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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: Page 1 of 2 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. ******************************************************************************** Attachment A: Watertown TMA PowerPoint presentation from Allison Simmons, Ease Consulting Page 2 of 2 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