name representing · makala ashmar congressman charlie dent ... mr. gurinko asked if there has been...

The Lehigh Valley Transportation Study Technical Committee met on Monday, March 31,

2014 at 9:00 a.m. in the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission’s conference room, 961 Marcon Boulevard, Suite 310, Allentown, PA. In attendance were: TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

Name Representing

Michael Hefele* City of Allentown

Matthew Dorner* City of Bethlehem

Dave Hopkins* City of Easton

Armand Greco Owen O’Neil*

LANta

Ryan Meyer* LNAA

Becky Bradley* Michael Donchez* Joe Gurinko* (Secretary) Joshua Spano

LVPC

Ray Green* (Chair) PennDOT Central Office

Lory Anderson Camille Herrera Jay McGee* Jeremy Shirock

PennDOT District 5-0

PUBLIC PRESENT

Makala Ashmar Congressman Charlie Dent Matt Boyer Commuter Services of Pennsylvania Kurt Derr State Senator Lisa Boscola Marta Gabriel U.S. Senator Pat Toomey Scott Harney Pennoni Associates Dan Hartzell The Morning Call Brian Miller Upper Milford Township Lee Rackus Whitehall Township Bill Royer State Representative Ryan McKenzie Sara Satullo The Express-Times Scott Slingerland Coalition for Appropriate Transportation Steve Strella State Representative Julie Harhart Matt Szuchyt State Senator Pat Browne Linda Womer State Senator Bob Mensch

(*Denotes Voting Member)

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Minutes – Technical Committee March 31, 2014 of 6

Mr. Green chaired the meeting. MINUTES

Mr. Gurinko moved for approval of the minutes from the February 24, 2014 Joint Technical

Committee and Coordinating Committee meeting. Mr. McGee seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

STATUS OF TIP TRANSIT PROJECTS Mr. O’Neil reported the major project in the current TIP is the purchase of nine hybrid buses

which have been delivered and are in revenue service. The other major project on the current TIP is the purchase of 15 paratransit vans which have been delivered and are in revenue service. We also ordered five additional vans through a grant. Other ongoing activities are the bus stops and shelters; LANta assumed ownership of some of the older shelters in February and are swapping out some of those shelters with newer models; Mobility for Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities; and ongoing support of 2014 activities such as capital maintenance and planning activities.

Mr. O’Neil said the Easton Intermodal Transportation Center is under construction. The garage

portion is under construction and slated for completion in early 2015. Mr. O’Neil was asked if there is an estimate as to what percentage of LANta’s fleet is now

hybrid. Mr. O’Neil said it is now 24 vehicles out of 83 vehicles — nearly one-third of the fleet is now hybrid.

TIP AMENDMENTS

Mr. Green said there are no TIP amendments to report. Ms. Anderson reviewed the March 31, 2014 Fiscal Constraint Table (attached). Ms. Anderson on the last three quarters of page 2 is additional Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) money that was allocated statewide. We are bringing this to the Technical Committee for information only. The funds are not coming from the regional LVTS schedule but from statewide funds specifically for District 5-0 to use on the Intersection Safety Implementation Plan (ISIP) projects. Mr. Gurinko said the ISIP identifies systematic type improvements for problem intersections or intersections that have safety concerns. The District asked LVPC to come to a meeting. We worked together to put a proposal together. This is part of the funds awarded as a part of that program. This is additional money to the Lehigh Valley under the Statewide Safety line item.

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OLD BUSINESS Draft 2015-2018 Transportation Improvement Program Status Report Mr. McGee said we presented at the last meeting the draft list of projects that are being considered. We are finalizing the actual plotting of the phases and costs to each fiscal year trying to balance that out. It becomes a challenge with additional money and additional projects. There is a lot being added but is a lot of work to balance funding sources. That list is with Central Office. We are waiting to see if there will be additional “spike funds” (Secretary Discretionaru money) sent to the region to cover some of the shortfalls. In the past, projects like the Tilghman Street Bridge has received spike money. We are assuming spike money will continue to come through. We hope to receive the answers in the next two to three weeks. On a statewide basis, they are having discussions with everyone trying to figure out where to put the spike funds. After that is determined we will come back to present a balanced draft TIP for consideration. It will have the projects and the specific phases in the various fiscal years balanced out. Mr. Gurinko asked if there has been any talk this time around about focusing the discretionary funds on one area such as in the past with bridges. Mr. McGee said no. There have been a lot of commitments over the past year for the financial package that was approved by the Legislature. We are trying to make sure those commitments are addressed as well as projects that were ongoing are continued. It comes down to what can you fund, what is left that was a high priority coming through, and that is how the decisions are being made.

Mr. Dorner asked at what point would there be a discussion of additional projects that might be added. Mr. McGee said, when the TIP comes back we will see what we have. We have what people have requested such as High Street. With just the list we have now, we are over budget so spike money will be needed from the Secretary just to keep all of the commitments. We have tried to incorporate projects.

Mr. Gurinko said after the February meeting, the LVPC went through LVTS meeting minutes

and provided the Department with a list of projects that were presented to the Technical Committee so that those projects did not fall through the cracks.

Mr. O’Neil reviewed LANta’s Transit Element of the 2015-2018 TIP with the Technical

Committee. Ms. Gabriel asked if there are opportunities for new routes. Mr. O’Neil said we move resources around every year. If you look at population projections, this area is expected to grow by 150,000 over the next 20 years which is a faster pace than the last 20 years. Over the last 15 years, LANta’s ridership has grown by 65%. If that trend continues with the population growth driving the transit system, there will be additional needs for the capacity of the transit system.

Mr. O’Neil continued his review of the Transit Element of the 2015-2018 TIP with the

Committee. He noted that, on page 30 of the meeting packet, is a list of the anticipated funding sources. Mr. Green said, as far as the CMAQ Flex, you will actually get an amount of funding from the highway side. It is a based amount of $960,000 but it looks like the year of expenditures was applied for the four years. This will be a flat rate so years 2016, 2017 and 2018 should read $960,000. Mr. Greco said the state of Pennsylvania did something significant in transportation funding. They are among a few states in the country that have money available.

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Mr. Slingerland said, as someone who has ridden the hybrid buses, the ride quality is much improved and the sound level is much lower. Mr. Slingerland said he just wanted to mention that as a qualitative kind of thing. Regarding shelters, how many new shelters will there be with $200,000? Mr. O’Neil said, with the old system, probably all of the shelters will have to be replaced at some point. Each shelter is about $10,000.

Enhanced Bus/Bus Rapid Transit Study

Mr. O’Neil presented a summary of the Lehigh Valley Enhanced Bus/Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Study. A summary was included in the meeting packet and a copy of the PowerPoint presentation is attached to the minutes.

Mr. Gurinko asked if report has been released. Mr. O’Neil said we have the report in draft but

it has not been released because it has not been officially adopted by the LANta Board. It should be released within a month. Mr. Gurinko said, once it is adopted, we would be interested in having a copy to make available to Committee members.

Mr. Gurinko noted there is a difference in the capital costs in the summary from the capital

costs in the PowerPoint presentation. Mr. O’Neil said the costs in the PowerPoint presentation are newer figures. Mr. Gurinko said we will make a copy of the Power Point presentation available as part of the Technical Committee minutes so that Committee members will have the information. Mr. O’Neil noted that the totals are the same but money has been shifted between categories/times.

Mr. Gurinko said the LVPC has been performing studies of corridors for signal upgrades. Part

of the question we’ve posed to the municipalities is whether they want to include pre-emption as part of the signal upgrades. Would the capability of pre-emption allow LANta to have signal priority as part of that same system? Mr. O’Neil said his understanding is that, if there is pre-emption, there is the potential for priority as well.

Ms. Womer asked for the phase that is going to extend into Easton, does it extend into the City

of Easton or the zip code Easton. Mr. O’Neil replied that it is the City of Easton. It will go through Bethlehem Township and go on the Northampton Street corridor.

NEW BUSINESS TIGER Application Proposal

Ms. Bradley said the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, Lehigh and Northampton Airport

Authority, LANta, LVIP and the Rockefeller Development Group are jointly applying for a Federal TIGER grant application. Our estimate of cost is $60M. The improvements would include the expansion of the multimodal corridor around the Lehigh Valley International Airport. It would add things like bus transit, multimodal facilities on LVIA property; would include enhancement of the Airport Road/Schoenersville Road/Route 22 corridor and potentially support on-ramp improvements on Route 22 itself. The idea is we already have existing LVIP developments and another one coming. We have this great regional asset in LVIA itself. With the growing demand for commercial business opportunities around that facility, we would need to enhance our infrastructure. We are asking for a vote of support from the LVTS Technical Committee to put in the application. The application is due

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April 28, 2014. We want to get it in by April 25, 2014 to avoid any technical difficulties with the Federal grants.gov.

Ms. Gabriel asked if the TIGER grant application is something that needs support from Senator

Toomey’s office. Ms. Bradley responded yes and we will be in touch with you later this week or early next week.

Mr. Hefele asked if match funds are required. Ms. Bradley said it is an 80%/20% match. There

is a significant investment coming from LVIA/LNAA already and from other entities including some that is already on the TIP so we will be able to use some of our State funds for this. LANta also has funds for this. This is a good partnership. It is an everybody wins situation.

Mr. Strella asked if this is in response to the FedEx development. Ms. Bradley responded that it

is not specifically in response to that. It actually is a whole multimodal airport area corridor. It would include some improvements to Race Street but it will support all the existing industrial/commercial that is already in this general zone but it would also enhance the airport’s ability to deliver services to its customers and to enhance things such as Schoenersville Road. Last year we did a signalization study and we would like to implement that. Since widening of Route 22 through the TIP is important to the Lehigh Valley, we need to support the area that feeds into this infrastructure. It is a partnership of people and organizations in this general zone. We will develop a map in the next couple days that will show the project area.

Mr. McGee moved to support LVPC’s and LVTS’s TIGER grant submission. Seconded by Mr.

Dorner, the motion passed unanimously.

Draft Traffic Trends Report for Selected Lehigh Valley Locations

Mr. Spano presented the Draft Traffic Trends Report for Selected Lehigh Valley Locations (PowerPoint presentation attached). A copy of the Draft Traffic Trends was distributed to everyone in attendance.

Mr. Gurinko moved to recommend to the Coordinating Committee that we accept the Draft

Traffic Trends Report as partial completion of Task II of the current UPWP. Seconded by Mr. Donchez, the motion passed unanimously.

CORRESPONDENCE

Ms. Bradley said we received a letter from Mr. Ritzman that acknowledged the comments we sent on the statewide freight plan. It was a nice letter and we thank Mr. Ritzman for taking the recommendations of LVPC and LVTS into consideration as part of the draft Primary Freight Network study.

Mr. Gurinko said we received a letter from the City of Bethlehem (attached) giving up the

status of the High Street Bridge replacement. In the letter the City of Bethlehem expects to advertise for construction in Spring 2014. They have an updated cost estimate for construction and associated activities with construction of $1.15M. That will be taken into consideration as part of the TIP update. Mr. Gurinko thanked the City of Bethlehem for the update.

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COURTESY OF THE FLOOR

Ms. Bradley said Mr. Boyer has given LVPC/LVTS a copy of the annual Commuter Services report and that will be sent out.

There being no further business, Mr. Green adjourned the meeting.

Submitted by,

Alice J. Lipe for Joseph L. Gurinko, AICP Secretary, Technical Committee

JLG:ajl Finalized 04/18/2014 Attachments: Fiscal Constraint Table –FFY 2013-2016 TIP Highway and Bridge Element LANta Lehigh Valley Enhanced Bus/BRT Study Summary PowerPint LVPC Traffic Trends Report PowerPoint Letter – City of Bethlehem re: High Street Bridge Replacement

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Lehigh Valley Enhanced Bus/BRT Study Summary

2Enhanced Bus/BRT Study Summary

Project Review• Funded through congressional designation

• Study conducted by team led by AECOM Technical Services• HDR – Land Use Policy Research

• Taggart Associates – Public Outreach

• Study commenced in summer 2012

• Numerous Advisory Committee meetings throughout process

• Two series of public meetings

• Revised Draft Final Report and Executive Summary submitted


Study Process• Identified “Priority Transit Corridors” – 100’s routes

• Established Overall Goals of the Enhanced Bus/Bus Rapid Transit Study ‐ established by LANta Board of Directors and Study Advisory Committee:

• Benefit current riders;

• Expand the transit market ‐ attract new and choice riders;

• Promote revitalization of the Valley's urban core;

• Maximize productivity (riders per hour of service); and

• Financial feasibility.

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Study Process• Developed Evaluation Criteria based on:

• Program goals

• LANta Board of Directors and Study Advisory Committee input

• Federal Transit Administration (FTA) required criteria for a BRT project

• Identified Recommended Corridor• Service Plan

• Roadway Treatments/Capital Plan

• Implementation Plan

• Land use recommendations


Summary of Recommendations

• Two route system



• Two route system

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Phased Implementation Approach• Phase I – Implement EBS 1 as local

• Phase II – Add limited stop service to EBS 1

• Phase III – Implement EBS 2 between West Allentown and S Bethlehem

• Phase IV – Increase frequency on EBS 1 and EBS 2

• Phase V – Add limited stop in Easton

• Phase VI – Add limited stop along entire EBS 2

• TSM option identified



• TSM option


Recommended Plan Impacts

Net Rev Hours

Net Riders to Corridor

Net Operating Subsidy ($)

Net Riders per Net Rev Hr

(Productivity)

Net Op Subsidy per Net Rider

($)

Phase I 9,191 504,198 241,175 54.9 0.48

Phase II 15,176 515,792 756,123 34.0 1.47

Phase III 29,245 594,730 1,908,276 20.3 3.21

Phase IV 47,548 629,744 3,483,565 13.2 5.53

Phase V 48,983 637,130 3,601,769 13.0 5.65

Phase VI 58,496 679,137 4,393,696 11.6 6.47

TSM 13,676 514,225 625,599 37.6 1.22

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Recommended Program of Treatments

• Improved Stop Amenities

• Bus Bulbs

• Queue Jumps

• Bus Lanes

• TSP


Recommended Program of Treatments

Queue Jumps

Curb Lanes Bus Bulbs TVM's Shelters Vehicles Total

Phase I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Phase II 50,000 0 388,850 866,400 480,000 1,200,000 2,985,250

Phase III 0 16,670 222,200 433,200 144,000 1,800,000 2,616,070

Phase IV 0 0 0 0 0 6,000,000 6,000,000

Phase V 0 0 222,200 0 48,000 1,200,000 1,470,200

Phase VI 0 108,355 0 0 216,000 1,200,000 1,524,355

Total 50,000 125,025 833,250 1,299,600 888,000 11,400,000 14,595,875

TSM 1,200,000 1,200,000


Initial Recommended Approach ‐ Service

• Goal is to implement service elements of Phase II within 3 years

• Additional phases would be pursued as deemed necessary• Demand based

• As element of congestion mitigation strategy in Long Range Transportation Plan

• Continued advocacy for transit supportive land use along corridors• Development/densification of corridor could improve ridership/revenue projections

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Initial Recommended Approach ‐ Treatments

• Treatments to be pursued independently and as opportunities arise • Sustainable Communities grant funding to be used to fund conceptual engineering of queue jumps and 6th St bus lane

• Most cost effective treatments will be pursued

• Coordination with PennDOT, LVPC and municipalities to incorporate recommendations into other planned work

• Some treatments addressed with planned capital program• Transit hub improvements

• Shelters program


Timeline

• Potential for implementation of Phase I in June 2015• Results in 20 min headway B&G – ATC via Broad, Hamilton, Hanover

• Allows for routing improvements on other routes.

• Recommend implementation of Phase II based on: • Performance and demand patterns of Phase I local

• Regional transportation strategy

• Specific developments

• Physical improvements to be pursued separately

• Phase II can be implemented in parts


Financing

• Pursue potential funding sources through PennDOT BPT programs

• Monitor and pursue federal competitive grant opportunities

• Pursue Congressionally Designated Project if environment changes

• Pursue and continue detailed planning of service and physical elements of plan to ensure optimal positioning for financing opportunities

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Rationale for Recommended Approach

• Is consistent with Moving LANta Forward by creating high frequency corridors

• Responds to riders priorities for higher frequencies of service and longer spans of service

• Is consistent with LANtaBus Service and Performance Targets

• Grows with development and can respond to development

• Is financially feasible in current environment• Uncertainty/Inapplicability of FTA Small Starts funding program or CDP’s

• Potential sources through PennDOT programs

• Potentially sustainable given growth in operating funding


Planning

• Developing implementation plan in 4‐increments to coincide with next three TIP cycles

• Recommended approach for Phases I and II reflected in 2015‐2018 TIP submission

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Traffic Trends Reportfor selected Lehigh Valley locations

Thursday, March 27, 2014Joshua Spano

Transportation Planner

Traffic Trends Report:

• LVPC conducts about 100 traffic counts annually• Tuesday through Thursday, excluding holidays and special events

• Statewide 8,000 traffic counts are performed

• What are traffic counts used for?• Calibrating regional travel demand forecasting model

• Projecting future traffic volumes

• Determining road design

• Allocating funding and determining priorities for improvement projects

• Assessing air quality impacts

Background Information:

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The Traffic Counting Process:

• Volume Counts (Machine)• Depicts the total volume of vehicles passing a given location

• Placement of one road tube across travel lanes for 24 hour period

• Classification Counts (Manual, Machine, or Embedded Loops)• Manual- one or more persons counting for 8 hour period

• Machine- Placement of two road tubes that collects volumes and classifications

• Embedded Loops- permanent metal wire loops in various roadways

The Traffic Counting Process:

• Raw data collected is factored to an AADT, which removes:• Any daily, monthly, or seasonal bias

Factors Affecting Travel Growth:

• The most reliable indicator of travel growth is the economy• DVMT closely mirrors GDP

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Factors Affecting Travel Growth:

• Other indicators that affect travel growth:

• Gasoline prices (lagging inverse relationship)

• Income

• Aging population

• Couples having less children

National and Local Travel:

National and Local Travel:

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Lehigh County:

Northampton County:

Growth Rate Comparison:

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Thanks for listening!

Like us on facebook

Follow us on Twitter @LVPlanning

Any Questions?

For more information: Please contact Joshua

Spano at 610-264-4544 or [email protected]

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name representing · makala ashmar congressman charlie dent ... mr. gurinko asked if there has been...

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