HomeMy Public PortalAbout2017-01-12 Trans Comm Mtg TMA progress reprt Ad Hoc Committee on Transportation Meeting
Thursday, January 12, 2017 at 5:30 PM I Town Council Chambers
Report February 14,2017
The Ad Hoc Committee on Transportation met on Thursday, January 12 to hear a status report on the
Transportation Management Association(TMA) formation and shuttle bus service planning. The committee
also continued the discussion of the Town-Wide Transportation Demand Management (TDM)
policy/regulations but that is included in a separate report combined with others on that referral topic.
Attending: Councilors Aaron Dushku(Chair), Vincent Piccirilli (Vice-Chair) and Tony Palomba(Secretary)
from the Ad Hoc Committee on Transportation, Councilor Lisa Feltner, Monica Tibbits-Nutt and Jeff
Bennett from the 128 Business Council, Allison Simmons of Ease Consult, and Jon Bockian from the
Watertown Public Transit Task.
Report on the status of the Transportation Management Association (TMA)
Allison Simmons for Ease Consult presented an update on progress toward establishing a TMA. Ms.
Simmons, who has over 20 years experience developing and managing TMAs, has been hired by the 128
Business Council in October and charged with the task of developing the Watertown TMA in consultation
with the Department of Community Development and Planning. The key points of her presentation
(Attachment A) included the following:
1) The first meeting of the some of the seven developers whose permits include a requirement to
participate and fund a TMA and shuttle services (specific conditions for each developer vary) as well
as long-standing businesses and residential developments took place on November 17 and included
preliminary discussions of membership, duties, and a potential shuttle service. The next meeting is
scheduled for January 19 with the major agenda item being a review of a memorandum of agreement
(MOA)that would be approved by each of the participating organizations.
2) The creation of a TMA is like the creation of a new business or non-profit organization. It requires a
focus on administrative tasks as well as agreement on goals and programs. It also involves
developing and filing of articles of organization and by-laws, establishing a membership fee and
governance structure, creating job descriptions, hiring staff, developing marketing materials and
designing programs and services that would be offered to TMA members. The estimated cost is
$150,000. At the November 17 meeting participants tentatively committed a total of$30,000.
3) Formal establishment of the Watertown TMA would take place in 3 —6 months (between April &
July). In addition to the tasks outlined above, there would be additional data gathering through
interviews and surveys of the potential members.
4) A shuttle service should be seen as a separate objective from the creation of a TMA. Watertown
should not assume that shuttle service is needed to address the traffic congestion issues facing
Watertown. Shuttle service is one tool in the box of tools and other transportation options and
alternatives that may become more important after additional data collection. One possibility is the
consolidation of the shuttle service operated by athenahealth and the service desired by the Linx
project.
Committee responses included:
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1) Appreciation for Ms. Simmons' work given that she only began the project in October and for her
focus on collecting more data and greater detail about the travel habits of residents and employees in
the buildings along Pleasant Street and Arsenal Street.
2) Agreement that Ms. Simmons' plans to address the governance structure and a dues structure for
TMA members as well as creating a memorandum of agreement at the January 19 meeting were
important next steps.
3) Disappointment that the implementation of shuttle service was not a priority and that there is
consideration of not including a shuttle as part of the TMA's menu of services. Committee members
noted that it has always been the expectation that there would be a TMA-sponsored shuttle and the
initiation of the service was originally planned for the fall, then moved to the spring and may not now
be a component of the TMA.
4) Concern that the plan presented by Ms. Simmons are not taking advantage of the fact that there are
seven developments whose zoning approval required significant participation in and support for a
TMA and that some included a requirement to fund a TMA-sponsored shuttle.
The Committee reaffirmed is expectation that shuttle service would be a component of the TMA and that
Department of Community Development and Planning will monitor the TMA-related requirements of the
seven developers with this as a requirement.
In addition, the Committee requested that Ms. Simmons, Ms. Tibbits-Nutt present, with the approval of Mr.
Magoon,prepare goals, a timeline, and a budget for the establishment of a Watertown TMA within the next
six months and presence this to the Committee at its next meeting.
Discussion of the Town-Wide Transportation Demand Management(TDM)policy/regulations
The committee continued discussion of the Transportation Demand Management (TDM)policy and
regulations. To fully-capture the discussion from previous meetings in one place, this part of the meeting is
included in a separate combined report to be presented at the same meeting of the Town Council.
The meeting adjourned at 7:25 PM. The minutes were prepared by Councilor Palomba.
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Attachment A: Watertown TMA PowerPoint presentation from Allison Simmons, Ease Consulting
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WATERTOWN TMA
Of
IJanuary 12, 2017
Project Management
Allison Simmons, will be the lead consultant on this
project
Ms. Simmons has been in the Transportation Demand
Management (TDM) industry since 1994
Worked at MASCO's Commute Works (LMA) and A
Better City TMA.
Formed Artery Business Committee TMA ( 1996) and
Allston Brighton TMA (2014)
Current Ease Consult clients include A Better City,
the Allston Brighton TMA, Boston University Medical
Center, Merrimack Valley TMA and the Seaport TMA.
Progress to Date
• Individual company meetings/assessment
• Kickoff TMA member meeting- November 17t", 2016
CT
Decision to move forward with
A formation using private sector
dues to fund the initiative
• Next member meeting January 19t" @Bell Watertown
Next Steps
Solidify Target Members and Define Commute Needs
Deeper dive surveys
Zip code data ,
Relocation assistance
Develop TMA Policies, Procedures and Documentation
Governance Structure
Dues Structure
Permit Assessment/Contribution
s Memorandums of Understanding
Next Steps
Establish Membership Development Strategy/Gain New
Members
Branding
Website/Social Media
Sales k
Shuttle Consolidation/Future Route Analysis
Consistent with growth
Pilot locations