[00:00:03]
WE DO HAVE QUORUM, SO I'LL PASS IT OVER TO SUSAN AND WE CAN GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED WITH THE MEETING.
UM, THAT'S A GOOD REMINDER TO US ALL WHEN WE'RE BACK IN THIS SPACE.
WE HAD A COUPLE MONTHS OUT OF THIS SPACE.
MAKE SURE TO TURN ON YOUR MICS.
[CALL TO ORDER]
GONNA CALL THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TO ORDER.IT IS 5:02 PM UM, SO OUR FIRST QUESTION, UH, MY FIRST QUESTION IS TO CHRIS, DO WE HAVE ANY, UM, CITIZEN COMMUNICATION THAT IS, UM, NOT ON AN AGENDA ITEM TODAY? ANYONE SIGNED UP? WE DO NOT.
UM, SO WE'LL MOVE RIGHT INTO OUR AGENDA.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Urban Transportation Commission REGULAR MEETING on July 11th, 2023]
UM, WE, WE HAVE THE MINUTES FROM OUR JULY 11TH MEETING.AS MOST OF YOU KNOW, OUR AUGUST MEETING WAS CANCELED, SO THIS IS OUR APPROVING OUR JULY MINUTES.
UM, DO I, AND THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN SENT TO YOU IN, UM, BACKUP EMAIL.
DO I HAVE A MOTION IN REGARDS TO OUR MINUTES? ALL MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
I'LL CALL FOR A VOTE ON THE MINUTES.
ALL THOSE WHO, UH, VOTE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM JULY 11TH.
UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO TAKE A BRIEF SECOND AND WELCOME, UM, NEW COMMISSIONERS ON OUR, UM, BODY.
SO, UM, IF YOU WANNA JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELVES, UH, MAYBE YOUR DISTRICT AND JUST YOUR NAME AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANNA SHARE WITH US.
EVERYONE'S LOOKING AT ME, SO I'M GUESSING I'M THE ONLY ONE.
I REPRESENT DISTRICT THREE WITH JOSE VASQUEZ.
UM, AND WHAT ELSE DID YOU NEED TO KNOW? ANYTHING YOU WANNA TELL US? ANYTHING YOU WANNA TELL? UM, SO MY DAY JOB IS I WORK FOR TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
I OVERSEE THE EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAM.
UM, SO LOOKING AT THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF ALL EMPLOYEES ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS.
I AM WITH, UM, DISTRICT TWO, WITH COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES AND I, MY DAY JOB IS, I WORK FOR CAP METRO AS THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND I WAS BORN IN AUSTIN, SO NATIVE AUSTIN.
UM, WITH THAT, WE HAVE, UM, A BUNCH OF, UH, DISCUSSION ITEM, PRESENTATION AND BRIEFINGS, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL THEM ON OUR AGENDA TODAY.
SO WE'LL TAKE THOSE UP, UH, WITH ALL DO HASTE.
[2. Discussion on the Transit Forward presentation]
BILL MCKINLEY.UH, AND, UH, HIS PRES CO-PRESENTER, WHO I'VE ALREADY FORGOTTEN, HE JUST INTRODUCED HIMSELF, I'M SO SORRY.
AND ON THE TRANSIT FORWARD PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION, UH, AS WAS INTRODUCED.
I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TRANSIT FORWARD.
HE IS A GRADUATE STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS IN THE SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING.
UH, JUSTIN ACTUALLY WROTE A PAPER FOR US LAST SEMESTER TALKING ABOUT THE NEGATIVE EXTERNALITIES OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE WANT TO DO THIS WAS WE ALL KNOW THAT TRAFFIC IS TERRIBLE.
IT SUCKS, IT'S BAD, BUT I DON'T THINK THERE'S A REAL UNDERSTANDING OF ALL OF THE ABSOLUTELY NEGATIVE THINGS THAT COME OUT OF INCREASED CONGESTION AND THE EFFECT IT HAS ON US AS INDIVIDUALS, ON OUR FAMILIES, AND AS A COMMUNITY.
SO JUSTIN DID A REALLY, REALLY GOOD JOB OF FINDING A LOT OF THE SPECIFIC NEGATIVE THINGS THAT COME OUT WITH TRAFFIC FROM STUDIES THAT ARE GONNA BE OUT THERE, AND WE WANT TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT THOSE TODAY.
UH, TRANSIT FORWARD IS AN AUSTIN 5 0 1 C THREE.
OUR MISSION IS TO DO EDUCATION ENGAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR TRANSIT AS A WHOLE, BUT WITH A REAL FOCUS ON PROJECT CONNECT.
WE BELIEVE THAT A WORLD CLASS CITY LIKE AUSTIN DESERVES A WORLD CLASS TRANSIT NETWORK, AND THAT'S WHAT TRANSIT FORWARD IS.
ONE OF OUR MISSIONS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO LET PEOPLE KNOW WHY THIS IS SO NEEDED, WHICH IS WHY THIS TOPIC TODAY IS SO GERMANE TO WHAT WE DO.
SO, JUSTIN, YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THAT? WE'RE GONNA GO BACK AND FORTH ON SLIDES, IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT.
SO, TRAFFIC IS BAD AND GETTING WORSE.
UH, A RECENT STUDY HAS SHOWN THAT TRAFFIC IN AUSTIN, UH, IS STEADILY WORSENING.
AUSTIN IS THE 14TH MOST CONGESTED CITY IN THE NATION, AND IT'S STARTING TO, UM, OVERTAKE PLACES LIKE DALLAS AND SAN DIEGO AND PORTLAND AND COMMUTERS ARE SPENDING AN AVERAGE OF 66 HOURS A YEAR STUCK IN TRAFFIC.
AND THAT WILL AND DOES, UH, TAKE A HUGE TOLL ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR CITIZENS OF AUSTIN.
THIS STUDY THAT JUSTIN WROTE, FIRST OF ALL, YOU CAN FIND IT AT OUR WEBSITE, TRANSIT FORWARD.ORG.
[00:05:01]
THERE'S A REPORTS ISSUE THERE, AND YOU CAN FIND BOTH THAT ONE AND ANOTHER ONE WE DID ON GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTIONS AND WHY WE NEED TRANSIT FOR THAT AS WELL ON OUR WEBSITE.THIS REPORT SPECIFICALLY LOOKS AT ALL OF THE NEGATIVE THINGS THAT COME DOWN, SPECIFICALLY A LOT OF MENTAL ISSUES, STRESS AND DEPRESSION, PHYSICAL ISSUES LIKE WEIGHT GAIN, THE FACT THAT FACT THAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND OTHER BAD HABITS GO UP WITH TRAFFIC.
UM, AND THEN A LOT OF THE DEATH AND TRAUMA THAT COMES FROM CRASHES, THEN YOU HAVE LESS TIME FOR YOUR FAMILIES.
AND ONE THING THAT IS ACTUALLY NOT ON HERE THAT WE ALSO TALK ABOUT IS SOME OF THE ACTUAL PHYSICAL COST TO THE COMMUNITY FROM INCREASED, UH, CRASHES THAT HAPPEN WITH TRAFFIC.
SO, AS MENTIONED, UH, STRESS AND DEPRESSION ARE, UH, HUGE FACTORS, UM, THAT ARE CAUSED BY TRAFFIC CONGESTION.
UH, MULTIPLE STUDIES HAVE FOUND THAT THERE IS A LINK BETWEEN TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND, UH, STRESS AND DEPRESSION.
UM, A STUDY IN CHINA FOUND THAT, UM, PEOPLE WHO ARE STUCK IN DEPRESSION HAVE A 0.8% HIGHER CHANCE OF SUFFERING FROM DEPRESSION.
UM, AND THEN A STUDY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST ENGLAND, UH, ALSO FOUND THAT TRAFFIC CONGESTION CAN REDUCE LIFE, UH, SATISFACTION, JOB SATISFACTION, AND JUST THE UNPREDIC UNPREDICTABILITY OF IT, UM, CAUSES GREAT MENTAL ANGUISH TO THOSE SUBJECT TO IT.
AND IF YOU GET A WILD HAIR AND WANNA ACTUALLY LOOK THIS UP, THAT WEST ENGLAND STUDY ACTUALLY SHOWN THAT, WHAT IS IT, $30,000? IS THAT THE ONE? YEAH.
IT, IT ACTUALLY SHOWED THAT PEOPLE EQUATED THE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO PAY TO NOT HAVE TO DO TWO CONGESTION AND TRAFFIC EVERY YEAR, LIKE $30,000 A YEAR.
THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO TAKE 30,000 LESS PER YEAR IF THEY COULD ACTUALLY LIVE WITH A JOB WHERE THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH TRAFFIC EVERY DAY.
THIS IS THE ONE THAT FLOORED ME.
AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IT MAKES SENSE, BUT I NEVER PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER.
THE AMOUNT OF ANGER THAT PEOPLE FEEL WHEN THEY ARE IN TRAFFIC, THE AMOUNT OF FRUSTRATION THAT THEY FEEL DOES NOT END WHEN THEY GET OUT OF THE CAR.
AND A STUDY THAT JUSTIN FOUND IN LA FROM 2018, SO FAIRLY RECENTLY SHOWED THERE'S ACTUALLY A 9% INCREASE IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES WHEN THERE IS INCREASES IN CONGESTION.
LET'S PUT THAT REAL, PUT THAT IN REAL TERMS FOR AUSTIN, THERE ARE 9,613 CASES, OVER 9,600 CASES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EVERY YEAR.
IF BY SOME MIRACLE WE COULD GET RID OF CONGESTION AS A WHOLE, THAT MEANS THERE WOULD BE 865 LESS FAMILIES THAT WOULD BE GOING THROUGH THESE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ISSUES.
THAT'S HOW MUCH TRAUMA IS CAUSED BY TRAFFIC CONGESTION WHEN WE LOOK AT IT FROM A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PERSPECTIVE.
SO ALSO, UM, THE OTHER SIDE EFFECT OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION IS WEIGHT GAIN.
UH, WE CITE HERE A STUDY, UH, THAT THEY DID IN CHINA.
UH, BUT, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S NOT TOO ATTENUATED TO SEE THAT SITTING IN TRAFFIC FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME, YOU KNOW, MAKES YOU TIRED, IT MAKES YOU EXHAUSTED.
IT ALSO, YOU'RE NOT WALKING, YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.
AND THEN WHEN YOU GET HOME FROM SITTING IN TRAFFIC FOR SO LONG, YOU'RE STRESSED, THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO DO IS GO TO THE GYM.
IT'S, IT, IT REALLY JUST DRAINS EVERYTHING OUTTA YOU.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? YOU GO HOME, SIT ON THE COUCH AND TRY AND FORGET ABOUT IT, AND YOU GAIN WEIGHT, WHICH ISN'T GOOD FOR ANYBODY.
RIGHT? THE CRASHES AND TRAUMA ISSUE, LOOK, ONCE AGAIN, NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.
IF THERE'S MORE TRAFFIC ON THE ROAD, THERE'S GONNA BE MORE TRAFFIC CRASHES.
AND I WAS ACTUALLY TOLD BY SOMEONE FOR THE CENTER OF NEW URBANISM, DO NOT REFER TO 'EM AS ACCIDENTS.
UH, AN ACCIDENT IS SOMETHING THAT'S ACCIDENTAL CRASHES HAPPEN BECAUSE WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE ON THE STREET.
AND I KNOW THE CITY'S REALLY TRYING TO MOVE TO THAT 50 50 MODE SHIFT, UH, GOAL BY THE END OF THE 2030S.
BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS, RIGHT? EVERY SINGLE YEAR, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE RECORDS FOR TRAFFIC DEATHS.
AND I THINK WE HAD ONE IN 2022 THAT WAS ONLY SURPASSED THE RECORD WE HAD IN 2021, BECAUSE AS WE KEEP GROWING MORE CARS ON THE ROAD, MORE INJURIES, MORE CRASHES, THAT MEANS MORE PEOPLE ARE DYING, MORE PEOPLE ARE GETTING INJURED, RIGHT? AND SO THE MORE TRAFFIC WE HAVE, LITERALLY THE MORE DEATH THAT WE HAVE, THE MORE TRAUMA AND PAIN THAT WE HAVE AND THE COSTS.
I'LL LET JUSTIN TALK ABOUT THAT, THAT TRANSLATES INTO REAL DOLLARS.
SO, SO THERE WAS A, UM, 2023 STUDY, NATIONWIDE STUDY CON CONDUCT CONDUCTED BY THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY, UH, TRA TRAFFIC ASSOCI YEAH.
AND THEY FOUND THERE WERE SEVERAL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH, UM, TRAFFIC.
AND THE, THE VARIOUS ACCIDENTS IT CAUSES, UH, THE, THEY DID ANOTHER STUDY IN 2019 THAT FOUND THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF CAR ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY TRAFFIC TRAFFIC CONGESTION CAUSED $339 BILLION, OR 1000, ABOUT A THOUSAND DOLLARS PER PERSON LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND THAT EQUATES TO ABOUT 1.6% OF THE US G D P.
SO THE COSTS ARE TREMENDOUS AND THEY'RE ONLY GONNA KEEP GROWING.
[00:10:01]
UM, AND LET'S SEE.YEAH, I THINK, YEAH, AND ONE THING I WOULD ADD TO YOU ALL, AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CITY, 9% OF ALL MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH COSTS ARE PAID FOR WITH PUBLIC REVENUES.
SO WHEN SOMEONE HAS TO CALL THE E E M T FOLKS WHEN THEY HAVE TO CALL THE COPS, THAT'S DOLLARS THAT COME OUT OF TAXPAYER FUNDS.
AND SO IF WE DON'T DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO REDUCE TRAFFIC, THEN WE ARE BASICALLY WASTING MONEY.
IT'S NOT ONLY BAD FOR PEOPLE'S PERSONAL PAIN AND AGONY, BUT IT ALSO COMES OUTTA THE PUBLIC COFFERS.
LOOK, IF YOU'RE SITTING AROUND IN TRAFFIC, UH, FROM AN EMPLOYER PERSPECTIVE, IF I'M A WORKER, I'M NOT WORKING AND I'M WASTING FUEL.
AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT IS BEING WASTING TRAFFIC, AND THIS IS 2015, SO THIS IS WHAT, SEVEN, EIGHT YEARS AGO, $160 BILLION ACROSS THE UNITED STATES IS WASTED IN TRAFFIC WHEN PEOPLE ARE JUST SITTING THERE.
AND AGAIN, AS JUSTIN POINTED OUT, THAT NUMBER IS ALSO CONTINUING TO GROW EVERY SINGLE YEAR EXPECTED TO BE ALMOST 190 BILLION BY 2030.
AND SO IN, IN DOING THIS STUDY OF THE NEGATIVE EXTERNALITIES OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION, WE FOUND THAT OF COURSE, TRANSIT, ESPECIALLY HIGH QUALITY PUBLIC TRANSIT, CAN HELP.
UH, IN DENVER IN 2019, THEIR, UH, PUBLIC TRANSIT AGENCY DID A STUDY AND THEY FOUND THAT BUILDING NEW RAIL LINES INCREASES RIDERSHIP AND REDUCES OVERALL VEHICLE MILES, TRAVEL THEIR OR V MTS AS THEY ALSO CALL THEM, UH, AND HELP MITIGATE OVERALL TRAFFIC GROWTH IN A GROWING URBAN REGION.
AND THEN ANOTHER STUDY, UH, DONE IN MINNEAPOLIS ST.
PAUL, WHERE THEY'RE ALSO WORKING TO EXPAND THEIR RAIL NETWORK, UM, THEY FOUND THAT IN THE FIRST TWO, UH, YEARS OF THE GREEN LINES OPERATION, WHICH IS THE LINE THERE, UH, THEY FOUND THAT TRAFFIC ON NEARBY ROADS WAS INDUCED BY 22% COMPARED WITH ROADS OUTSIDE OF, OR, YOU KNOW, FAR WITHOUT.
I THINK IT WAS A MILE FROM THE RAIL LINE.
SO BUILDING LOTS OF RAIL, I FIRMLY BELIEVE IS THE ANSWER TO MITIGATING THESE, ALL THESE HORRIBLE THINGS THAT COME WITH TRAFFIC CONGESTION.
AND IT'S ONE OF THE ANSWERS IN A MORE HOLISTIC THING.
BUT WE ALSO FOUND ANOTHER STORY ACTUALLY BETWEEN WHEN WE PUT THIS TOGETHER AND NOW SALT LAKE CITY ACTUALLY FOUND THERE WAS A, A 10 YEAR POINT WHEN THEY OPENED TRACKS, WHICH IS THEIR LIGHT RAIL LINE TO ABOUT FIVE OR SIX YEARS AGO WHERE THEY FOUND REAL SERIOUS TRAFFIC MITIGATION.
EVEN AS THAT AREA CONTINUED TO GROW, LIKE WE SEE HERE IN AUSTIN, WHAT THEY FOUND WAS THAT MITIGATION STOPPED WHEN THEY DIDN'T GET AFFORDABLE HOUSING AROUND A LOT OF THE TRANSIT LINES.
'CAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT WERE LIVING NEAR TRANSIT THEN WEREN'T TAKING IT ALL THE TIME.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING TO CONSIDER AS WELL.
LOOK, UH, LIKE WE SAID, OUR CONCLUSION HERE IS VERY SIMPLE.
WE THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO PUT ACTUAL REAL PHYSICAL COSTS TO AUSTINITES.
'CAUSE WE DON'T THINK ABOUT IT.
WE LIVE IN OUR CARS A LOT OF TIMES.
WE DON'T THINK ABOUT WHAT THOSE NEGATIVE COSTS ARE.
AND WE THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT WHEN WE SEE THREATS TO PROJECT CONNECT THAT COME FROM NATIONAL GROUPS, OR WE SEE EFFORTS AT THE LEGISLATURE TO TRY TO DEFUND PROJECT CONNECT.
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT ALL OF US KNOW EXACTLY WHY THESE NEW BUS AND TRAIN LINES ARE SO REALLY IMPORTANT TO US IN VERY TANGIBLE WAYS IN OUR COMMUNITY TO IMPROVE OURSELVES AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UH, MADAM CHAIR, WE APPRECIATE THE TIME YOU GUYS HAVE FOR US, AND WE'D BE HAPPY TO STAND FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
DO ANY COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS FOR OUR PRESENTERS? YEAH, SPENCER.
SO I'LL THROW IN JUST KIND OF A, A THOUGHT QUESTION THERE.
UM, SO I THINK YOU'VE BEEN A, A REALLY GREAT TIRELESS ADVOCATE FOR PROJECT CONNECT, YOU KNOW, AT THE LEGISLATURE, UH, TO A T P, TO CAP METRO TO THE CITY.
UH, BUT WE'RE GETTING TO A POINT NOW WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE LEGISLATURE CAN'T MESS WITH PROJECT CONNECT FOR ANOTHER YEAR AND A HALF, ALTHOUGH THEY MAY TRY, RIGHT? UH, ATP'S ABOUT TO GO TO THE BOND MARKET CAP METRO'S GETTING CLOSE TO FINALLY ROLLING OUT SOME, UH, OF THE, UH, RAPID PROGRAMS THEY HAVE.
SO WHERE DO YOU THINK OUR ADVOCACY SHOULD BE FOCUSED AS PROJECT CONNECT KIND OF GETS GOING ON AS WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS WE TAKE TO INCREASE TRANSIT RIDERSHIP AND MAKE TRANSIT MORE ACCESSIBLE, RAPID, FASTER FOR EVERYONE IN AUSTIN? WELL, I WOULD SAY THAT WE STILL NEED TO BE VERY, UM, WE STILL NEED TO PAY A LOT OF ATTENTION TO THE STATE LEGISLATURE.
I DON'T THINK THAT THE EFFORTS BY FOLKS WHO ARE OPPOSED TO TRANSIT ON PHILOSOPHICAL REASONS ARE GONNA STOP.
AND I THINK THEY'RE GONNA TRY AGAIN.
AND SO I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO CONTINUE TO MAKE SURE OUR LEGISLATORS ARE ON BOARD, THAT WE CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR THIS.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE GAVE OUR BIG, UH, YEARLY UPDATE WITH PROJECT CONNECT AND WE ASKED THE MAYOR THIS QUESTION ABOUT THE LEGISLATURE.
HE SAID, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE STILL CONTINUE TO PAY ATTENTION AND STILL CALL IN WHEN THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN, CALL LEGISLATORS, REMIND THEM THAT THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO EVERYBODY.
SO I THINK I DO THINK THAT THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
UM, I THINK IT'S ALSO GONNA BE IMPORTANT THAT WE STAY IN TOUCH ON THINGS LIKE, UH, THE, THE FEDERAL GRANT THAT A T P IS GONNA BE APPLYING FOR HERE IN THE NEXT YEAR.
BUT I WOULD ALSO SAY THERE'S TWO OTHER THINGS WE SHOULD REALLY WORK ON.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO SUPPORT CAT METRO AS THEY WORK
[00:15:01]
ON THINGS LIKE MULTIMODAL, UH, INTER INTERSECTIONS.SO HOW DO WE GET MORE BIKES, UH, WHEELCHAIRS, SCOOTERS? THAT ACCESS HAS TO BE REALLY CONNECTED FOR FOLKS, ESPECIALLY WITH LAST MILE.
AND THEN THE BIG ISSUE'S GONNA BE HOUSING.
AS WE, WE CONTINUE TO POINT OUT OVER AND OVER AGAIN, TRANSIT SYSTEMS ONLY WORK WHEN THERE'S DENSE HOUSING SURROUNDING TRANSIT STATIONS.
SO MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE CHANGES LIKE FRANKLY THE CITY COUNCIL'S BEEN MAKING THIS YEAR, GETTING RID OF MINIMUM PARKING RESTRICTIONS ARE REALLY GOOD.
REDUCING COMPATIBILITY MEASURES, REALLY, REALLY GOOD MINIMUM LOT SIZES MOVING THEM DOWN REALLY GOOD.
BUT I WOULD SAY THAT IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR US TO CONTINUE TO SAY, HOW DO WE DO MORE MINNEAPOLIS ST.
PAUL EVENTUALLY, AND I'M NOT SAYING WE'RE THERE YET, BUT THEY MOVE TO A SPACE WHERE THERE'S NO SINGLE FAMILY ZONING ALONG TRANSIT CORRIDORS.
THE MORE DENSITY YOU HAVE, AND FRANKLY, THE MORE AFFORDABILITY YOU HAVE WITH HOUSING NEAR TRANSIT LINES MEANS MORE PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO RIDE IT.
AND THAT'S GOOD IN A WHOLE LOT OF AREAS.
IT'S THE BEST THING WE CAN DO FOR AFFORDABILITY IN AUSTIN.
WE'RE NOT GONNA HIT OUR GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION GOALS UNLESS WE HAVE MORE TRANSIT CORRIDORS AND MORE HOUSING AROUND THOSE.
SO I THINK RIGHT NOW, REALLY, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING TO PAY ATTENTION FOR THE LEGISLATURE AND THEN REALLY SUPPORTING CAP METRO AS THEY AND THE CITY, AS THEY WORK FOR THINGS LIKE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AROUND STATIONS TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR THESE LAST MILE THINGS AND HOUSING.
THOSE ARE THE KEY CRITICAL THINGS I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK FORWARD WITH.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YEAH, NO, I THINK THAT'S GREAT.
WELL, I THINK WE'VE GOT WORK TO DO.
UM, SO THE QUESTION WAS, ALL RIGHT, HOW DO WE FEEL ABOUT JANUARY, 2025 WHEN THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION COMES IN? NO, NO, NOREEN, I'M SORRY, SIR.
THAT'S GONNA BE THE NEXT BIG SERVICE CHANGE AH, FOR KEVIN.
AND I REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE LAST ONE.
WELL, AND I WOULD ALWAYS ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO STAY ENGAGED.
ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS REALLY PROUD OF THAT EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY LED BY US IN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AT CAT METRO HELPED, WE HELPED CITY COUNCILORS WERE GREAT, WAS THAT DISCUSSION THAT WAS HAD ABOUT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT FIRST PHASE OF LIGHT RAIL WAS GOING TO LOOK LIKE, KNOWING THAT INFLATION HAPPENED.
AND THERE ARE A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AROUND THE UNITED STATES THAT GOT COMPLETELY CANCELED, AND OUR COMMUNITY SAID, NO, WE'RE GONNA FIGURE OUT HOW TO HAVE AN ADULT RESPONSIBLE, TRANSPARENT CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS AND GET A GOOD PLAN THAT EVERYONE CAN GET BEHIND WITH THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE.
I THINK WE'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE WE KEEP FOLLOWING THAT MODEL AND REACHING OUT TO PEOPLE GOING WHERE THEY'RE AT, HAVING ONLINE MEETINGS, GOING TO BUS STOPS, GOING TO LUNCH, CHATTERS GOING WITH EVERY GROUP THAT'LL TALK TO YOU.
I THINK THAT'S A REALLY, REALLY GREAT MODEL FOR HOW WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
AND I KNOW TRANSIT FORWARD'S GONNA CONTINUE TO MAKE THAT A PRIORITY, AND WE ENCOURAGE ALL OF OUR PUBLIC SECTOR ENTITIES TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT AS WELL.
IT'S A GOOD THING AND IT WORKED.
I ALSO LIKE TO JUST ADD THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO GET THESE PROJECTS BUILT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, BECAUSE THE LONGER YOU WAIT, THE MORE INFLATION IS GONNA ALWAYS GO UP.
IT'S ALWAYS GONNA BE A FACTOR NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS.
SO, YOU KNOW, JUST SPEED IS IMPORTANT AND, YOU KNOW, THE FASTER YOU CAN GET THEM DONE AND THE HIGHER QUALITY YOU CAN GET THEM BUILT, THE, THE LESS YOU'LL SPEND FURTHER ON DOWN THE LINE, ESSENTIALLY.
AND FOR ANYBODY THAT THAT WANTS TO READ A GOOD ONCE AGAIN NERD PIECE, BUT THE ENO CENTER FOR TRANSIT POLICY, AND FROM 2021, THEY'RE OUT IN NEW YORK, THEY DID A REALLY, REALLY GREAT PRESENTATION ON WHAT THEY DO IN EUROPE TO BE ABLE TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE ON TIME AND ON BUDGET WITH TRANSPORTATION, THINGS THAT UNITED STATES REALLY HASN'T DONE.
HOW DO WE TAKE SOME OF THOSE BEST PRACTICES AND, AND DO THEM HERE, I THINK IS GONNA BE REALLY IMPORTANT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION, BUT I, I JUST WANTED TO SAY I APPRECIATED THE DIFFERENT, UM, STATS AND THE DIFFERENT APPROACH, LIKE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER THAT IMPACT ALL OF US AS WE'RE IN TRAFFIC.
I, I'VE BEEN DOING THIS STUFF FOR A WHILE AND I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE THE DEPTH OF SOME OF THESE ISSUES.
LIKE THE, THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE THING JUST BLEW ME OUTTA THE WATER, BUT IT MAKES SENSE, RIGHT? BUT IT'S JUST NOT SOMETHING WE THINK ABOUT IT, SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT PEOPLE KNOW THAT STUFF.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS COME? ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU SO MUCH, GENTLEMEN.
THANKS MADAM CHAIR, APPRECIATE YOU.
[3. Discussion on the General Overview of Arterial Management Division]
OUR SECOND DISCUSSION ITEM OF TODAY, WHICH IS, UM, A DISCUSSION, UH, GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE ARTERIAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION FOR OUR NEW COMMISSIONERS.WE HAVE KIND OF BEEN GOING ON REALLY FOR A YEAR OR MORE, KIND OF GOING ON A TOUR OF, I KEEP WANTING TO SAY A T D, IT'S AUSTIN, HELP ME WORKS.
TRANSPORTATION OF PUBLIC DEPARTMENT WORKS.
SO, UM, SO OUR, BUT WE'VE BEEN KIND OF GOING ON A TOUR OF THESE UNITS AND THE DIFFERENT DIVISIONS WITHIN, WITHIN THEM.
SO, UM, WE'RE KIND OF CONTINUING THAT TODAY, I THINK,
[00:20:01]
REALLY.ANYWAY, AND WE WILL BE, I THINK SO, UM, WITH THAT, I'LL CALL Y'ALL UP.
UH, BRIAN CRAIG, I THINK, YEAH, HE'S ONLINE.
UH, THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME.
AND, UM, I, I HOPE I CAN GIVE A GOOD OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE DO AT ARTERIAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION FOR THE NEW COMMISSIONERS.
UM, AND ALSO, UM, TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT THEY HAVE.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT A M D.
UM, REALLY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS IS TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO HELP IMPROVE MOBILITY AND SAFETY FOR ALL MODES OF TRAFFIC, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND FOR ALL ROAD ROADWAY USERS.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE TYPICALLY THINK OF WHEN THEY THINK OF ARTERIAL MANAGEMENT IS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DO.
WHAT DO YOU DO? UM, AND FOR THOSE THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH FOR A LONG TIME, THEY THINK OF US AS THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL GROUP, BUT WE DO A LOT MORE THAN THAT.
SO WITHIN A M D, WE REALLY HAVE SIX GENERAL AREAS, UM, THAT'LL GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF NEXT SLIDE, UM, OUR SIGNAL TIMING FOLKS.
UM, THEY, THEY FOLLOW INDUS INDUSTRY PRACTICE, WHICH REALLY IS TO EVALUATE SIGNAL TIMING AT AN INTERSECTION ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS.
UM, SO WE HAVE OUR ANNUAL SIGNAL RETIMING PROGRAM IN WHICH WE IDENTIFY THE, UM, SIGNALS THAT WE'RE GOING TO, UM, EVALUATE OVER, YOU KNOW, THE COURSE OF, OF THREE YEARS.
AND WE GO AHEAD AND TRACK THAT.
UM, NOW, HISTORICALLY, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE INDUSTRY, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THE MOST PART WAS ONLY, UM, INTERESTED IN TRAVEL TIME ALONG THE CORRIDOR.
UM, BASICALLY THE, THE GOAL OF THE PROGRAM WAS TO MINIMIZE TRAVEL TIME AND STOPS, AND TO GET, UM, FROM POINT A TO POINT B, UM, AS, AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
AND GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE USE THE FLOATING CAR METHOD.
WE HAD SOMEBODY DRIVE THE CORRIDOR AND BASICALLY, UH, DETERMINE HOW LONG IT TOOK.
UM, NOW THAT WAS THE WAY WE TYPICALLY DID IT, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF LIMITATIONS TO THAT INCLUDING, UM, YOU KNOW, SAFETY ALONG THE CORRIDOR THAT WASN'T BEING MEASURED.
UM, SO A FEW YEARS BACK, WE WENT AHEAD AND WE KIND OF REVAMPED HOW WE WERE LOOKING AT, AT OUR SYSTEM, AND A LOT OF THAT HAD TO DO WITH THE, THE TOOLS THAT BECAME AVAILABLE TO US.
UM, WE STARTED USING THIRD PARTY TRAVEL TIME TOOLS.
UM, ONE OF THE MAJOR, UM, UH, PLAYERS IN THAT MARKET IS, IS
AND THAT GAVE US THE ABILITY TO LOOK AT DELAYS AT INTERSECTIONS, UM, ARRIVAL ON GREENS SPLIT FAILURES, WHICH IS BASICALLY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT NEEDS TO, UM, WAIT, YOU KNOW, IN A QUEUE, MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE CYCLES.
UM, SO THAT, THAT CERTAINLY ALLOWED US TO GET A BETTER SENSE OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CHANGES THAT WE WERE MAKING TO THE SYSTEM.
UM, A LOT OF THIS BECAME APPARENT WHEN WE STARTED MAKING TIMING ADJUSTMENTS, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR PEDESTRIANS CROSSING THE STREET, UM, WHICH MEANS THAT THE SIGNAL TIMING FOR THE MAIN STREET, THEY RECEIVED LESS SCREEN TIME, WHICH IMPACTED TRAVEL TIME ALONG THE, THE MAJOR CORRIDOR.
BUT THE OLD WAY THAT WE'RE DOING IT NEVER, UM, NEVER CAPTURED THE IMPROVEMENT THAT WE WERE GIVING TO PEDESTRIANS.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE STILL CURRENTLY, UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH HENRICKS AND, AND OTHER MEANS TO GET A BETTER SENSE OF IDENTIFYING PEDESTRIAN DELAY AT INTERSECTIONS.
UM, BUT RIGHT NOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE USING SOME OF THESE OTHER, YOU KNOW, METRICS, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE MEANTIME.
SO ANOTHER DASHBOARD THAT WE HAVE IS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL INTERSECTIONS ALONG THE CORRIDORS THAT WE READ TIME, UM, YOU KNOW, ONCE AGAIN, CONTROL TIME ARRIVAL ON GREEN, GREEN SPLIT FAILURES.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ABLE TO LOOK AT TIME PERIODS BEFORE AND AFTER WE MAKE CHANGES TO SEE WHAT IMPACTS, UM, IT HAD ON THE CORRIDOR AND INDIVIDUAL INTERSECTIONS.
UM, WE HAVE A CONSTRUCTION GROUP, UM, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE.
[00:25:01]
NEXT SLIDE FOR THE, UM, CONSTRUCTION INSPECTION MODIFICATION OF ON TRAFFIC SIGNALS.WE LIKE TO SAY THAT IF IT'S A TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICE AND IT HAS POWER, THEN WE PROBABLY ARE INVOLVED IN ONE FORM OR, OR FASHION.
UM, BUT THIS GROUP, UM, AS I SAID, THEY, THEY WILL, UM, WORK ACROSS OUR DIVISION REALLY AS, UM, AS THEY WORK WITH TIMING ENGINEERS TO DETERMINE, UM, WHAT MODIFICATIONS NEED TO BE MADE.
THEY ALSO WORK WITH OTHER GROUPS WITHIN THE DIVISION, WHETHER IT IS SAFE, SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL OR WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT, WHETHER IT'S SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL OR VISION ZERO TO IMPLEMENT, UM, IMPROVEMENTS SUCH AS RETROFLECTIVE BACK PLATES, FLUSHING, YELLOW ARROWS, A P SS PUSH BUTTON.
UM, SO TH THIS GROUP ALSO OVERSEES THE SIGNAL REQUEST PROCESS.
UM, WE RECEIVE REQUESTS TYPICALLY THROUGH 3 1 1 FOR, UM, CITIZEN REQUESTING TRAFFIC SIGNALS.
UM, WE WORK ON A ANNUAL BASIS TO SCORE ALL OF THOSE, UM, REQUESTS BASED ON A NUMBER OF FACTORS.
AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, AT THE, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE SCORING PERIOD, WE WILL GO AHEAD AND, AND RANK THEM AND THEN, UM, STUDY THEM FOR, UM, TRAFFIC SIGNAL WARRANTS TO DETERMINE WHETHER A SIGNAL IS WARRANTED AT THOSE LOCATIONS.
UM, JUST ANOTHER VIEW OF THE DASHBOARD ONCE IT GETS, UM, PAST THE REQUEST, UM, STAGE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, ONCE WE, ONCE WE CONSTRUCT THINGS, WE NEED TO MAINTAIN THEM NEXT SLIDE.
UM, SO AS PART OF THE, THE MAINTENANCE GROUP, THEY, THEY, UM, CONDUCT ROUTINE MAINTENANCE, PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE, AND EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE ON ALL OF OUR, UM, DEVICES INSTALLED IN THE FIELD.
UM, ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE DEVICES THAT, UM, GETS, THAT GETS ROUTINE MAINTENANCE, UM, THROUGHOUT THE CITY IS VEHICLE DETECTION, PEDESTRIAN DETECTION, UM, NEXT SLIDE.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THERE'S THE EMERGENCY REPAIRS.
UM, FOR WHATEVER REASON, PEOPLE LIKE TO HIT OUR EQUIPMENT.
UM, AND WE HAVE TECHNICIANS THAT RESPOND 24 7 IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, UM, RAIN OR SHINE, AS THEY SAY.
SO WE HAVE A I T S AND COMMUNICATION GROUP THAT, UM, REALLY MAINTAINS THE, THE TECHNOLOGY FOR THE DIVISION.
UM, WE HAVE OUR OWN COMMUNICATION NETWORK THAT'S INDEPENDENT FROM THE REST OF THE CITIES.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS YOU SEE HERE, WE HAVE 250, I THINK WE'RE UP TO ALMOST 300 MILES OF FIBER OPTIC, THE CABLE THAT HELPS US COMMUNICATE TO ALL OF OUR TRAFFIC SIGNALS, UH, IN THE FIELD.
WE MAINTAIN BATTERY BACKUP SYSTEM THAT, YOU KNOW, 500 PLUS APPROACHING, UM, 50% OF OUR TRAFFIC SIGNALS POWER GOES OUT.
WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO MAINTAIN, UM, RED, YELLOW, GREEN FOR, YOU KNOW, SIX TO EIGHT HOURS.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE 680, UM, C C T V CAMERAS THAT, THAT HELPS US, UM, MONITOR TRAFFIC ON THE ROADWAY AND MAKE, UH, TIMING ADJUSTMENTS FROM OUR M M C.
UM, SO AS WE, UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE CONTINUE TO BUILD OUT OUR SYSTEM, COMMUNICATION BECOMES, UH, EVEN MORE CRITICAL PIECE TO, TO OUR NETWORK AND ALLOW SOME, UM, YOU KNOW, I'LL SAY NEXT GEN TYPE, UH, PROJECTS, ONE OF WHICH IS A CENTRALIZED TRANSIT SIGNAL PRIORITY AND EMERGENCY VEHICLE PREEMPTION SYSTEM.
UM, AND THAT SYSTEM UTILIZES THE VEHICLE'S, UM, G P SS DATA AND A B L SYSTEM, UM, TO HELP, UH, CHANGE THE, CHANGE THE, UH, THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL OPERATIONS.
UM, ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF THIS IS THERE'S NO ADDITIONAL, UH, COMMUNICATION OR NO ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT THAT'S NEEDED ON THE VEHICLES OR IN THE FIELD, UM, RELATIVE TO HOW THEY NORMALLY OPERATE.
UM, SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE TWO B R T ROUTES, THE 8 0 1, 8 0 3, UM, AND WE'VE STARTED TO, TO BUILD OUT THE SYSTEM FOR SOME OF THE NEW, UM, METRO LINES THAT, THAT CAP METRO'S BUILDING OUT.
AND LIKE LIKEWISE, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING WITH A F D AND E M SS TO,
[00:30:01]
TO BUILD OUT THE E V P SYSTEM, UM, FOR THEM ALSO.NEXT SLIDE, UH, WE'LL SKIP THIS ONE NEXT SLIDE.
OUR MOBILITY MANAGEMENT CENTER.
UM, I WON'T SAY TOO MUCH ABOUT THIS.
I KNOW THAT THEY HAD RECENTLY GIVEN, UM, Y'ALL A PRESENTATION, UH, NEXT SLIDE, BUT, BUT REALLY THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, WHAT I'D CALL THE BACKBONES TO OUR DAY-TO-DAY OPERATION.
UM, FROM THE M M C, THEY HAVE ACCESS TO ALL OF OUR C C T V CAMERAS.
THEY MAKE REMOTE, UM, ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TRAFFIC SIGNALS BASED ON, YOU KNOW, ROUTINE OR ROUTINE CONGESTION OR, OR INCIDENTS OR, OR SPECIAL EVENTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE IN THE, IN THE M M C SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, UM, READY TO, TO MAKE CHANGES TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC.
UM, SO A FEW THINGS ON THE, ON THE HORIZON.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE DO CONTINUE TO BUILD OUT OUR COMMUNICATION NETWORK.
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, IT BECOMES MORE CRITICAL AS WE INVEST IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AS A RESULT, WE ARE, UM, WE ARE BUILDING IN ADDITIONAL REDUNDANCY INTO THE SYSTEM.
SO THERE ARE NO SINGLE POINTS OF FAILURE.
AND IF THAT BACKHOE DECIDES TO SNAG SOME FIBER OPTIC CABLE, OR IF SOMEBODY RUNS INTO A POLE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO COMMUNICATE WITH, UM, ADJACENT SIGNALS.
UM, ONE PROJECT THAT WE'RE WORKING IN, WORKING ON WITH SOME OF OUR, UM, PARTNER DIVISIONS PARTICULARLY RIGHT OF WAY IS A LANE CLOSURE REPORTING SYSTEM.
UM, JUST TO GIVE ADDITIONAL, UM, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TO OUR M M C ON, YOU KNOW, WHO SHOULD BE WORKING IN THE ROAD AND WHEN AND WHERE SO THAT THEY, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN MONITOR THOSE SITUATIONS.
UM, WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH A NUMBER OF OUR REGIONAL, UM, PARTNERS TO ON DTEC 2.0.
UM, YOU KNOW, HELPING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, DEVELOP A, A ONE SYSTEM REGIONAL T M C SO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, REGARDLESS OF WHERE SOMEBODY'S DRIVING IN THE, IN THE METRO AREA, UM, YOU KNOW, EITHER US OR OUR PARTNERS WILL BE ABLE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THEIR, TO THEIR OPERATIONS.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, UM, CHALLENGES.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE MORE, THE MORE STUFF YOU HAVE IN THE FIELD, THE MORE YOU NEED TO MAINTAIN.
UM, SO THAT, THAT ALWAYS, UM, IS A, IS A CHALLENGE, ESPECIALLY IN THIS MARKET WHERE WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, STAFF TURNOVER AND THAT LEADS TO STAFF AND EXPERIENCE, UM, BOTH INTERNALLY AT THE CITY, BUT ALSO FOR THE, THE CONTRACTORS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND THEN WITH THE MULTIPLE HIGH PROFILE, UM, PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE, THE PROJECT CONNECT, THE I 35, UM, YOU KNOW, 180 3 TOLL ROAD, MOPAC TOLL ROAD.
UM, IT DOES, UM, IT DOES SPREAD THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE OUT OVER A LARGER, LARGER AREA.
UM, TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THESE PROJECTS ARE, ARE SUCCESSFUL AND, UM, YOU KNOW, GET COMPLETED ON TIME.
AND THEN THERE'S ALWAYS THE, THE CITY GROWTH.
UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF THESE OTHER PROJECTS DIDN'T EXIST, UM, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THE PROVERBIAL A HUNDRED PEOPLE MOVING TO AUSTIN, UM, AND THAT'S JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, A, A LARGER DEMAND FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR WHAT WE DO.
SO THAT WAS A, A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE ARTERIAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION.
I KNOW, UM, WENT THROUGH IT PRETTY QUICKLY, BUT IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.
UM, SO, AND YOU, YOU DISCUSSED THIS PRETTY WELL.
UM, I THINK THAT, AND IT KIND OF ACTUALLY FEEDS ON OUR PRIOR PRESENTATION AS WELL, IN MY MIND.
UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES WHEN PEOPLE ARE STUCK IN A LIGHT, RIGHT? THEY GET MAD, YOU KNOW, THAT PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE KIND OF LIKE A RIGHT NOT TO SIT THROUGH A LIGHT.
IT CREATES A LOT OF FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, EVEN AS WE WERE JUST GETTING THE LAST PRESENTATION, TRAUMAS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT PEOPLE WILL CALL AND COMPLAIN, AND THOSE COMPLAINTS TEND TO BE, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL ARE TRACKING THEM, YOU'RE TRIAGING THEM, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THEM, YOU'RE PUTTING 'EM IN YOUR DATA SYSTEMS, AND PEOPLE KIND OF FEEL LIKE, OKAY, IF I'M STUCK IN TRAFFIC, I KIND OF HAVE A RIGHT TO FEEL MAD ABOUT THAT, OR THAT MAKES ME FEEL MAD WHERE I, I HAVE NOTICED THAT SOMETHING, AND MAYBE THIS IS JUST OUR SORT OF NATIONAL AMERICAN CULTURE, THAT A LOT OF TIMES WHEN PEOPLE ARE STUCK, THEY'RE PEDESTRIANS AND THEY'RE STUCK IN A PLACE THAT DOESN'T HAVE ANY SAFE PLACE FOR THEM TO STAND ON A CORNER, OR THEY HAVE TO WAIT THROUGH THE SIGNAL BECAUSE THE PEDESTRIAN, IT'S A BAG BUTTON AND THEY'RE NOT GETTING A WALK SIGNAL AND THEY'RE NERVOUS TO WALK, OTHERWISE THEY DON'T FEEL MAD.
THEY FEEL LIKE THEY'RE STUPID.
LIKE, LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE, OH, KIND OF, IT'S LIKE MY FAULT FOR TRYING TO WALK
[00:35:01]
ANYWAY.YOU KNOW,
SO I THINK SOMETIMES PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCE PEDESTRIAN DELAYS ARE LESS LIKELY TO PICK UP THE PHONE AND REPORT THAT OR CALL 3 1 1, OR EVEN REALIZE THAT THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO DO IN THEIR CIRCUMSTANCE.
SO I GUESS I'M CURIOUS HOW, HOW YOU'RE, UM, WORKING TO GET, UM, TO BE AS RESPONSIVE TO PEDESTRIAN.
I MEAN, I KNOW YOU SAID YOU ARE, BUT LIKE, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DATA POINTS COLLECTING THAT YOU'RE DOING? HOW ARE YOU ADDRESSING THAT IN YOUR MODELS? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I, UM, LIKE YOU OR, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M VERY CONCERNED THAT WE'VE REALLY FOCUSED A LOT ON LEVEL SERVICE, LEVEL OF SERVICE, CAR DELAYS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND WE'RE SHIFTING OUR CULTURE, RIGHT? WE KNOW THAT LIKE THERE'S MORE PEOPLE, FOR EXAMPLE, RIDING, UM, TRANSIT ON GUADALUPE LAMAR DURING PEAK HOURS THAN THERE ARE PEOPLE IN SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES.
SO LIKE WE KNOW THAT TO REALLY MOVE MORE PEOPLE, WE NEED TO MOVE MORE TRANSIT VEHICLES.
SO, UM, VERSUS JUST SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE WALKING IN WEST CAMPUS AND GUAD, UM, TOO, JUST TO USE ONE EXAMPLE.
SO I MEAN, I'M CURIOUS HOW YOU'RE, HOW YOU'RE SHIFTING YOUR DATA COLLECTION REALLY SPECIFICALLY AROUND PEDESTRIANS EXPERIENCE.
AND I KNOW YOU HAVE ANOTHER PRESENTATION ABOUT PEDESTRIAN BEACONS COMING UP, SO WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THAT NEXT IN JUST A FEW MINUTES, BUT YEAH.
UM, SO A FEW OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, UM, I MEAN, PROBABLY STARTING TO MAYBE THREE YEARS AGO, UM, I MEAN OUR, OUR CYCLE LENGTHS, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE CITY WERE GETTING LONGER AND LONGER TO, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS THE, THE CONGESTION.
UM, YOU KNOW, I GUESS USING, USING COVID AS A, AS A REFERENCE POINT, I GUESS WE STARTED, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY THE YEAR PRIOR TO COVID, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE LOOKING AT A, AT OUR CYCLE LENGTHS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE THINKING A COUPLE OF THINGS.
UM, YOU KNOW, JUST INCREASING CYCLE LENGTHS TO, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, MINIMIZE THE, THE STOP TIMES FOR, FOR VEHICLES.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A WHOLE, A WHOLE OTHER GROUPS OF, OF USERS HERE ON THE, ON THE SIDE STREETS, UM, YOU KNOW, PEDESTRIANS TRYING TO CROSS THE, UM, THE STREET AND, AND VICE SPLIT, UM, YOU KNOW, DOING THE SAME.
AND SO FOR REFERENCE, UM, IN THE PM PEAK, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CYCLE LENGTHS WERE 150 SECOND LONG AT THAT POINT.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, SINCE, AS WE'VE BEEN RETIMING ANNUALLY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SINCE BEEN DROPPING THAT DOWN TO, YOU KNOW, 120 SECOND CYCLES.
UM, AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF THAT TIME IS COMING, IS COMING FROM THE MAIN STREET.
UM, SO THAT THERE IS, YOU KNOW, THEORETICALLY REDUCTION OF 30 SECONDS, UM, FOR ANYBODY WISHING TO TO CROSS THE STREET.
UM, YOU KNOW, A FEW OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE, WE'VE DONE IS ALL OF OUR NEW, UM, YOU KNOW, INSTALLATIONS FOR, YOU KNOW, THE BETTER PART OF, OF 10 YEARS, THEY ALL HAVE ACCESSIBLE PEDESTRIAN SIGNALS, UM, YOU KNOW, TO, YOU KNOW, GIVE THE VERBAL CUE WHEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE WALK LIGHT COMES ON.
AND WE ALSO HAVE, AS PART OF OUR BOND FUNDING, UM, YOU KNOW, FUNDING TO GO THROUGH AND, AND RETROFIT, UM, ALMOST ALL OF OUR, UM, ADDITIONAL SIGNALS WITH THOSE.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IS ALL OF DOWNTOWN, UM, YOU KNOW, I USE ALL IN QUOTES 'CAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS EXCEPTIONS, BUT ALL OF DOWNTOWN'S HAVE LEADING PEDESTRIAN INTERVALS.
UM, SO BASICALLY THE, THE WALK SIGN COMES ON BEFORE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PARALLEL, UM, VEHICLE MOVEMENT COMES ON TO ALLOW THE PEDESTRIAN TO START CROSSING THE STREET FIRST.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE ARE DOING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, MORE AND MORE OUTSIDE OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
UM, YOU KNOW, RETROFITTING SOME, SOME OF THE TRAFFIC SIGNALS WITH FLASHING YELLOW ARROWS TO MAKE, UM, THAT LEADING, UH, PEDESTRIAN INTERVAL, UM, EASIER TO, TO IMPLEMENT.
UM, SO THOSE ARE THE A FEW THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING.
I DO HAVE ONE QUICK FOLLOW-UP QUESTION.
I THINK PROBABLY SOME OTHER PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONS AS WELL.
SO IN REGARDS TO BEG BUTTONS WHERE PEDESTRIANS DON'T GET A WALK SIGNAL UNLESS THEY'RE THERE, SOMEONE'S THERE TO PRESS THE BUTTON.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE PHASING OUT AS A CITY? I, I MEAN, I HAVE SEEN SOME INSTANCES WHERE BEG BUTTON LOCATIONS WERE REPLACED WITH BUTTONS WHERE YOU AUTOMATICALLY GET A WALK SIGNAL, BUT, UM, WHAT'S THE, HOW IS THAT, WHAT'S SORT OF THE CURRENT POLICY, UM, AND PROGRAMMING WITH THAT? SO GENERALLY SPEAKING, UM, WHETHER, AND, YOU KNOW, WHETHER A WALK IS ON RECALL OR NOT IS HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON THE, THE NUMBER OF, UM, PEDESTRIANS THAT ARE, ARE USING THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, USING THAT MOMENT, THAT MOVEMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, AROUND THE UT AREA DOWNTOWN, UM, WHERE THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, A LARGE NUMBER OF PEDESTRIANS, THE WALK SIGNALS WILL, WILL COME ON AUTOMATICALLY, UM, AROUND SPECIAL
[00:40:01]
EVENTS WHEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN THOSE EVENTS LET OUT AND THERE A LARGE NUMBER OF PEDESTRIANS, UM, THOSE WALKS WILL COME ON AUTOMATICALLY.OTHERWISE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE REPLACING THE OLD STYLE PUSH BUTTON WITH THE, WITH THE AUDIBLE PUSH BUTTON, BUT TYPICALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, THEIR DEMAND RESPONSES.
SO ARE YOU ABLE TO TRACK THAT? LIKE IF PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, IF A LOCATION SUDDENLY HAS, YOU KNOW, 30 MORE PEOPLE PER WEEK OR SOMETHING, OR PER, I DON'T KNOW, I'M MAKING NUMBERS UP, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S SIGNIFICANT IN YOUR INDUSTRY, BUT LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF A A, A LOCATION HAS AN INCREASE, CAN YOU TRACK THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT BEG BUTTON IS PUSHED THAT PEOPLE TO PEOPLE TO GET THE SIGNAL AND THEN REALIZE, HEY, YOU KNOW, DURING RUSH HOUR EVERY CYCLE, SOMEBODY NEEDS TO CROSS.
WHY ARE WE MAKING SOMEBODY PUSH THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, TO GET THE SIGNAL? IS THAT SOMETHING Y'ALL ARE ABLE TO TRACK? UM, YES.
SO A RECENT UPDATE TO OUR, UM, SIGNAL SOFTWARE, UM, DOES GO, DOES LOG ALL OF THE PEDESTRIAN EVERY TIME A WALK SIGNAL COMES UP.
UM, SO WE HAVE, UM, I MEAN WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING PROGRAMMATICALLY YET, BUT WE DO, WE HAVE REVIEWED A NUMBER OF LOCATIONS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, DETERMINE THE MAGNITUDE OF, OF PEOPLE CROSSING AND WHETHER IT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT MAKES SENSE TO PUT, PUT THAT ON RECALL.
SO I'D I I'D SAY THAT, THAT OVER TIME THAT WILL DEFINITELY BECOME MORE SYSTEMATIC.
'CAUSE SOMETIMES IT'S ONE PERSON PRESSES IT, BUT THERE'S 15 OF US ABOUT TO CROSS THE STREET.
I SEE A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS.
I'M GONNA GO TO DI DIANA WHEELER FIRST, I THINK ONLINE.
SO IS THERE A MONETARY REASON THAT YOU HAVE A, I MEAN, IF YOU HAVE A BIG BUTTON, THEN THERE'S THE MAINTENANCE TO KEEP THAT BIG BUTTON UP.
IS THERE A MONETARY REASON THAT THE LIGHT JUST DOESN'T AUTOMATICALLY TURN WHITE EVEN IF THERE'S NOT A PERSON THERE? I MEAN, THE CARS WOULDN'T STOP.
I JUST ALWAYS FIGURED THERE MUST BE A MONETARY REASON WHY JUST EVERY SINGLE LIGHT JUST DOESN'T AUTOMATICALLY TURN WHITE WHEN SOMEONE COULD, YOU KNOW, WHEN A WALKER COULD WALK, EVEN IF THERE'S NOT A WALKER THERE.
SO GENERALLY, GENERALLY SPEAKING, UM, FOR, FOR PEDESTRIANS WALKING ALONG THE, THE MAJOR STREET, UM, THE WALK SIGN DOES COME, DOES COME UP AUTOMATICALLY.
UM, AND I, IF I HAD TO PUT A PERCENTAGE TO IT, I'D SAY, YOU KNOW, OVER 75% OF OF THE TIME WALKING ALONG THE, THE MAJOR CORRIDOR, UM, FOR THE, FOR THE SIDE STREETS, IF THE, UM, IF THERE ARE NO VEHICLES THERE, UM, AND THERE ARE NO PEDESTRIANS THERE, THEN THE LIGHT WOULD STAY ON THE, ON THE MAJOR STREET.
UM, IF THERE IS NO PEDESTRIAN PUSH BUTTON TO CROSS THE MAJOR STREET, THEN UM, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD NEED TO BRING UP THE WALKS, THE WALK SIGN, WHETHER THERE'S A PEDESTRIAN THERE OR NOT, OR A VEHICLE OR NOT, I GUESS.
BUT MY QUESTION IS, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY EVERY SINGLE TIME IF THE, IF THE CARS HAVE A GREEN LIGHT, LIKE SOMETIMES CARS HAVE A GREEN LIGHT, THERE'S NO CAR THERE, RIGHT? SO WHY DO YOU REQUIRE, WHY ARE SOME PLACES I DON'T HAVE TO PUSH ANYTHING AND I GET A WALK SIGNAL AND OTHER PLACES I DO HAVE TO PUSH A BUTTON? I'M JUST CURIOUS, WHY ISN'T EVERYTHING JUST WHEN THE, WHEN THE CAR LIGHT TURNS GREEN, THERE'S A, THERE'S A WALK SIGNAL FOR A PERSON IF A PERSON IS THERE, IS THERE A MONETARY REASON THAT EVERY SINGLE INTERSECTION ISN'T LIKE THAT? SO I'D SAY THAT THERE'S AN OPERATIONAL REASON WHERE IF, IF A, A VEHICLE COMES UP, UM, AND ALL THE EQUIPMENT IS WORKING, THEN IT WOULD GET A GREEN LIGHT FOR SIX SECONDS, AND THEN IT WOULD GO YELLOW AND RED.
WHEREIN I SEE THE, IF THE WALK MAKES SENSE COMES UP, THEN WE'RE GOING TO THE SIDE STREET FOR 40 SECONDS, DEPENDING ON, I UNDERSTAND IT WOULD BE UNSAFE IF THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN AND THEN 20 SECONDS LATER THE LIGHT TURNED RED AND SOMEBODY WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WALK BECAUSE THE, THE SYSTEM WASN'T EXPECTING IT.
SO YEAH, UM, FOLLOW UP ON, WE HAD A REALLY GREAT DISCUSSION WITH THE, UH, MOBILITY MANAGEMENT CENTER FOLKS OVER HERE AND THEN OVER AT THE BACKPACK.
AND I THINK YOU AND I ARE ACTUALLY ON A, UM, EMAIL CHAIN RIGHT NOW ABOUT THAT VERY QUESTION.
WHY DON'T WE, UH, ALLOW RECALL ANYTIME IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE MAJOR SIGNAL.
UM, WHAT I'M GONNA SAY IS I THINK YOU GUYS NEED TO WORK ON YOUR STATISTICS HERE, BECAUSE I THINK JUDGING IT BY PEDESTRIAN DEMAND ISN'T A GOOD WAY TO DO IT.
A, A GOOD EXAMPLE IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ROADS THAT DON'T AUTOMATICALLY RECALL, EVEN THOUGH IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE MAJOR SIGNAL, I LIVE RIGHT BY ONE BARBARA JORDAN.
UM, I LIVE IN MUELLER AND WE'RE ABOUT HALFWAY IN BETWEEN LIKE THE SHOPS DOWN ON ALDRICH HALFWAY TO THE ONES ON BARBARA JORDAN.
UH, AND MY FIANCE AND I, YOU KNOW, WE NEVER WANNA WALK TO THE ONES ON BARBARA JORDAN, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE THE SAME DISTANCE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TIMED IT
[00:45:01]
OUT BECAUSE THOSE SIGNALS DON'T RECALL.UH, IT'S ABOUT TWICE AS LONG, RIGHT? SO I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO KNOW THAT BECAUSE THEY DON'T RECALL, UH, IT'S GONNA TAKE THEM A WHILE 'CAUSE OF HOW LONG THE SIGNALS ARE.
SO THEN WE ALREADY HAVE THIS ARTIFICIALLY LOW PEDESTRIAN DEMAND, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A VERY WALKABLE PLACE.
THE OTHER THING I, I THINK IS WE NEED TO CONTEXTUALIZE WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS BETWEEN PEDESTRIAN LAG AND CAR LAG.
I MEAN, IF YOU'RE STUCK IN A CAR FOR 10 MORE SECONDS IN JULY, YOU'RE GONNA BE ALL RIGHT.
AND I GET THAT A LOT OF YOUR CHARGE IS TO FOCUS ON TRAFFIC REDUCTION, BUT IF YOU HAVE PEDESTRIAN LAG, THOSE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE STUCK OUT IN THE SUN WHO ARE SWEATING BULLETS AND ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO WALK AGAIN.
SO IT'S WORKING AGAINST OUR OWN MOBILITY GOALS.
SO I, I THINK WHAT, WHAT WE SUGGESTED AT THE BACKPACK, AND I THINK YOU GUYS SHOULD TAKE THIS TO HEART, IS, YOU KNOW, LET'S JUST, ONE, LET'S DEVELOP SOME RULES OF, ALRIGHT, IF WE'RE WITHIN 50 FEET OF A CAT METRO STOP, LET'S AUTOMATICALLY RECALL, RIGHT? STUFF LIKE THAT.
UH, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S A SHARED USE PATHWAY AND THEY'RE A BIKE'S PRESENT, LET'S AUTOMATICALLY RECALL.
UM, BUT ALSO LET'S JUST TRY OUT A SIX MONTH PERIOD OF, LET'S AUTOMATICALLY RECALL EVERY TIME IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE MAJOR SIGNAL.
AND I BET YOU'RE GONNA SEE THERE'S A LARGE INCREASE IN PEDESTRIAN DEMAND BECAUSE ALL OF A SUDDEN WE'VE SHORTENED HOW LONG IT IS TO WALK SOMEWHERE IN PEOPLE'S NEIGHBORHOODS.
YEAH, I'VE CERTAINLY SEEN PEOPLE IN MY AREA.
THEY KNOW THAT WHEN THEY'RE TRYING TO CROSS, UM, SOME OF THE STREETS, UM, ON CROSS BURN IT AND FAR NORTH BURN IT RIGHT BEFORE IT BURN, IT LIKE GOES AWAY AND BECOMES A MOPAC SERVICE ROAD, BASICALLY.
SOME, THERE'S SOME PEOPLE WHO LIKE, IF THEY KNOW THAT THEY JUST MISSED THE SIGNAL OR SOMETHING, THEY JUST TRY, THEY GO OUT IN THE MIDDLE AND TRY TO JUST WALK ACROSS BURNETT ROAD, WHICH LIKE, I'M A PRETTY BIG URBAN WARRIOR AND I WOULD NOT DO THAT.
BUT YOU KNOW, LIKE I THINK SOMETIMES PEOPLE MAKE UNSAFE DECISIONS WHEN THEY ARE FACED WITH MISSING, MISSING THE SIGNAL LIKE THAT, AND THEY KNOW THEY MISSED THE BUTTON IF THEY'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA AND THEY'RE WALKING ANYWAY.
UH, JUST A, JUST A QUESTION ON THE SIGNAL RETIS YOU SAY LIKE FOR, TO CALCULATE EXACTLY LIKE THE SPEED AT WHICH YOU GO ALONG THE ROAD AND, UM, HOW YOU WANT TO MAKE THOSE, THE TIME, THE SIGNALS.
ARE YOU MEASURING THE SPEED OF THE VEHICLE IN TERMS OF LIKE WHAT THE SPEED LIMIT IS OR LIKE THE 80TH PERCENTILE OR LIKE THE MEAN, UH, TRAVEL, LIKE SPEED OF ALL THESE VEHICLES AND LIKE, I'M NOT SURE IF I'M ASKING THIS CORRECTLY, BUT LIKE, HOW ARE, ARE YOU PUTTING A CAR IN REAL LIFE AT PEAK TIMES AND OFF PEAK TIMES TO SEE WHAT THE REAL TIME IS BETWEEN SIGNALS? UM, SO WE DO, WE DO A, A FEW OF THE ABOVE.
UM, WE DO HAVE, UM, SOFTWARE THAT WE UTILIZE TO ESTABLISH A, A BASELINE, UH, SIGNAL TIMING.
UM, AND AS PART OF THAT WE DO USE THE, UM, WE TYPICALLY USE THE SPEED LIMIT UNLESS WE KNOW THAT, UM, VEHICLES ARE TRAVELING SLOWER THAN THAT ON THE ROADWAY, WE WON'T TIME FOR A, A SPEED ABOVE THE SPEED LIMIT.
UM, AND ONCE THOSE, UM, ONCE THOSE SIGNAL TIMINGS ARE, ARE IMPLEMENTED, WE DO HAVE TRAFFIC SIGNAL TIMING ENGINEERS THAT WILL DRIVE THE, THE CORRIDOR AND MAKE TWEAKS BASED ON, ON THEIR OBSERVATION.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE NOT USING ANY SPEEDS ABOVE THE SPEED LIMIT.
'CAUSE I KNOW SOMETIMES THE MEAN SPEED IS ABOVE THAT.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS QUESTIONS? RUBEN? I THINK EVERYBODY'S DONE WITH SIGNALS.
THIS IS A, JUST A GENERAL QUESTION THAT I THINK, UH, THERE ARE MULTIPLE PEOPLE TO ANSWER WHICH DIVISION DOES TRAFFIC MODELING? BRIAN, I CAN GO AHEAD AND TAKE IT.
IN TERMS OF THE TRANSPORTATION, UM, PLANNING AT THE PLANNING LEVEL, I MEAN, WE DO IN ARTERIAL MANAGEMENT, WE DO THE SIGNAL TIMING MODELING AND TRAFFIC FLOW AND SO FORTH FOR THE SIGNAL TIMING PLANS AS PART OF THE PROCESS.
BUT THEN ALSO I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS PREVIOUSLY.
UM, CAMPO IS DOING THE MODELING FOR THE REGION, AND THEN WE HAVE STAFF IN OUR, UM, SYSTEMS PLANNING DIVISION THAT WILL ALSO, UM, PROVIDE INPUT ON THE MODELING PARAMETERS AND FEEDBACK ON, ON THE OUTPUT AS WELL.
BUT THEY'RE IN THE SYSTEMS MODELING DIVISION? WE DO, WE DO NOT HAVE A SYSTEMS MODELING DIVISION AT THE CITY.
WE HAVE A, A SYSTEMS PLANNING GROUP, AND THEY'RE NOT DOING MODELING WORK, UM, LIKE IT'S DONE AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL WITH A TRAVEL DEMAND MODEL.
BUT THAT, THAT WORK, I WAS THINKING YOU MAKE CHANGES TO INTERSECTIONS ALL THE TIME.
[00:50:01]
GOING TO SPEED THINGS UP AND NOT SLOW THINGS DOWN OR NOT ADD THE DANGER TO PEDESTRIANS AND SO ON.SO MORE AT THE OPERATIONAL LEVEL THAN THAT IS, UM, BRIAN'S GROUP, OH, AND SORRY, I'M, UM, JIM DALE, INTERIM DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
UM, BUT BRIAN'S GROUP DOES DO THAT TYPE OF MODELING FOR SOME OF THE SIGNAL TIMING PARAMETERS AND SAFETY IS A, I MEAN, BRIAN STARTED OFF HIS PRESENTATION WITH THE MOBILITY AND SAFETY ASPECTS AND SAFETY IS A BIG ASPECT OF WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE DOING WHEN THEY'RE RETIMING SIGNALS AND LOOKING AT CRASHES AND SO FORTH.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT, BRIAN? UM, THE ONLY THING I WAS GONNA ADD WAS, UM, YES, WE DO, UM, PROBABLY THE BULK OF THE MODELING, BUT, UM, TWO OTHER GROUPS THAT WILL DO TRAFFIC SIGNAL TIMING MODELING, UM, WILL BE THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION GROUP WHEN, UM, THEY HAVE A PROJECT THAT THEY WOULD LIKE US TO LOOK AT.
AND THEN ALSO SOME FOLKS IN THE DIVISION ZERO GROUP, BECAUSE WE'LL DO, WE'LL DO THAT TO GET AN IDEA OF, OKAY, WHAT ARE GONNA BE THE BENEFITS OF OUR PROJECT? WE'RE ALWAYS ASKED THOSE TYPES OF QUESTIONS.
DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, COMMISSIONER? NO.
UM, I WAS JUST WONDERING HOW MANY TRAFFIC SIGNALS DOES THE DIVISION MAINTAIN? I KNOW BRIAN, IT'S ABOUT 1,150 AND THAT 1150, THAT'S JUST THE TRAFFIC NOT PED OR IS THAT INCLUDED? THAT INCLUDES THE PEDESTRIAN HYBRID BEACONS TOO.
I THINK THERE ARE 111 P H P 111.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS? OKAY.
WITH THAT, I THINK WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR
[4. Discussion on the Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons.]
NEXT DISCUSSION ITEM, ALSO WITH BRIAN, THANK YOU FOR WEARING MULTIPLE HATS FOR US TODAY, WHICH IS ON PEDESTRIAN HYBRID BEACONS.UM, SO I'LL, I'LL GO AHEAD AND GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF THE HISTORY OF PHDS IN, IN AUSTIN.
UM, WHAT WE'VE DONE, WHERE WE'RE GOING, UM, THAT SORT OF, THAT SORT OF THING.
UM, SO BACK IN THE 2000, 2009, 2008, 2009 TIMEFRAME, UM, I MEAN, LEADERSHIP WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT RECOGNIZED THE FACT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T HAVE ADEQUATE TOOLS TO, UM, ASSIST PEOPLE CROSSING, CROSSING THE STREET AT BUSY ROADWAYS.
UM, SO AS A RESULT OF THAT, I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF WORK DONE WITH THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE TO GO AHEAD AND MODIFY THE, THE VEHICLE CODE TO PERMIT PBS.
UM, PRIOR TO WORKING WITH THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE, UM, ANY DARK, UH, TRAFFIC SIGNAL VEHICLES WERE REQUIRED TO STOP, WHICH KIND OF, UM, MADE A P H B SOMETHING THAT THAT WASN'T, THAT WASN'T ALLOWED.
UM, SO AF AFTER WE WERE ABLE TO WORK WITH THE, WITH THE LEDGE, UM, IN 2009, WE INSTALLED OUR FIRST P H B AT MAR IN 47TH.
UM, WE HAD RECENTLY INSTALLED AN OVERHEAD BEACON AT THAT LOCATION, UM, IN WHICH WE WERE NOT GETTING VERY GOOD COMPLIANCE AT ALL.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DECIDED THAT THIS WOULD BE A GOOD LOCATION TO, UM, TO TEST THE P H B.
UM, GIVEN THE SUCCESS AT, AT THAT LOCATION, UM, WE STARTED TO REPLACE OTHER BEACONS, UM, THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UM, PARTICULARLY THOSE THAT HAD THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT IN OUR MIND WAS THE WORST COMPLIANCE FROM, FROM DRIVERS NOT STOPPING FOR, UM, FOR PEDESTRIANS.
UM, AND AS WE WENT AHEAD AND INSTALLED, UM, MORE OF THESE, WE NEEDED TO, UM, REALLY DEVELOP A, UM, YOU KNOW, A PROCESS TO INTAKE, UM, 3 1 1 CALLS, UM, SINCE WE'RE STARTING TO GET, UM, REQUESTS FOR THE, FOR THESE DEVICES.
UM, SO FROM 2009 TO 2015, UM, WE'RE REALLY BASED ON, ON A REQUEST PROCESS, UM, GENERATED BY 3 1 1, UM, 2015, WE ADDED, UM, REALLY SOME PRIORITIZATION CRITERIA THAT I'LL TALK ABOUT IN A LITTLE BIT.
UM, AND THEN IN 2021, UM, WE STARTED TO REVAMP THE PROCESS, UM, TO BE MORE WHAT WE CALL A SYSTEM DRIVEN, UM, PRIORITIZATION PROCESS THAT I'LL TOUCH UPON A LITTLE BIT.
SO PHBS ARE RELATIVELY NEW, UM, TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES THEY WERE IN, UH, INVENTED IN THE, IN THE CITY OF TUCSON IN THE LATE NINETIES, UM,
[00:55:01]
EARLY TWO THOUSANDS.UM, SO REALLY FOR, FOR US IN THE INDUSTRY, UM, YOU KNOW, THE INSTALLATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE HAS REALLY BEEN A, A LEARNING PROCESS.
UM, ONE OF THE, UM, FIRST LESSONS THAT WE LEARNED WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING THROUGH THE 2009 FEDERAL MANUAL, M E T C D AND UM, SUBSEQUENTLY THE TEXAS VERSION, UM, WE REALIZED THAT THERE WAS A 20 VEHICLE OR 20 PEDESTRIAN THRESHOLD, UM, YOU KNOW, TO MEET THE GUIDELINES TO, TO INSTALL THESE, UM, AND THAT THAT'S ON BUSY STREETS.
UM, YOU KNOW, VEHICLE OR ROADWAYS THAT HAD FEWER CARS ON THEM REQUIRED A MUCH LARGER NUMBER OF, UM, OF PEDESTRIANS TO MEET THESE GUIDELINES.
UM, AND IN LOOKING AT THE LOCATIONS THAT WE WERE, UM, EVALUATING FOR, FOR PHDS, MANY OF THESE LOCATIONS DIDN'T COME ANYWHERE CLOSE TO THESE, UM, HOURLY VOLUMES.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF, UM, CREATED OUR OWN GUIDELINES, UM, TO SUPPLEMENT WHAT WAS IN THE M U T C D, AND THAT REALLY WAS, UM, LOOKING AT THE GAPS ON THE ROADWAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE AREN'T GAPS IN THE, IN THE ROADWAY TRAFFIC, I MEAN, WE SHOULDN'T EXPECT A PEDESTRIAN TO BE TRYING TO CROSS THE STREET.
UM, AND WE KNEW THAT, UM, WE KNEW IF YOU REMOVE THOSE GAPS, INCREASE THOSE GAPS, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS DEFINITELY LATENT DEMAND.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE PUT TOGETHER SOME, SOME CRITERIA, UM, FOR THE INSTALLATION OF PHBS.
UM, SOME OF WHICH WERE, UM, YOU KNOW, NEEDED TO BE 300 FEET FROM AN EXISTING, UM, TRAFFIC SIGNAL, UM, NEEDED TO HAVE AT LEAST THREE LANES, AND THAT WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT COULD BE ONE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION PLUS A, A CENTER LEFT TURN LANE.
UM, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING ABOVE THAT REALLY OPENED UP, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE NUMBER OF, UM, LOCATIONS WHERE IT, IN WHICH THE REQUEST JUST FAR EXCEEDED OUR ABILITY TO, AND TO INSTALL P H B.
UM, SO WE DEVELOPED THE CRITERIA.
UM, A LOT OF IT WAS BASED ON THE ROADWAY CHARACTERISTICS, SPEED LIMIT OF THE ROADWAY WITH THE ROADWAY, WITH THE THINKING.
THE FASTER VEHICLES ARE TRAVELING ON THE ROADWAY, THE LONGER PEDESTRIANS NEED TO CROSS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE MORE DIFFICULT IT WOULD BE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE P H B WOULD BE MORE OF A NECESSITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO LOOKED AT CRASH HISTORY AND LAND USES AND ADJACENT, UH, TRANSIT STOPS.
AND WE REALLY CAME, UM, REALLY PUT TOGETHER JUST A MATRIX WITH SOME SCORING CRITERIA SO THAT WE COULD, UM, YOU KNOW, WEIGH