Minutes of a Public Meeting
MINUTES OF A
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
MEETING OF THE
GOVERNOR’S TRANSPORTATION VISION 21 TASK FORCE
9:00 a.m., Thursday, June 22, 2000
Arizona State Capitol
Executive Tower, Grand Canyon Room
Phoenix, Arizona
The Planning and Programming Committee of the Governor’s Transportation Vision 21 Task Force met in official session for a meeting at 9:12 a.m., Thursday, June 22, 2000 with Chairperson Olson presiding. Other members in attendance were Malcolm Barrett, Vice Chair Diane McCarthy, Mary Peters, and Raul Piña. Also present were Alan Maguire, Matt Carpenter, and John Carlson, Governor’s Transportation Advisor. Special guest panelists included Terry Johnson, Mike Frisbee, Richard Nassi, Randi Alcott and Ken Driggs.
Welcome and Pledge of Allegiance
Chairperson Olson called the meeting to order at 9:12 a.m. and led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance. He welcomed the committee members and the members of the panel.
Acceptance of Minutes for March 18, 2000, March 28, 2000, and April 27, 2000
Action: A motion to accept the minutes, as written, was made, seconded and passed unanimously.
Follow-up Discussion from the June 7 Full Task Force Meeting and Potential Recommendations
Chairperson Olson stated that the focus of the discussion would be congestion reduction strategies. Mr. Maguire noted that there was significant interest following the June 7 meeting in the information presented. He stated that the committee would now begin to move toward recommendations; therefore, the expert panelists were brought in to answer questions and help facilitate discussion.
Mr. Driggs summarized a memorandum on the subject of creative trip reduction strategies, specifically highlighting the integrated commute package. He recommended that the committee look at a comprehensive approach to make a major impact on congestion and commute problems. He suggested that the recommendations could also translate to smaller communities to a degree. He suggested that ADOT should take a leadership role to get agencies working on alternative modes of transportation pulled together.
Ms. McCarthy commented that there are no HOV lanes on Loop 101 and none planned for the 303, and she saw this as inconsistent with the policy to develop park and ride lots. She added that only one of the 20 recommended park and ride lots is in the West Valley. Mr. Johnson clarified that the final lot selections have not been made.
Mr. Driggs suggested that the state’s flex dollars could be used very effectively for a vanpool program. He stated that if commuters used an alternate form of transportation just three or four days per month, there would be a 20 percent reduction of single occupant vehicle trips, representing significant potential for impact over a period of time.
Ms. McCarthy referenced the Roads of Regional Significance Evaluation and noted the apparent lack of commitment to the grid system in areas where the Valley is growing. She emphasized the need for that commitment to build arterial streets on the grid system. Mr. Johnson strongly agreed and noted the financial resources available for the development of this system are HURF or local development fees. This means that most of the decisions are made at the local level. He noted the problems created in the Northwest Valley by topography and the Sun Cities. Ms. McCarthy said that the commitment to the grid system needs to be Valley wide and cannot be left to the local jurisdictions. Mr. Frisbee agreed that a regional perspective is needed, but each city needs to avoid bowing to development pressures for a curvilinear street system. Mr. Maguire suggested that a recommendation could be made by the committee that local HURF dollars be prioritized to projects of regional significance. He felt that the report was about techniques that could be used once locations were chosen. Mr. Driggs cautioned against making the roads of regional significance the first priority at the expense of delaying implementation of trip reduction techniques.
Chairperson Olson discussed the need to focus on congestion reduction, not traffic reduction, noting his belief that a great element of Arizona’s prosperity is the people’s ability to move around. He is opposed to forcing the use of alternate modes of transportation. The state needs to make these modes good enough that people choose to use them. He emphasized the need to remain focused on the things Arizona can do with its existing resources.
In response to a question by Chairperson Olson, Mr. Johnson discussed the implementation of the Roads of Regional Significance Evaluation. The first step is the commitment to the basic grid system as development occurs. The second step is the consideration of what can be done to make the street system better on an incremental basis, and he listed several examples of critical significance. The third step would be implementation of technological concepts such as smart streets, super streets, expressways and finally the creation of roads of regional significance. He was particularly impressed with the Tucson model. He indicated that MAG is proceeding with its value lane study and hopes to have it complete by late summer. He confirmed that the park and ride lot study is under way. He confirmed for Ms. Peters that MAG is addressing access control issues in newly developed areas. Ms. Peters suggested securing agreements with local governments in undeveloped areas relative to access control. Chairperson Olson suggested that local jurisdictions’ long-term plans should identify the roads of regional significance and also identify development standards on those roads. They should further identify and plan for expressway-type roads. Mr. Driggs referred to an expressway in Utah, the Bangor Highway, noting its effectiveness. He suggested that this could be implemented in the Valley, e.g. the 303. Ms. Peters agreed with the need to set a "roadway hierarchy" and not cave to development pressure. Chairperson Olson suggested that local jurisdictions report to ADOT and the COG or MPO on the roads they select as regionally significant and then require notification of projects affecting carrying capacity. Ms. Peters suggested that the reporting requirement should be reciprocal back to the local jurisdictions from the regional entity and state. Ms. Alcott stated that in Minneapolis the MPO has some form of oversight and approval of any development of regional significance. She said that there are organizational models that would give the regional entity this type of authority. Chairperson Olson suggested that the question of authority should be referred to the Governance Committee for their consideration and recommendation to the full Task Force.
Mr. Frisbee explained another significant and successful program in Phoenix, that being their small dollar bottleneck program.
Ms. Alcott stated that Tucson does a lot of work in the area of demand, and they have a strong impact on the commute program implemented in Tucson. The three primary strategies involve vanpools, telecommuting and ridesharing. Mr. Driggs stated that each year they send their cumulative numbers to the federal government, and they return to the area in dollars within three or four years. Ms. Alcott stressed the need to support existing funding for marketing of the programs. She spoke about the growth of these types of strategies all across the country. She encouraged the increase of fees for illegal HOV lane use violations. She felt this would be a simple yet effective tactic and also a revenue generator. Chairperson Olson said he could provide unqualified support for this suggestion as well as greater funding for officers to patrol the freeways.
Committee members discussed the commercial interrelation possibilities in relation to park and ride lots.
Mr. Nassi commented on Pima County’s fine system. They’ve considered a concept, which would tie the fine to the resolution of the problem. He strongly suggested that fines be increased substantially for violations that can cause serious or fatal injuries, i.e. red light running. Ms. Peters said that the issue of red light running was studied extensively in Highway Safety, and they found cameras to be very effective. She suggested that the fine revenues could be used to install more cameras. Mr. Nassi reported that Tucson has embraced the red light camera program, and the city is working on the concept of an enterprise budget for the fine revenues to support the operation and maintenance of the system. Under the program, the new revenues would go to the enterprise budget, while the old revenues would continue to go to the general fund. Ms. Peters noted that two legislators have indicated their desire to introduce legislation that would substantially reduce fines for HOV lane violations.
Mr. Nassi reviewed the document presented on capacity enhancement strategies. He wished to add another element under roadway design, that being the requirement to make sure a design for a new road project includes all available ITS components. Mr. Frisbee explained why the fourth suggestion under signal phasing, relating to the de-activation of existing quarter mile signals during peak rush hours, needs to be eliminated. He stressed that peak rush hours are precisely the time that the signals are needed most. Mr. Nassi suggested the de-activation or flashing of those signals during the morning peak period because the shopping centers are typically not open at that time, as well as after the centers close at 9 p.m.. He stated that new technology is being developed in the design of streets to address the quarter mile issue green lanes will mitigate the negative impacts of eliminating the quarter mile signals.
Ms. McCarthy noted that Salt Lake City has completed their system of signal phasing, and it is reputed to be the best in the Western United States. She suggested the reason for this is that Utah DOT took the lead and pays the proprietary cost for the system. She felt this could be a recommendation of the committee. Mr. Frisbee clarified that Salt Lake City is the latest city to implement the system, so they have the best features. A lot of those same components are in place in the Valley and in Tucson.
Ms. McCarthy suggested that the recommendations from the committee include a "preamble" addressed primarily to the local elected officials who will complain about the hardships caused by the restrictions. The preamble would stress the committee’s understanding of the hardships and the need for all jurisdictions to work together toward the greater good.
Ms. McCarthy suggested that the previous comments about the grid system need to be added to the list of capacity enhancement strategies. Mr. Maguire said he would add language to address the suggestion. He asked to work with Phoenix and Tucson on the quarter mile signal issue, noting that it seems to be a greater problem in the central business districts.
Chairperson Olson recommended that the suggestions from PAG on getting more out of traffic signals be added to the capacity enhancement strategies. He hesitates to get into legislative recommendations at this stage of the process, but he would like to integrate the commute package because it has been the theme of the committee from the beginning. He would like to see recommendations that provide assurance of integrated programs to ensure true mobility to users. Mr. Driggs agreed to work with Mr. Maguire on this issue. Mr. Johnson discussed the four key components of an integrated commute package.
Mr. Maguire confirmed that the committee would next consider alternative fuels and air travel. Ms. McCarthy suggested that the committee consider the impact of the tax credit for alternate fuel use. She raised the car-sharing concept as an alternative that should be looked at as well. Mr. Maguire indicated that there is a study underway on the air travel issue. He noted that the consultant team would be arriving shortly, and he offered committee members the opportunity to sit in on their presentation on the project database that has been created by the team.
Call to the Public
Mr. Richard Works, representing a group from Wickenburg, spoke about the lack of public input on the issue of creating an alternative corridor around Wickenburg. He stated that the corridor his group recommended was basically ignored and would have been eliminated altogether if not for their letter writing campaign. He stated that the interim recommendation being considered does not resolve the problem, and ADOT is not listening to them. He was very concerned about the lack of public input in the process.
Mr. John White, MCDOT, spoke to the challenge of establishing the grid system in the North and West Valley. He described the scope of study of a Northwest Valley Small Area Transportation Study as well as some of the findings. He stated that the reasons for the grid system problems in the referenced area are environmental and topographical. He stated that the county and municipalities recognize the need for a regional transportation network and agree that it would be good to have regional guidance/authority to implement regional solutions. MCDOT is committed to ensuring a good regional network. They have made a major investment in the 303 and are also looking at coalition building solutions with the municipalities. He cited examples of projects.
Mr. William Linley, President of the Rail Passengers Association, stressed the importance of ensuring maximum participation in the state’s prosperity. He suggested the maximum use of existing resources and assets, noting that the state already has an eight-lane highway (rail system) that could be used as part of the transportation system from Wickenburg to Phoenix. He said he was very encouraged by the work of the committee.
Closing Remarks
Chairperson Olson thanked each of the panelists for their positive contributions and commended all on a useful discussion.
Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 11:20 a.m.
KEVIN OLSON, Chairperson
