HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-02-26 Policy & Services Committee Agenda PacketPolicy and Services Committee
1
MATERIALS RELATED TO AN ITEM ON THIS AGENDA SUBMITTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL AFTER DISTRIBUTION OF THE AGENDA
PACKET ARE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION IN THE CITY CLERK’S OFFICE AT PALO ALTO CITY HALL, 250 HAMILTON AVE.
DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Special Meeting
Community Meeting Room
6:00 PM
Agenda posted according to PAMC Section 2.04.070. Supporting materials are available in
the Council Chambers on the Thursday 12 days preceding the meeting.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Members of the public may speak to agendized items. If you wish to address the Committee on any issue that is on this agenda, please complete a speaker request card located on the table at the entrance to the Council
Chambers/Community Meeting Room, and deliver it to the Clerk prior to discussion of the item. You are not required to give your name on the speaker card in order to speak to the Committee, but it is very helpful. Public comment may be addressed to the full Policy and Services Committee via email at City.Council@cityofpaloalto.org.
Call to Order
Oral Communications
Members of the public may speak to any item NOT on the agenda.
Action Items
1.Presentation From, and Discussion With, Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority (VTA) Staff Regarding the 2019 new Transit
Service Plan, Including Proposed Reductions in bus Service to
Palo Alto.
Future Meetings and Agendas
Adjournment
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Staff Memo
VTA Docs
Presentation
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
CITY OF
PALO
ALTO
HONORABLE POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE
ED SHIKADA, CITY MANAGER
FEBRUARY 25, 2019
SUBJECT: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 1-VTA 2019 NEW TRANSIT PLAN
1
Councilmember and Committee Chairperson Liz Kniss transmitted a list of questions related to
the VTA 2019 New Transit Plan to VTA's General Manager on February 22, 2019. The letter is
attached.
Ed Shikada
City Manager
Cc: Palo Alto City Council
Attachment: Letter to VTA
1of1
February 21, 2019
Nuria Fernandez
General Manager
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
3331 North First Street
San Jose, CA 95134-1906
City of Palo Alto
Office of the Mayor and City Council
Re: Questions for Tuesday's Discussion in Palo Alto about VTA's 2019 New Transit Plan
Dear General Manager Fernandez,
Thank you so much for agreeing to have staff attend our City Council Policy and Services Committee
next week. We look forward to meeting with your staff to discuss the 2019 New Transit Plan and critical
questions related to the proposed changes to VT A bus service in Palo Alto.
As you are aware, Palo Alto is a major job location for people in a wide variety of industries. Many
employees who work within Palo Alto come from other communities within VT A's service area or other
transit service areas. We have been working with large employers in our community to be innovative
around the way that their employees get to and from work in Palo Alto. Our goal is to reduce single
occupancy vehicle trips by continuing to expand available transit services in our community and not to
contract them. While we broadly understand VT A's financial situation, we also do not want to constantly
be subject to service reductions every time Vt A needs to make a cut.
We would appreciate your staff being prepared to address the following questions in their presentation
next week:
1. What exactly are the proposed reductions, improvements, and "no changes" for Palo Alto-serving
bus lines?
2. What is the basis for those reductions? Why do the routes in Palo Alto need to change? (If cost,
please help us understand how the proposed reductions for Palo Alto contribute to specific
savings for VT A. If ridership or coverage related, please explain how VT A balances the need for
more focus on high ridership routes with the need to provide a service to lower income transit
users and to major employment hubs).
3. How is VTA evaluating social equity in the proposed service changes? If some routes have lower
ridership but are known to help demographic groups with higher need, will VTA factor that into
your decision making?
4. What is the ridership of our Palo Alto routes in comparison to other routes?
5. Help us better understand VT A's fiscal picture and what the endgame is here. How will VTA
realistically reach fiscal sustainability and still serve the North County? More broadly, how long
does VT A anticipate your financial insecurity to persist?
6. Please provide us with a list of cuts that have been made in North County, particularly Palo Alto,
over the past 10 years.
7. Finally, understanding VT A's need to reduce costs, what alternatives are being pursued to
address the travel needs of the public, and specifically current VT A passengers that will be
displaced by the proposed service reductions?
City staff has been in direct contact with VT A staff and have received initial responses to some of these
questions. We would like to ensure that VTA staffis planning to address these questions publicly at our
meeting on the 26th.
Palo alto seeks to ensure transit services are available to the people who need them most while also
expanding ridership and converting some single occupancy vehicle drivers into transit users. In order to
best work towards this goal, we rely on quality, reliable, and convenient VTA service. We look forward
to chatting on Tuesday about these very important questions and about VT A's 2019 New Transit Plan.
Sincerely,
Liz Kniss
Councilmember, Palo Alto
Chair, Policy and Services Committee
cc:
Ed Shikada, City Manager, City of Palo Alto
Eric Filseth, Mayor, City of Palo Alto
Teresa O'Neill, Chairperson, VTA Board of Directors
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Alum Rock–Mountain View
PURPLE LINE
Almaden–Ohlone/Chynoweth
Light Rail Station
Transfer Station
Rapid
Stop
BART Station
Longer-distance rail to
neighboring counties/regions
Rail Station
Transit
Center
61
522
61
89
42
Places & Connections102
247
Hospital,
Medical Center
schematic map
not to scale
JANUARY 2019
Subject to Change
Route 89
No changes proposed.
Route 522
Hours of frequent service on weekdays and weekends would be extended.
Route 88
Route 88 is proposed to be scaled down to just trips around school hours.
Routes 88, 88L and 88M would be renamed 288, 288L and 288M.
Express 101
Express 101 is proposed to be disconƟnued due to low ridership and a high
subsidy per boarding.
Express 102
Trips on Express 102 are proposed to be decreased from 7 trips to 5 trips in
each direcƟon.
Express 103
Trips on Express 103 are proposed to be decreased from 4 trips to 3 trips in
each direcƟon.
Express 182
Express 101 is proposed to be disconƟnued due to low ridership and a high
subsidy per boarding.
Route 21
Route 21 would merge current Route 35 and current Route 32 into a single
Route connecƟng the Stanford Shopping Center, San Antonio Transit Center,
Mountain View Transit Center and Santa Clara Caltrain StaƟon. On Sundays,
the service would only operate between the Stanford Shopping Center and
Mountain View Transit Center.
Route 22
Service would no longer be operated between 1:00 AM and 4:00 AM.
Proposed changes in Palo Alto compared to current service