Below are the minutes for the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee meeting, held on Friday, September 15, 2006, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the Training Room 679 (6th Floor), at the Clark County Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin Street, Vancouver, Washington. The agenda for this meeting is also available.
I. Call to Order and Approval of Minutes
The meeting of the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee was called to order on Friday, September 15, 2006, at 9:00 a.m. in the Training Room (6th Floor) at the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin Street, Vancouver, Washington. Dean Lookingbill, Transportation Director, served as Chair for the meeting. Those in attendance follow:
Gail Bauhs Human Services Council Jim Carothers City of Camas Lynda David RTC Ali Eghtedari City of Vancouver Rebecca Eisiminger Port of Vancouver Mark Harrington RTC Bob Hart RTC Mark Herceg City of Battle Ground Katherine Klockenteger WSDOT Dean Lookingbill RTC Janeen Loughin C-TRAN Mike Mabrey Clark County Brian McMullen WSDOT Thomas Picco ODOT Matt Ransom City of Vancouver Sandi Roberts RTC Dale Robins RTC Scott Sawyer City of Washougal Bryan Snodgrass City of Vancouver Mark Turpel Metro Bill Wright Clark County Dean Lookingbill, RTC, asked for any changes or corrections to the August 18, 2006, meeting minutes.
BRIAN MCMULLEN, WSDOT, MOVED FOR APPROVAL OF THE AUGUST 18, 2006, MINUTES AND BECKY EISIMINGER, PORT OF VANCOUVER, SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
II. 2007-2010 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program, Action
Dale Robins, RTC, said that the listing of projects from our region as entered into the Washington State S.T.I.P. was distributed. Dale pointed out that the version was a little different from that originally provided on RTC’s list serve prior to the RTAC meeting. Dale asked each agency to check for accuracy, as this would be the last opportunity to make any changes before sending the document on to the state. Dale explained said the 2007-2010 Metropolitan Improvement Program (MTIP) is a four-year program of regionally significant transportation projects. Projects programmed in the MTIP are drawn either directly from specific project recommendations made in the long-range Metropolitan Transportation Plan or are developed from a more general series of recommendations (e.g. preservation, maintenance, safety, etc.) Dale said, in August, RTAC completed the first two steps of the MTIP development process, Project Screening and Evaluation and Ranking by Needs Criteria. The adoption of the 2007-2010 MTIP will complete the final step by programming federal funds for the selected list of projects.
Dale said based on an evaluation by regional selection criteria, RTAC and RTC Board of Directors concurred with the following ranked order: STP-Urban Program 1) 137th Avenue Corridor, 28th Street to 49th Street, 2) NE 18th Street, 112th Avenue to 138th Avenue, 3) NE 63rd Street, Andresen to I-205, and 4) NE 119th Street, 72nd Avenue to 117th Avenue. Two projects were unranked: Region-Wide Travel Survey and UPWP Program Support. The CMAQ Program was ranked: 1) Signal Optimization Program, 2) VAST, 3) 112th Avenue ITS Corridor Phase III, 4) Hybrid Buses, and 5) CTR Program Expansion.
Dale said Clark County is requesting that RTC allow the substitution of TIB funds for the recently approved $1.5 million in STP-TMA funding for the NE 63rd St. (NE Andresen to I-205) construction project. This will allow the project to proceed without federal requirements, which will save significant time and money during next year’s construction. TIB is agreeable to moving $1.5 million in funding from the County’s NE 72nd Avenue project to the NE 63rd Street project, provided the STP funds approved for NE 63rd Street can be moved into the NE 72nd project to cover the TIB fund shift. Since the NE 72nd Avenue project already has federal funding, this shift would not add any additional requirements to the project. This proposed shift would only affect the County’s two projects in the MTIP and the overall level of STP and TIB funding in the region would not change. Dale said RTC staff is recommending approval of this administrative change, given the following policies to guide such administrative changes: 1) Both projects must have both TIB and STP dollars awarded. 2) Request for this type of switch should be relatively rare. 3) Request should be submitted to RTC with an explanation of full funding sources and rational for making the exchange. 4) Each request will need the approval of RTAC and RTC Board.
Dale said, in addition to STP and CMAQ projects selected for programming, projects programmed in the 2006-2008 MTIP that have not been implemented are brought into the 2007-2010 MTIP. Dale reported all WSDOT, other regionally significant projects, and congressional earmarks are programmed in the MTIP. Other federally funded programs, such as Bridge, Safety, and Enhancement, are included in the STIP as bucket projects and do not need to be listed in the MTIP.
Dale reported that the MTIP adoption of the 2007-2010 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP) will encompass the following actions: 1) MPO authorization of the 2007-2010 MTIP, which includes transportation projects totaling approximately $67 million in federal transportation funds. 2) MTIP conformance with the Metropolitan Transportation Plan, Clean Air Act as amended, the Air Quality State Implementation Plan, and Conformity Guidelines. 3) Certification that the RTC planning process meets all requirements of Title 23 and Title 40 of the transportation Code of Federal Regulations, including those provisions added by SAFETEA-LU. 4) “Selection” of all four years of the federal program of projects allowing projects to proceed towards implementation. Projects programmed in the MTIP assist the region in implementing the Metropolitan Transportation Plan. Projects must be included in the MTIP and/or STIP as a condition for the receipt of federal funds.
MATT RANSOM, CITY OF VANCOUVER, MADE THE MOTION TO RECOMMEND ADOPTION OF THE 2007-2010 METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (MTIP) BY THE RTC BOARD OF DIRECTORS AT THEIR NEXT MEETING. BILL WRIGHT, CLARK COUNTY, SECONDED THE MOTION, AND IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
III. 2006-2007 Vancouver Area Smart Trek Program, Action
Bob Hart, RTC, said since January 2001, RTC has been responsible for the coordination and administration of the Vancouver Area Smart Trek (VAST) program. The VAST Steering Committee was formed in 2001 and is made up of RTC, the City of Vancouver, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Clark County, C-TRAN, the City of Camas, and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Bob reviewed the responsibilities of the VAST Steering Committee. Bob reported that the RTC Board supported a Communications Infrastructure MOU executed in November 2004. This authorized the formation of the VAST Communications Infrastructure Committee (CIC). The CIC is made up of both transportation and communications technical staff to address the use, sharing maintenance, and standards for communications infrastructure and equipment.
Bob highlighted previous work program elements that are completed or now underway. These included the Phase I traveler information improvements, the communications and interoperability agreement, fiber and communications permits, communications asset management software and the VAST 20-year ITS Plan.
Bob presented a slide show [now available on RTC’s RTAC meeting website] and said the expansion of the previous Vancouver area traveler information web pages include the following elements: 1) The full Portland-Vancouver metro area display of bi-state camera images. 2) Additional major city streets and county roads to the WSDOT “travel alerts” web page to display local information such as road construction and road/lane closures from local transportation agencies. 3) Inclusion of arterial video images from city and county closed circuit television camera. 4) Display of congestion flow map information on the freeways within the Vancouver urban area including the two Columbia River bridges and on the freeways within the Portland metro area. Bob said an ATIS Phase II stakeholder meeting is being planned before the end of the year to identify next steps for traveler information improvements.
Bob reminded RTAC to look at the website www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/vancouver
Bob then provided an overview of the 2006/2007 VAST Program that will continue the ongoing coordination and management activities that include incorporating ITS into the planning process, managing the Steering and Communications Infrastructure Committees, review and endorsement of projects, ITS policy issues, and preparation of joint funding applications. Bob reviewed other activities anticipated in 2006/2007. 1) Phase II ATIS stakeholder workshop and recommendations. 2) Complete data conversion process for OSPInsight. 3) Continues development and implementation of asset sharing permits between agencies. 4) Identification of additional funding opportunities. 5) Discussion of regional transportation operations needs. 6) Development and agreement on fiber, equipment, and infrastructure standards.
Bob reported that RTC received a federal ITS earmark of $427,000. The VAST Steering Committee partners have had initial discussion to identify potential projects. Preliminary ideas include: updating the VAST 20-year plan and federally required ITS regional architecture, development of an ITS data warehouse that will include freeway and arterial data, and implementation of Phase II traveler information recommendations. A data archive system imports data from freeway and arterials detectors and provides access to the data for planning and analysis. Phase II implementation ideas include an integrated bi-state traffic flow map, additional arterial camera coverage, expansion of arterial travel alerts to include special events and major incidents. The traveler information workshop will further develop and expand on these ideas.
BILL WRIGHT, CLARK COUNTY, MADE A MOTION TO REQUEST RTC BOARD AUTHORIZATION TO IMPLEMENT THE 2006/2007 RTC MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION OF THE VAST PROGRAM AND ASSOCIATED CONSULTING SERVICES FOR VAST PROGRAM TECHNICAL SUPPORT. JIM CAROTHERS, CITY OF CAMAS, SECONDED THE MOTION, AND IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
IV. Signal System Integration, City of Vancouver, Discussion
Ali Eghtedari, City of Vancouver, presented the Signal System Integration Plan. City of Vancouver recommended as part of the improvements of the VAST master plan to integrate the City’s traffic signal system into a central control system with coordinated signals. Ali gave an overview on the City’s efforts, a summary of the corridors that have been completed to date, and a demonstration of StreetWise, the City’s central traffic management system.
Ali provided a Power Point presentation [now available on RTC’s RTAC meeting website] titled “Vast Implementation: Urban Signal System Integration and an Adaptive Traffic Signal Control. The presentation provided information on the VAST 20 Year Plan, a project report, evaluation study, discussions and conclusions. Ali spoke of the CMAQ grants that funded the project. He also spoke of how the project relates to the VAST 20-Year Plan Initiatives and Strategies such as Initiative #1 Communications Infrastructure, Strategy #1 “to deploy a communications network to connect all regional agencies involved” and Initiative #5 related to traffic signal system controller upgrade, monitoring system NTCIP protocol, interconnect, traffic responsive and adaptive signal control. Ali described the limitations of conventional traffic signal systems and advantages of advanced traffic control systems. He gave specific details of the Mill Plain adaptive control system describing research and data collection, directional and time of day volume differences on the corridor, travel time studies, and provided empirical study results. A summary of the results was provided; eastbound direction traffic flow is better under the adaptive system with average speed improved by 25% in the AM and 20% in the PM peak but for westbound traffic speeds decreased by 16% in AM and 8% PM peaks. This would result in $1,396,125 in total fuel savings per year (at $2.50 per gallon) and a reduction of 679 tons of CO and 60 tons in NOx. Possible causes for directionality of results is intersection spacing and manual offsets. The adaptive system is currently turned off on the Mill Plain corridor in part because of spill back and lane utilization issues with many vehicles trying to access I-205 as well as side street green time issues. However, analysis does show that adaptive control can work better for travel in the major direction and time period and with future technological advances, positive project impacts could be realized in the future.
Ali said that fiber optics provides the backbone that is needed for future technology uses and ATIS is now available on freeways and will expand to urban arterials in the future. Signal integration is underway with the central management system in place. WSDOT, SW Region, has adopted the same signal control system and the first integrated corridor project is funded and is being scoped. Now, more than 50% of the traffic signals in the City of Vancouver are connected and more than 120 traffic signals in the city are upgraded to ATC standard. Signal timing upgrades are planned and will be implemented as funding allows.
Ali told RTAC members to check his website for more detailed research information. Dean Lookingbill said RTAC members should be thinking about the next most likely corridors for implementation of this technology and equipment upgrade.
V. Other Business
A. RTAC Members
Janeen Loughin, C-TRAN, spoke of plans to redesign C-TRAN service. Janeen said there will be a C-TRAN Board briefing in September with several public meetings in late September and early October. A public hearing before the Board will be held in October. She said they hope to adopt the plan by the end of the year with implementation over an 8-9 month period. The key element to the service design is bringing the 99th Street Transit Center/Park-and-Ride into service. It is scheduled to open September 2007. This would somewhat alleviate the downsizing of the 7th Street Transit Center as well as C-TRAN’s layover structure at the Mall. RTAC members will be e-mailed the Open House Schedule. Dean said it would be helpful to have an overview of the Plan at a future RTAC meeting.
B. RTC Staff
RTAC Bylaws – Comments Dean said RTAC Bylaw changes will be on next month’s agenda and asked RTAC members to send any comments to RTC staff.
Growth Management DEIS Dean said that the DEIS to support the Comprehensive Growth Management Plan update has been published. Dean said that RTC staff provided travel forecast results for alternatives. Generally, alternative I holds the urban boundaries and Alternative II provides some expansion. Dean said RTC has allocations mapped by TAZ.
Human Services Transportation Plan Lynda David, RTC, said that SAFETEA LU requires a coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan that addresses the transportation needs of low-income, people with disabilities and the aged. Lynda said the first stakeholders meeting was held on September 6. Lynda said she is putting together a draft plan working from the state’s template provided by the ACCT. Discussion at the meeting included need for transportation of seniors to nutrition programs, need for earlier and later C-TRAN service and need for life sustaining medical trips.
Commute Trip Reduction Lynda David, RTC, reported that funding for CTR plans will soon be available. Affected UGAs in this region are Vancouver, Camas, and Washougal. It appears that about $40,000 would come to the RTPO’s to fund the efforts and an additional base of $5,000 for each affected UGA with additional for the number of affected employees. In total about $65,000 would come to this region for developing CTR plans. The state has contracted with Perteet Inc. to put together templates to help jurisdictions put together the plans. Jan Bowers, City of Vancouver, will meet with RTC, City of Vancouver, City of Camas, and City of Washougal staff on September 25 to discuss coordination of these plans. Plans will need to be complete by April 2007 though it is likely the deadline will be extended by about two to three months.
Grant Application Due Dates
- Regional Collaboration Competitive Grant - Due September 15, 2006
- Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program - Due September 20, 2006
- Safe Routes to School Program - Due October 2, 2006
- Regional Mobility Grant Program - Due October 13, 2006
Traffic Counts Dale said that Quality Counts will be in the community collecting traffic count and occupancy data in the next 2 to 4 weeks. They will be also using video cameras to collect occupancy counts. Dean thought the State Patrol should be notified.
New Projects Dean reported that RTC is starting up two new projects, Transportation Corridors Visioning Study and the High Capacity Transit Corridor Study. Staff is still in the process of establishing the respective Steering Committees. RTC will be looking to RTAC for technical review. The Transportation Corridor Visioning Steering Committee will meet at the beginning of October and the High Capacity Transit Corridor Steering Committee will get started at the end of October.
Port News Becky Eisiminger, Port of Vancouver, announced that the largest mobile crane in North America has been commissioned at the Port and will be used to move windmill parts for wind energy projects.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:35 a.m. The next meeting will be Friday, October 20, 2006.
Regional Transportation Council
1300 Franklin Street, Floor 4
Vancouver, Washington 98660Tel: 360-397-6067
Fax: 360-397-6132
E-mail: info@rtc.wa.govServed by C-TRAN Route 3.
If you have special needs, please contact RTC.
       
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