on the Resolution Resulted As Follows: Carried Unanimously Pedestrian Snow Removal and Public Input: Commissioner Brouwer reported that at last month’s Matcom meeting they felt they had a lot of momentum and were close to finishing the survey questions. The survey questions proved to be fairly difficult and took a lot more time than expected. They plan to share the survey with city staff and Matcom members to obtain feedback in the near future. Chair Lerner stated that he has been working with the Public Safety and Information Commission about public input on snow removal to develop a public information toolkit for all the commissions in general. DPW Parking Analysis: Commissioner Parkes reported that he and Commissioner Lyczko were selected to be on the selection committee for the parking analysis consultant. They were given twelve (12) statements of qualifications to review and they are extensive – one being 137 pages long. A meeting has been scheduled for April 26th to discuss the candidates. They need to provide feedback and their recommendations to the rest of the committee on the 26th. In response to a question, he explained that they were given specific criteria to look for with each candidate, such as how they handle communication with the city, communication with the business community and public input. They have to narrow down their top three candidates to present at that meeting. On behalf of Matcom they will specifically reviewing public input. Meeting Wrap Up: The next Matcom meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 30th, due to the Memorial Day holiday on the regular meeting date. Commissioner Brouwer brought attention to the fact that May 30th is the same evening as the Ithaca Festival parade so there might be conflicts in attending the meeting. It was suggested that possible alternative dates for the May meeting be considered and proposed. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sarah L. Myers, Information Management Specialist E-Scooter Pilot Program Recommendation Approved by Matcom on 04-22-19 MATCom recommends that the City of Ithaca authorize Lime to conduct a pilot program, pending review by the City Attorney, to assess the functionality of e-scooters as it pertains to our city. The e-scooter pilot program should have the following qualities: I. General: A. E-scooter sharing should not occur without a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) from the City. The City should require that any dockless bike or scooter sharing vendor pay for a permit and have an MOU approved with the City. B. The e-scooter MOU should follow the same format as the bike share MOU. 1. The MOU should reflect the best practices for shared active transportation as detailed by NACTO. C. Proposed pilot program duration is May 2019 through mid-November 2019. D. Require Lime to attend a monthly “check-in” with the City and relevant stakeholders. Plan for an early assessment of the pilot to be conducted in September. 1. Include a provision allowing for the extension of the pilot or formalization of the MOU should the City determine the pilot to be beneficial. The pilot should not be extended until the Data Collection detailed in Section V is completed and reviewed. 2. The arrangement should be exclusive with Lime for the duration of the initial pilot program. If the City determines they would like to continue to allow e-scooters to operate beyond the conclusion of the pilot program, the City should also reserve the right to sign conditional MOUs with other companies as well. E. The City of Ithaca reserves the right to terminate the pilot program with or without cause. F. Initial launch must consist of 50 or fewer e-scooters. Additional e-scooters may be introduced at a rate of 10 per day as long as the number of rides per scooter per day exceeds 3. G. Require Lime to honor the bicycle share MOU and require Lime to maintain a minimum bike fleet. Recommendation: a minimum bike fleet of 102 bikes (68 pedal, 34 e-bikes, following a 2:1 ratio), regardless of the number of e-scooters; beyond this, a minimum of 2 pedal bikes and 1 e-bike for every 10 e-scooters II. Operations Oversight: A. E-scooters should be subject to a curfew period outlined in the MOU, such that they will all be removed from the public right-of-way at a given time each evening and will be returned at a given time each morning. Suggested ranges include: 1. 6:00 am - 9:00 pm Or 2. 7:00 am - 9:00 pm Or 3. Propose a flexible curfew based on the time of year. Later in the summer and earlier in the winter. B. E-scooters should be banned from use in pedestrian-only areas such as The Commons and sidewalks. 1. Geofencing will be used to establish “no ride” (motor reduces to 0 mph) and “reduced speed” (motor reduces to 12 mph) zones. The Commons should be designated as a “no ride” zone. E-Scooter Pilot Program Recommendation Final – Approved by Matcom on 04-22-19 2 2. The City should be empowered to designate new zones. C. The City should make a determination between the following options about the staging of e-scooters at the tops of or on the sides of hills during the pilot program. This determination should be subject to change should the MOU be extended beyond the pilot. 1. Lime may stage e-scooters at the tops of and on hills to offer a new transportation option for traversing Ithaca’s challenging geography, or 2. Lime may not stage e-scooters at the tops of and on hills to mitigate perceived risk associated with downhill riding, or 3. Lime may stage e-scooters at uphill locations, but downhill rides on designated hills would be prohibited. D. Lime is responsible for removing e-scooters which are damaged, abandoned, and improperly parked within 30 minutes of being reported to Lime via one of the communication channels listed on the device. E. The MOU should outline acceptable parking guidelines, this being on sidewalks not blocking fire hydrants, ADA access, entrances, or pedestrian right-of-way. III. Fees: A. City Administration should establish fees for certain aspects of the e-scooter share. Fees should be used as a moderating feature. Fees should be based on industry standards and should not be based on ad-hoc judgement of the company’s worth. 1. A per ride fee should be assessed. Industry standard: $0.10 - $0.15 per ride. 2. An initial permit fee should be set. Industry standard: $500.00. - $1000.00. 3. A fine per e-scooter should be assessed to damaged, abandoned, and/or improperly parked e-scooters not addressed after 1 hour of reporting during in- use hours or by the start of the next access period during curfew hours. This fee should then increase per improperly parked e-scooter that remains in their location for 2 hours after the e-scooter has been reported. Suggested increments of $25.00 after 1 hour; $100.00 after 2 hours. B. These fees should be sent to a designated fund, the balance of which should be applied towards administrative overhead, active transportation improvements and supports, such as stenciled parking, bike corrals, bike lanes, community awareness and behavior campaigns, broad outreach, education and/or enforcement efforts for any and all road and sidewalk users, data gathering efforts, steps to improve transportation equity, etc. IV. Insurance and Indemnification: A. The MOU must include insurance and indemnification sections as deemed appropriate by the City attorney. V. Data Collection: A. Both the City of Ithaca and the Center for Community Transportation already have access to Lime’s Data Dashboard, which provides GPS-driven data on frequency and location of bicycle rides. This access will extend to e-scooter data as well. E-Scooter Pilot Program Recommendation Final – Approved by Matcom on 04-22-19 3 B. Lime and the City of Ithaca shall make appropriate efforts to gather accident and injury data from relevant sources as it pertains to both bicycles and e-scooters. A report compiling injury data should be provided by the end of the proposed pilot period. C. Lime, the City of Ithaca, and an appropriate Non-Government Organization (NGO) should collaborate to conduct a survey of e-scooter users and to the general population to determine whether e-scooters will contribute to the City’s mobility, equity, and climate action goals. A report compiling survey data should be provided by the end of the proposed pilot period. D. IPD and Fire should collect data on the number of tickets they write and calls they respond to which involve bicycles and/or e-scooters. VI. Privacy and Non-Discrimination: A. Lime will adhere to the City’s data privacy policies. App permissions for location sharing and camera use shall be clearly explained. B. Customers shall not be required to share personal information with third parties. Customers may be asked to opt in to sharing some personal information to aid in pilot program evaluation. C. Lime will adhere to the City’s non-discrimination policies. VII. Safety: A. Consult the City Attorney regarding Ithaca City Code 157-13A (Commons – Bicycles and other wheeled devices) since it does not explicitly reference scooters and e-scooters. B. Update Ithaca City Code 137 (Bicycles) to one of the following: 1. No person shall ride, drive or operate a bicycle, e-scooter, skateboards or skates along any public sidewalk or footpath intended for the use of pedestrians. Allow bicycles, e-scooters, skateboards and skates on multi-use paths, unless otherwise stated. This provision shall not apply to: children 10 years of age or under riding a bicycle or skating; nor to anyone who, because of a disability, warrants the use of a bicycle, e-scooter, or other similar small, quiet wheeled devices as a means of transportation or mobility. or No person shall ride, drive or operate a bicycle or scooter along any public sidewalk or footpath intended for the use of pedestrians. This provision shall not apply to children 10 years of age or under nor to anyone who, because of a disability, requires the use of a bicycle as a means of transportation or mobility. This provision shall not apply to multi-use paths and trails. Any violation of the provisions of this section constitutes a civil offense punishable in accordance with § 1-1 of the City of Ithaca Municipal Code. E-Scooter Pilot Program Recommendation Final – Approved by Matcom on 04-22-19 4 2. Add a subsection stating that wherever bicycles and similar devices are ridden where pedestrians are present (except in bicycle lanes and other infrastructure designed for primary use by small, wheeled devices), the user must yield to pedestrians, maintain a speed at or below 12 mph, provide at least 1’ side clearance, and make an audible signal before passing. C. Require robust education initiatives for e-scooter users as well as pedestrians and motorists. VIII. Equity: A. Shared e-scooter providers shall offer access to people without smartphones and bank cards. This program is facilitated by the Center for Community Transportation and includes features such as text-to-unlock, pay-in-cash, and a 95% discount on pedal bikes and a 50% discount on Lime-E. This program will apply to both bicycles and e-scooters. B. Lime will ensure distribution not only along central hot spots but also throughout the entirety of the City. The City may designated particular neighborhood for distribution, o r they may simply use Lime’s existing quadrant breakdown. The approach the City selects should be clearly stipulated in the MOU. IX. Education: A. Lime must collaborate with the City and any NGO they select to create and maintain a city-specific website which provides user instructions, safety education, and explains terms of service, privacy policies, fees, costs, penalties, and other charges. This service must be provided in English and in any other languages required by the City, as specified by the MOU. This website should have information pathways directed at e-scooter users, pedestrians, and motorists. B. Prior to the pilot launch Lime must set up staffed booths at various public spaces throughout Downtown and provide one-on-one rider education. This education initiative should be repeated daily for a minimum of two weeks. After the pilot begins, Lime should arrange for similar in-person education to occur at community events, including Ithaca Festival and StreetsAlive. C. In-app messaging must reflect that helmets are required for use per Lime’s Terms of Service; that it is illegal to ride on sidewalks; that e-scooters must be parked upright, in approved parking zones, and without impacting ADA or emergency access; that a city- specific website can be accessed for more information. D. Lime, the City of Ithaca, and any NGO they select should promote the in-person education booths and city-specific website through as many channels as possible, including radio, print, TV, social media, and mailing lists.