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HomeMy Public PortalAbout03 March 28, 1988 Citizens Advisory040252 RIVERSIDE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION AGENDA CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MONDAY, MARCH 28, 1988, 1:30 P.M. RIVERSIDE COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE CENT'E'R 14th Floor Conference Room 4080 Lemon Street, Riverside 1. Ca11 to Order. 2. Approval of Minutes. ACTION 3. Committee ByLaws Amendment. ACTION 4. Unmet Transit Needs - Service Requests. ACTION 5. Transportation Studies - Progress Report. INFORMATION 6. Motorist Aid Callbox System. INFORMATION 7. Other Business. 8. Adjournment. DATE March 28, 1988 Citizens Advisory Committee NAME REPRESENTING FIZZ() Pt i �Y i _. � ,L' %dc- I� �c•b�'.�r�y.:�� �� .S+L 'sue ,:_ c._r _LavaGyrc f cc c .& L orin;-) Y e. ! __SIP .vim S T C�'•� •ti-= te. -z int-Lunbil CfiT DYCG( / r,41 (L31. . PHONE 40 7.r/ 7z 737 L Z JailasL 7) RIVERSIDE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE Minutes of Meeting No. 2-88 February 22, 1988 1. Call to Order. The meeting of the Citizens Advisory Committee was called to order by Chairman Terry Allen at 1:37 P.M., at the Riverside County Administrative Center, 14th Floor Conference Room, 4080 Lemon Street, Riverside, CA 92501. Self introductions of those present followed. Present were: Others Terry Allen Ray Baca Cathy Bechtel Michael Beggins Rose Eldridge Jim Judge Herb Krauch present: Don Kurz Joanne Moore Ernest W. Moyles Lori Nickel Don Senger Paul Blackwelder, RCTC Staff Eileen Brown, DDAPB #12 Naty Kopenhaver, RCTC Staff Joe Sanford, Caltrans District Hideo Sugita, RCTC Staff 2. Approval of Minutes. M/S/C (KRAUCH/JUDGE) to approve the Citizens' Advisory Committee minutes of the January 25, 1988 meeting as submitted. 3. Park and Ride Lot Security. Paul Blackwelder, Assistant Director, said that Don Kurz, at the last meeting, raised a question on what the Commission/Committee can do with regards to security for park and ride lots. The Committee requested that this item be placed on the agenda to review and discuss with Caltrans what measures are being taken. Joe Sanford stated that there are approximately 23 park and ride lots in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, of which one-half are on State right-of-way and one-half are on private properties. He acknowledged that there have been problems with security at park and ride lots and that recently, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department apprehended four individuals for stealing cars from park and ride lots. Lots located in the State right-of-way are patroller by the California Highway Patrol on a periodic basis. On private properties like the Tyler Mall that has security guards, the Mall's security guards patrol the lot and on other private lots, Caltrans request either the Police Department or the Sheriff's Department to patrol the lots. Copies of a pamphlet indicating the locations of park and ride lots in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties were distributed to Committee members. Chairman Allen asked whether security problems have reduced participation in rideshare programs. Joe Sanford responded that participation has been declining in some areas such as Victorville. Chairman Allen stated that perhaps Caltrans could suggest to rideshare participants that rather than using late model vehicles, they should drive an older vehicle, if they have one, and leave them in the park and ride lots. Also, perhaps the participants could form a carpool whereby they could pick up some riders enroute to the park and ride lot to cut down on the number of vehicles left in the lot. Joe Sanford informed the Committee of a demonstration project in San Diego County called air space lease. Caltrans District 11 is considering having an agency such as Goodwill station a truck in the lot to serve as a drop off for donations. One requirement would be that they provide a person to man the truck at all times. They feel that having a person stationed at the lot would discourage people from tampering with the vehicles parked there. Jim Judge asked if Caltrans would be willing to do an analysis of park and ride areas, that is to get information from the Police or Sheriff's Departments to determine which lots are experiencing vandalism problems and to report back on what security measurity measures Caltrans may recommend for the Committee to support and what the cost of the measures would be. Rose Eldridge asked if it might be feasible to charge rideshare participant a small fee to pay personnel to watch the lot. Joe Sanford said that this has been discussed in Sacramento but Caltrans is currently not set up for this type of operation. In addition, charging a fee would probably discourage additional participation in carpooling and use of the lots. Don Kurz said due to the problems experienced at the Mira Loma park and ride lot, he suggested that perhaps Caltrans look into moving the park and ride lot in Mira Loma to the Space Center. He said that there is a guard at the Space Center and this should help to eliminate the vandalism of cars. After considerable discussion between the Committee members and Joe Sanford, it was the consensus of the Committee to request Caltrans staff to prepare a report identifying the park and ride lots that are experiencing problems, resonable recommendation to solve the problems and the cost to implement the recommendations. 4. Short Range Transit Plan. Paul Blackwelder said that the Commission is scheduled to receive the draft Short Range Transit Plans from the transit operators by the end of March. At their meeting in April, the Committee will review and discuss the draft plans and form a recommendation to the Commission. The Commission is scheduled to approve the Short Range Transit Plans at their meeting in May. He encouraged Committee members to contact him for information on current transit services and with any suggestions for needed additional transit services. 5. Unmet Transit Needs Public Hearing - Palm Desert. Paul Blackwelder informed the Committee that the only issue raised in the Palm Desert unmet transit needs public hearing concerns the SunLine Transit Agency's Elderly and Handicapped Report which included three major actions: 1) to discontinue a service currently operated by SunLine carrying developmental disabled clients to and from the workshops at the Foundation for the Retarded of the Desert; 2) to take the funding for the service to the Foundation and initiate an elderly/handicapped demand response service in the La Quinta, Indio and Coachella areas; and, 3) to explore the concept of a separate Consolidated Transportation Services Agency (CTSA) to provide service to the Foundation and other social service programs, apart from SunLine. He said the SunLine Board is scheduled to take action at their meeting in March. The Commission is scheduled to take action on the SunLine proposed service changes at its meeting in May. RCTC staff is proposing working with SunLine and the social service agencies to determine when a reasonable date would be for a CTSA to assume operation of the service, if a CTSA can be created. SunLine estimated that a CTSA could be formed and be operational by October, 1988. Time will be needed to work out institutional mechanisms and implementation, and it is unlikely that it could occur by May, 1988 as proposed by SunLine; therefore, staff is proposing that SunLine continue to provide service to Foundation clients until an alternative is in place. To help resolve the air-conditioned equipment issue, if SunLine continues to provide the service, RCTC allocate State Transit Assistance funds in FY 1986-87 to purchase used air- conditioned school buses to replace the vehicles used on the intervalley service. Staff will keep the Committee apprised on the status of the SunLine intervalley service and proposed service changes. 6. CAC Bylaws Revision. Copies of the Citizens Advisory Committee's current bylaws were distributed to the members. Paul Blackwelder noted that changes that need to be made on the bylaws are: 1) under Membership, "The Commission shall consist of up to 20 members appointed by the Commission..."; and, 2) under Quorum, "A majority of the members of the Committee currently appointed by the Commission shall constitute a quorum...". Jim Judge suggested that the quorum should be the majority of the members present with a minimum of 11 or 10 members being present. The Committee members expressed their concern about getting 11 members to attend a meeting in order to have a quorum and also that a provision be included in the bylaws that would allow only a certain number of unexcused absences for Committee members as grounds for being dropped from Committee membership. It was the consensus of the Committee that staff check with the County Counsel with regards to the provisions relating to the quorum and the unexcused absences. 7. Other Business. A. Don Kurz informed the Committee that while he was in Sacramento, a meeting was being held on abandoned cars in street rights -of -way. An action was taken approving removal of abandoned cars from the railroad right-of- way. He asked if this matter would be something that the Committee should be involved in. Paul Blackwelder said that this would not be an appropriate matter for the Committee. B. Paul Blackwelder said that the Commission, at its February meeting, allocated $15,000 for a joint study with the Orange County Transporation Commission on commuter rail service along the Route 91 corridor. The study should be completed by June, 1988. He added that there is also a study being done by San Bernardino and Los Angeles Counties on commuter rail from Riverside to Los Angeles. C. Paul Blackwelder stated that with regards to the RTD subsidy reduction proposal brought to the Committee at its last meeting, the Commissions of Riverside, Orange, and San Bernardino have approved the policy on transfer and fares and the Commissions have requested RTA to solicit request for proposals for providing the service. The Los Angeles County Transportation Commission is expected to take action on this matter at the March 4th meeting. He expects the service change to take place in December, 1988. D. Paul Blackwelder informed the Committee that the Commission has elected Councilman Don Baskett of Hemet as its Chairman and Councilman Roy Wilson of Palm Desert as its Vice Chairman. 8. Adjournment. M/S/C (SENGER/MOORE) to adjourned the meeting at 2:50 p.m. Re ctfully submitted, I aul B"Sackwelder Assistant Director nk AGENDA ITEM NO. 4 RIVERSIDE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TO: Citizens Advisory Committee FROM: Paul Blackwelder, Assistant Director SUBJECT: Unmet Transit Needs - Service Requests The Commission, as required under State legislation, held public hearings during the past two months to determine if there are unmet transit needs in Riverside County. Prior to allocating any TDA funds for street and road purposes, the Commission must determine that there are no unmet transit needs that are reasonable to meet that will not be met by existing or proposed services in the Short Range Transit Plan for Riverside County. The Committee, which is the Social Service Advisory Council for Riverside County, as stipulated under SB 498, must make recommendations on whether or not each of the service requests is reasonable to meet. Attached is a memo which identifies the service requests received via hearing testimony, letters and telephone calls received at the Commission offices. Staff is reviewing the service requests with the appropriate transit operators and will present recommendations at the meeting. The Commission is scheduled to take action on unmet transit needs findings at their meeting on April 6th. New or expanded service requests that are reasonable to meet will have to be included in the Short Range Transit Plan for Riverside County. The Plan, which includes the services of all public transit operators in Riverside County, will be presented for approval to the Committee at their next meeting on April 25th. PB:nk �� RIVERSIDE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TO: Citizens Advisory Committee FROM: Paul Blackwelder, Assistant Director SUBJECT: Unmet Transit Needs As a result of three public hearings (2/3/88 Palm Desert, 3/2/88 Corona, 3/2/88 Riverside) held by the Commission on unmet transit needs, written and oral comments were received from approximately 40 individuals. Enclosed is a summary of the hearing testimony, letters and phone calls received by the Commission. Staff will report to the Citizens Advisory Committee and request your input on the staff responses to the public comments at your March 28 meeting. The comments received varied greatly, ranging from minor schedule changes to requests for increased dial -a -ride (DAR) and inter- city fixed route service in the Norco/Corona area. This year, in response to the SunLine proposal to stop the Inter -Valley service to the Foundation for the Retarded of the Desert, 16 people testified in support for its continuation. In addition the Commission has received 4 letters from people who were not in attendance at the Palm Desert hearing and support continuation of the Inter -Valley service. As happens each year, a number of comments and recommendations were received regarding schedule adherence and maintenance of equipment. These types of comments are not proper subjects for the unmet needs process but many are, nevertheless, legitimate complaints. The complaints are being referred to the appropriate transit operator for resolution. o Provide changes to RTA Line 29 to serve the communities of Belltown and Paramount Estates and the Memorial Park pool. o Provide additional stop at the medical offices at Loma Linda Hospital. (RTA Line 25) o Change the E&H DAR to a general public DAR in the City of Riverside. o Concern was expressed about the possibility of losing Southern California Rapid Transit District inter -county service to Orange and Los Angeles. (This concern is related to the Commission/RTA investigating potential cost savings by contracting out the inter -county services (Lines 149,496). o Provide for service to Ontario Airport via Van Buren or Hamner. o Provide for earlier RTA service from Mead Valley Center to Riverside. (RTA Line 22) o Provide for earlier and more frequent RTA service from Perris to Lake Elsinore. (RTA line 24) o Provide improved transfer coordination between RTA Line 2 (Downtown - Tyler Mall) and Line 24 (Tyler Mall - Perris) at the Tyler Mall. o Implement local bus service within Rancho California and inter -city bus service from Rancho California to Norco, Corona and Riverside. o Provide accessible service on SCRTD Line 149 between Riverside and Long Beach. o Provide additional Dial -a -Ride vehicles in the City of Riverside on Sundays. o Provide additional Dial -A -Ride vehicles and drivers in Norco. o Provide extension of Corona DAR service two blocks into the El Cerrito area for children's safety. o Reroute SunLine Line 2 to serve the westerly portion of Terrace Road in Cathedral City. o Provide service to the recently relocated Social Security office in Palm Springs. The new address is 275 N. El Cielo, Palm Springs, CA 92262. MEMORANDUM (Attachment #1) March 28, 1988 TO: Citizens Advisory Committee FROM: Staff SUBJECT: Unmet Needs Comments Desert Area - Hearing 2/3/88 The hearing was held at the Palm Desert Council chambers on February 3, 1988. There were 16 people who presented testimony at the hearing. Without exception, the testimony centered upon the support of the public for the continued operation of the SunLine Inter -Valley service. The people who testified had no complaints about the Inter -Valley service and the only other comments were from Inland Regional Center social workers who stated that there are 14 clients who are without transportation to the Foundation for the Retarded. Currently, the Inland Regional Center provides private, contracted transportation service to these clients. However, because the IRC's Board policy states that they will utilize public transit, where available, as their first choice for provision of service to their clients, they are entering into the public record, requests for additional SunLine Inter -Valley service to Mecca and Thermal, and in addition they would like some of their clients within the Coachella Valley who are not currently served by SunLine to be picked up on the Inter -Valley service. The following people submitted written comments supporting the continuance of the SunLine Inter -Valley service to the Foundation for the Retarded. 1) Esther M. Shaw, 32815 St. Andrews, Thousand Palms, CA 92276 2) Shirley M. Johnson, 45800 Apache, Indian Wells, CA 92210 3) E.A. Thompson, 66231 Desert View, Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240 4) Marianne L. Hines, 77-400 Missouri Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92260 OTHER WRITTEN COMMENTS 1) Naomi Martin, 38365 Starlight Lane, Cathedral City, CA 92234 Would like fixed route service on Terrace Road going west to the mountains. This would require a re-route of SunLine route 2 to serve the westerly portion of Terrace Road in Cathedral City. (Attachment #1 pg.2) 2) Corrinne F. Jewell, P.O. Box 1018 Palm Springs, CA, 92263 Would like service to the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Social Security offices. Since she says that she doesn't have a car it seems that all she needs is service to the Social Security offices. Evidently these offices have been moved recently. MEMORANDUM (Attachment #2) March 28, 1988 TO: Citizens Advisory Committee FROM: Staff SUBJECT: FY 1988 Unmet Needs Comments - Corona Hearing 3/2/88 The following is a summary of the comments made at the Unmet Needs hearing held on March 2, 1988 at the City of Corona, City Council Chambers. 1) Rose Eldridge, 4044 Valley View, Norco, CA 91760 (714) 737- 2984; Norco Seniors, (714) 734-0606 She said that there is a need for more DAR vehicles in Norco and this need is demonstrated by a 30 to 90 minute wait for DAR service. She mentioned that students flooded the DAR service at certain times. Said that the twice weekly Meditrans service to Riverside had been cancelled due to a lack of funding from the Older Americans Act. Mentioned that if a person wanted to travel between Norco and Corona, using the DAR, would have to transfer at the KMART. She also said that with the Meditrans service people could make 24 hour in advance reservations for service. With the Corona and Norco DARs, it is first come, first served. She submitted a petition with 47 Norco area senior's signatures requesting an increase in DAR service. 2) Joy Jones Schock P.O. Box 93, Norco, CA 91760 Requested fixed route service between Norco and Corona. Suggested a route beginning at Sixth Street and Main in Corona going up to Hamner and Sixth Street in Norco. She also mentioned that it would be desireable for the bus to continue east on Sixth (in Norco) to California and on into the City of Riverside. 3) Tom Thomas P.O. Box 2361, Corona, CA 91720 Representing First Step Inc. He also mentioned that people traveling between Norco and Corona would have to transfer DARs at the KMART. Would like a fixed route connecting Norco/Corona. 4) Joe Mishica 18625 Quail Hill Drive, Corona (714) 734-6052 Would like to see the Corona DAR area extended to the El Cerrito area. Would like the DAR to go further north on State Street (State and Ontario intersection) State and Ontario is a busy intersection and poses a potential safety problem for school children using the DAR. MEMORANDUM (Attachment #3) March 28, 1988 TO: Citizens Advisory Committee FROM: Staff SUBJECT: FY 1988 Unmet Needs Comments - 3/2/88 Riverside Public Library The following is a summary of the public comments made at the Unmet Needs hearing held on March 2, 1988 at the Riverside Public Library. The first part of this memo lists the public comments made at the hearing and is followed by a listing of the written comments received by the Commission. 1) R.M. Cantillon, Attorney, 3631 10th Street, #222, Riverside, CA 92501 (714) 686-5388 Would like to see fixed route service from Corona (line 2) extended up Hamner to Norco. He said that the population of the Corona/Norco area should support a fixed route service. 2) Cathy Bechtel Inland Regional Center, 1020 Cooley Drive, Colton, CA 92412 Said that there are 8 Inland Regional Center (IRC) clients that currently need service within the City of Riverside. There will be 10 more in June or July when they graduate from school. She has already requested the City of Riverside to increase the Parks and Recreation Department budget to accomodate these clients. In the Corona area, the.IRC has 7 clients graduating that will be using the Corona Dial -a -Ride system. In the Perris -San Jacinto -Hemet area there are 2 clients currently on the waiting list so she recommends that plans be made for an additional vehicle in the upcoming year. There are 26 clients that travel from the Mira Loma- Rubidoux-Pedley area into Riverside. There are also 30 clients residing in the Mira Loma-Rubidoux-Pedley area who could use public dial -a -ride. There are 15 clients traveling from the Moreno Valley into Riverside with 4 more graduating in June. The IRC currently transports 30 clients from the Corona area into Downtown Riverside. She also mentioned that there are no seatbelts on the vehicles in the Perris/San Jacinto -Hemet and Corona dial -a -rides. She would like the installation of seatbelts on these systems be analyzed. (Attachment #3 pg. 2) 3) Ace Atkinson, Developmental Disabilities Area Board #12, 1960 Chicago Avenue, #E-8, Riverside, CA 92501 Entered the Developmental Disabilities Area Board's definition of what an unmet need is. "Where the Regional Center has contracted for services, that on our mind, constitutes a public transit need." Stated that the Regional Center will continue to provide services to those clients for whom public services is not appropriate. 4) Ed Crespin, 6667 Cathy Place (714) 354-9846 Supports DAR and fixed route service from Riverside to Orange and Los Angeles Counties. 5) Terry Spiro, representing Elna Gallagher, (CAPH) Would like the RTA bus (line 25) serving Loma Linda hospital to make an additional stop, across the parking lot, where the doctors clinics are. She said that the trip across the parking lot was uphill and difficult for a wheelchair person. In addition, Mr. Spiro would like to see more vans operating on Sunday for church service (City of Riverside Dial -a -Ride). 6) Leon Overton, 5680 Newton Street, Rubidoux, CA 92509 Would like three changes on RTA route 29 to serve the communities of Belltown and Paramount Estates and the Memorial Park pool. The changes requested are as follows. When the bus comes on to Rubidoux Blvd off of 34th Street, he would like the bus to continue on Rubidoux to 24th Street, turn right on 24th, down to Hall, turn right on Hall, go up to 28th Street, turn right and continue its present route. Then when the bus turns on to Mission Blvd off of Riverview Drive, he would like the bus to turn right on La Rue, left on La Canada Drive, left on Pacific and right on to Mission (returning to its present route). Then after the bus comes down Opal and turns left on 45th Street, he would like the bus to turn left (instead of right) on Pacific, go up and turn right on 42nd, turn right onto Riverview Drive and continue it's current route. 7) Karen Hue Sing, 1182 W. Blaine, #15, Riverside (714) 784- 5066 Karen is a wheelchair bound student attending RCC. She regularly uses RTA service on line 1. She complained about RTA drivers not being assertive enough to make passengers who are sitting on the fold down seats to stand inorder to allow wheelchair people to board the bus. She said that on several occasions, she has had to wait a couple of hours at a stop before she was picked up. The she said that sometimes she would be at the bus stop before anyone else, but when the bus came, ambulatory people would get on the bus and the (Attachment 13 pg. 3) driver would tell her that the bus was full. Also, she mentioned that sometimes she couldn't board because it was a non -lift equipped vehicle. Her other comments were that on numerous occasions the grabbers (tie -downs) wouldn't release and when the drivers tried to help release the grabber, they would cuss under their breath. The last thing she mentioned was that she is new to the area and at times, when she disembarks from the bus she finds- herself in an area where there are no curb cuts and she has had to flag down a motorist or someone passing by to help her to the curb. 8) Bobby Molina (?) Wheelchair bound person who would like accessible service between Riverside and Long Beach. LETTERS/PHONE CALLS 1) Bob Rahlwes, 4301 La Sierra Ave. #13, Riverside, CA 92505 (letter, received 3/2/88) He currently uses SCRTD line 496 to commute to Ontario Airport. He would like to see RTA service to Ontario Airport up Van Buren or Hamner. 2) Ismael Almanza, 21750 Cedar Street, Perris, CA 92370 (letter, received 3/2/88) He lives in Mead Valley --Cedar and Old Elsinore. He doesn't mention where he works but he would like earlier bus service because he would has to be at work by 7:00 AM. The earliest AM bus at Mead Valley Center is 6:40 AM (RTA route 22) 3) Donna Urbach, P.O. Box 13, Lake Elsinore, CA, 92330 (letter, received 2/29/88) Needs to get to work by 8:00 AM, the earliest bus on route 24 leaves Perris at 8:50 and arrives in Lake Elsinore at 9:15. She would like an earlier bus and she also complained about the 1 1/2 hour headways. 4) Beverly I. Ray, 202 E. Jarvis, #54, Perris, CA 92370 (letter received 3/10/88) She uses RTA line 2 at El Sob. and Sixth Street at 1:48 PM which arrives at Tyler Mall at 2:04. She wants to catch the line 24 bus to Perris but, it leaves at 2:00 PM. The next bus to Perris leaves at 3:25 PM. She would like to know if there is anything that can be done about coordinating this connection. (Attachment #3 pg. 4) 5) Ray Serrano, 29835 Avenida Cima Del Sol, Rancho California 92390 (714) 676-0874 (called 3/1/88) Requests local bus service within Rancho California and inter -city to Corona and Norco. 6) Frances Taylor, 42224 Stonewood Road #C, Rancho California 92390 (714) 699-0640 (called 3/1/88) Requests bus service in Rancho California and inter -city to Riverside. AGENDA ITEM NO. 5 RIVERSIDE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TO: Citizens Advisory Committee FROM: Paul Blackwelder, Assistant Director SUBJECT: Transportation Studies - Progress Report There are several transportation studies in progress that staff will provide progress reports on at the meeting. They are as follows: 1. Riverside/San Bernardino Transportation Study. 2. Riverside -Orange County Commuter Rail Study. 3. Cajalco Parkway Study. 4. Consultant review of State Highway and Regional Arterial Project Costs for the Proposed Local Transportation Sales Tax Measure. PB:nk fl .