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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006 05-02 Pre Meridian City Pre-Council MeetinQ Mav 2, 2006 The Meridian City Pre-Council meeting was called to order at 6:30 P.M. on Tuesday, May 2, 2006 by President Councilman Shaun Wardle. Members Present: Mayor Tammy de Weerd, Keith Bird, Shaun Wardle, Charlie Rountree and Joe Borton. Staff Present: Bill Musser, Ted Baird, Anna Canning and Will Berg. Item 1. Roll-call Attendance: Roll call. X Shaun Wardle X Charlie Rountree X X Joe Borton X Keith Bird Mayor Tammy de Weerd Item 2. Adoption of the Agenda: Bird: Mr. President. Wardle: Mr. Bird. Bird: I move we approve the agenda as published. Rountree: Second. Wardle: It's been moved and seconded to adopt the agenda. All in favor. ALL AYES. MOTION CARRIED. Item 3. Presentation by An~eline Adams on Li~ht Rail System in the Treasure Valley: Wardle: Madame Mayor, I believe you are going to introduce Item Number 3 for us. De Weerd: Yes, thank you. I received an email from a high school senior at Meridian High, Angeline Adams and she did her senior project on mass transportation, public transportation and in particular on our rail system. So, she did ask if she could do a presentation here in front of City Council. ] do appreciate that we are giving her an audience and with that said, I will go ahead and turn it over to Angeline. Meridian City Pre-Council Meeting May 2, 2006 Page 2 of 8 Adams: Thank you Madame Mayor, members of the Council. I appreciate your time. As you know, my name is Angeline Adams. I did a senior project on the light rail system, the need for it in the Treasure Valley due to population growth. As you can see, the Treasure Valley has had an estimated increase by 110,000 from the 2000 to 2010 and there is a traffic congestion problem not only on our highways, but also on our back roads. The high population has caused more cars to travel on these roads, which has also increased the pollution in the Treasure Valley. According to the United States Census Bureau, bottlenecks make up more than 50 percent of the total traffic congestion. As you can see now on the screen there two photos, both of these are taken of downtown Boise in the early 1900's of the old trolley cars that were used. A little bit history - an inter-urban service was started in the year 1907 and ran from Boise to the Valley cities of Caldwell and Nampa. This service line looped throughout Boise, Meridian, Nampa and Caldwell and then made its way back to Boise through the towns of Eagle and Duncan. The service line became known as the loop and people enjoyed taking the popular Sunday excursions. The loops of street cars were taken over by buses when the street started to become paved in the late teens and early twenties. Patronage was decreased and buses over ruled most of the street cart and inter-urban services in the year 1927. Amtrak stopped running through the Valley in 1997. The Treasure Valley has transformed into an urban area with a population of our 430,000 residents from both Ada and Canyon Counties. In 1997 there were almost as many cars as there were people. Boise Senator, David Lanhourse said the development of a mass transit system is critical towards addressing air quality. As you can see now, there is a chart on the screen and this has been taken since 1978, which in the green 52 percent population growth has occurred. In the pink, more than 100 percent growth in annual vehicle miles traveled. In the blue, 93 percent more cars have been registered. Three best practices that helped form an idea for the Treasure Valley is in San Diego, CA, Portland, OR and New York City, NY. According to the United States Census Bureau taken in 2004, San Diego, CA is home to about 3 million residents. San Diego is the second largest city in California and the seventh largest in the United States. The Coaster, which runs from Ocean Side to downtown San Diego serves as an alternative to driving. In order to pay for the Coaster a .5 percent sales tax was imposed on the San Diego County in the year 1987. In 1994, Coaster purchased tracks from Amtrak. Revenue for Coaster service began on February 27, 1995. In its first year the Coaster saw about 700,000 riders. By the year 2004, it was carrying 1.4 million passengers annually. The Coaster Commuter Train runs on 48 miles of mainline track. There are eight stations along the way and stops at each station are very brief. As you can see in the diagram, eight stations within four zones. Each stop includes a few park and ride parking lots with the exception of the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego, which is the last stop. Seating is available for all Coaster passengers on both the lower and upper decks. Bikes can also be carried on the Coaster for easy transportation. Wheelchairs have designated areas on the Coaster and assistance is available for those who need to use a wheelchair lift. There is absolutely no smoking and shoes and shirts must be Meridian City Pre-Council Meeting May 2, 2006 Page 3 of 8 worn at all times. The second best practice is Portland, OR, which is one of the many cities with high levels of traffic congestion, but its transportation system has allowed them to move more people on a more frequent basis. The transportation infrastructure of Portland has transformed its once lingering districts to densely populated urban cores. Portland is home to over 1.3 million residents. In the 1970's, Portland planned to undergo construction on the Mountain Hood Freeway, but canceled and decide to improve transit options. The Metro, an alleged regional government was approved by Portland voters in the year 1978 and remains the only one in the United States. Since the decision to build Max Lines in 1978, more than 3 billion dollars in development has occurred along the lines. The three Max Lines run on 44 miles of track and serve 64 stations. The blue line open in September 1998, red line in September 2001 and the yellow line on May 1, 2004. Between July 2003 and June 2004 there was a record of 91 million rides taken on Tri-Mets max light rail and buses. Max accounts for 31 percent of Tri-Mets total daily trips. Tri-Mets bus line carries nearly 210,000 trips per day of rider-ship. About 77 percent of riders ride by choice. Meaning that they do have another mode of transportation, such as driving. Between 81 and 92 percent of Max riders strongly approve of the three Max Lines. The third best practice is New York City, which has a population of about 8 million people. It has created a highly complex system in order to accommodate to the heavy flow of traffic in and out of the city. In 1827, a man by the name of Abraham Brower established New York City's first public transportation route. This consisted of a 12 seat stagecoach called Accommodation that ran along Broadway from the Battery to Bleaker Street. Brower added the Sociable and Omnibus by 1831. John Mason organized the New York City Harlem Railroad, a street car that used four strong cars with metal wheels that ran on a metal track by the next year. There were 27 Manhattan routes and 593 Omnibuses by the year 1855. New York City's first official subway system opened in Manhattan on October 27, 1904. Trolley bus lines were first used on Stanton Island in the 1920's. The city's board of transportation completed construction on the 8th Avenue line and created the independent rapid transit railroad, IND. The first (inaudible) city run subway service in the year 1932. By 1956, motor buses replaced New York City public transit trolley cars and trolley buses by 1960. The New York State Legislature created the New York City Transit Authority on June 15, 1953, which is now known as the MTA New York City Transit. This organization was created as a separate public corporation to manage and operate all city-owned bus, trolley and subway routes. New York City operates its public transportation on a 24-hour a day system for buses and subways. New York City's transportation system is the largest public agency in North America. Treasure Valley residents have already answered questions based on Idaho's future for transportation in a recent survey. Taken at Meridian High School, seven questions were placed in teachers and staff's mailboxes. Only 57 teacher and staff members out of 100 responded, but the results were overwhelming. Some of these important results include 47 percent said that the population growth in Idaho is out of control. Forty-five percent responded that they are indeed frustrated with driving to work in the heavy traffic. Seventy percent agreed that having a light rail system would Meridian City Pre-Council Meeting May 2, 2006 Page 4 of 8 be perfect for reducing traffic problems as well as pollution. Sixty-seven percent said that they would indeed take a local train or Amtrak to work, travel or for leisure. Seventy-five percent said that a public transportation system would be nice to have in each city for easy access to a local train or Amtrak. Idaho's light rail system would be very similar to the one used in San Diego, CA. This has come forth because the Portland one runs straight through town and New York City's is highly complex. The name 84 would come from paralleling to Highway 84. Building a light rail system may take a few years, but it would payoff in the long run. Building a light rail system from Caldwell to Mountain Home would accommodate for Treasure Valley residents. The stops would include major cities, such as Caldwell, Nampa, Meridian, Boise and Mountain Home. Extensions in the future would also be available. Park and ride lots would be available at each station for easy transfer. Rules such as riding, wheelchairs, bikes, smoking and costs would be similar to those in California. A sales tax would need to be increased by .5 percent in the Treasure Valley in order to pay for the trains and labor just like in California. Seventy-five percent of the teacher and staff members that took the survey agreed that raising taxes would pay for a light rail system and that they would not mind paying it. In conclusion, Ada County is expected to have about 378,000 residents in the year 2010 and about 460,000 by the year 2020. Canyon County is expected to have about 164,000 residents in the year 2010 and about 192,000 by the year 2020. The Treasure Valley is expected to have 110,000 more residents in just ten years. A light rail system is a great idea towards decreasing current traffic congestion problems in Idaho and saving Idaho from more traffic problems in the future. On the screen now are a list of references that came in handy for this project. I would like to thank you for your time and open up for any questions. Before I do, I do have some paperwork on the light rail system that is used in California and if it would be okay if I present it? De Weerd: Sure. Adams: In this packet are the survey questions that I took. The survey of adults (inaudible) sent in information on the Coaster system and they actually did add a sprinter and California (inaudible--) and I have some information on that if you would like it. I have a couple for whoever would like to have them. De Weerd: Mr. President. Wardle: Madame Mayor. De Weerd: Angeline how is the system in Portland and New York paid for? You had mentioned that the sales tax pays for the land in San Diego. What were the funding methods for the other two? Adams: I was unable to find any information on that, but when I was looking at the California one I felt that that was the more reasonable one for here because Meridian City Pre-Council Meeting May 2,2006 Page 5 of 8 the Portland's would run straight through our city and I don't think we would want to tear up our city too much and New York's was highly complicated, so I figured that their costs would probably be much more too. Bird: Mr. President. Wardle: Mr. Bird. Bird: Angeline, thank you for the presentation. It was first class. In California, the one you evidently got the most information on, after the five percent - what do the fees - do they help sustain the upkeep or that you pay to ride or do they help? Adams: The tax increase? Bird: No, the fees that you pay to get on the light rail? I mean, you don't ride free do you? Adams: No. In the packet I list the fees that are in the different zones and, yes, they go to making sure the transportation is up to standards and making sure everyone is pleased with it and they go for the workers that help. Bird: But, they have kept the five percent sales tax? Adams: I believe they actually took that away. Bird: That was my main point that once you get set up and everything, then do the fees for riders - rider fees let's call it maintain and pay for the light rail? Adams: I believe so. Bird: Thank you very much. Adams: And my dad also has been watching the news lately there has been a population growth and Boise has ranked number one with the 12.85 percent and at number 12 is Spokane with 5.5, so that just gives you an idea of how much we have been growing for your information. Then we got something in the mail, if you don't mind me presenting this too, something to do with the Eagle Road - Bird: Mr. President, if I may? Wardle: Mr. Bird. Bird: To get started have you looked into like these buses that they transport now, we have Treasure Valley Ride buses and the railroad has big pickups that they put these wheels on that drop down and they can run it on the tracks. I Meridian City Pre-Council Meeting May 2, 2006 Page 6 of 8 thought in my little pea brain that maybe to get started we could use something like that. Then go to the light rail because - well, until we have got some money build up in the five percent tax. Is that something possible do you think? Adams: I believe that the track that we do have now - is that what you are referring to --? Bird: Yeah. Adams: -- that is used for heavy train right now, I believe that we would be able to use that and that does run through Idaho very far and that is why I was saying extensions such as maybe extending out to Pocatello so that college and those people can come into our town. So, yes, I believe that we would be able to use that track that we do have now and maybe expand the bus system for those who don't want to use cars or - Bird: Thank you very much. Adams: Thank you. De Weerd: Mr. President. Wardle: Madame Mayor. De Weerd: Would your teacher, Ms. Knox have anything to add? Adams: Thank you very much. Bird: Thank you Angeline. Knox: This is just one example of some of the excellent presentations that we had. We are very proud of Angeline and the work that she has put in. As you can see, her question to me is it's done, but what I do with it now? I suggested she bring it to you. I believe that what she has presented to you is feasible. I believe that it is a starting point and I believe that this is our future. These are the kids we are about to graduate in a very few more weeks here and this is an example of some of what their hopes and dreams are for our community. I really appreciate you allowing her to come in and speak. De Weerd: Mr. President. Wardle: Madame Mayor. De Weerd: I would tell Angeline and yourself that there is a coalition together for public transportation and that is the direction they are going with the .5 percent sales tax to fund public transportation. So, I think that you have brought some Meridian City Pre-Council Meeting May 2, 2006 Page 7 of 8 great examples and you laid it out very nicely. I am very impressed with your presentation and certainly we will share the minutes of this meeting with the Valley Regional Transit Executive Director. She was not able to come tonight and she did want to be here. But, we will share that with her and see what kind of information out of that they can use in presenting their story because it is certainly the success of getting a transit system in this area is going to be how well we tell the story. So, we appreciate your presentation. Knox: Thank you for having us. Borton: Mr. President. Wardle: Mr. Borton. Borton: I just (inaudible) want to say in addition to the outstanding content and work that you have done - my practice of law is my other job and speaking and arguing is (inaudible) and when I see somebody a big point of persuading and arguing and presenting is the ability to speak clearly, enunciate well, make eye contact and I do not make light of your amazing ability to do that I think your content is phenomenal, but I am particularly impressed with the way you presented it. You are very clear. You look at everybody and it maybe sounds like little things, but I think that is phenomenal and I want to recognize you for that because it is going to make you and everything you presented and talk about in the future much more persuasive. Adams: Thank you for your compliment. I appreciate it, thank you. De Weerd: Thank you. Wardle: Thank you very much and certainly it was an excellent presentation and hopefully this little experience is - I know that you feel strongly about the role of government in people's lives and this is one of the closest levels that you can get to in local government. So, you are certainly welcome back any time. We appreciate the presentation. With that Council, I would entertain a motion to adjourn. Rountree: So moved. Bird: Second. Wardle: It's been moved and seconded to adjourn the Pre-Council meeting. All in favor. ALL AYES. MOTION CARRIED. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 6:52 P.M. Meridian City Pre~Council Meeting May 2, 2006 Page 8 of 8 (TAPE ON FILE OF THESE PROCEEDINGS) APPROVED: 6 /:?Z/ &6 DATE APPROVED