[tabi] Re: Nova 2010 Plan
- From: "Chip Orange" <Corange@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:15:39 -0400
thanks much Lynn; what a great idea!
Chip
------------------------------
Chip Orange
Database Administrator
Florida Public Service Commission
Chip.Orange@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(850) 413-6314
(Any opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not
necessarily reflect those of the Florida Public Service Commission.)
________________________________
From: tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Lynn Evans
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 3:55 PM
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [tabi] Re: Nova 2010 Plan
Ok how does this sound.
I will definitely begoing to one of the meetings at the senior
center and maybe more on the 21st and 28.
I have made a folder and I will funnel your concerns about the
Nova 2010 Plan into this folder and print the items out to take to the
meeting. I am starting with Robert's message. I will remove the names to
protect the innocent.
Now if someone thinks this is a bad idea or just wants to sound
off and not have it printed out then I want do it.
----- Original Message -----
From: Easy Talk <mailto:easytalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 9:15 AM
Subject: [tabi] Re: Nova 2010 Plan
This new system will pretty much make most of us home
bound since federal law says Pari Transit only has to go 3 quarters of a
mile out of the fixed route system and from what I can tell and is
clearly stated in the plan busses will no longer go in to neighbor
hoods. You can run buses up and down major roads in Tallahassee all you
want but it looks like they will be empty since people can't get to
them.
If it rains, the city might as well shut down the buses.
Not many people are going to walk a mile or 2 to catch the bus and dial
a ride will no longer be required to pick you up.
Robert
----- Original Message -----
From: Chip Orange
<mailto:Corange@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 5:53 PM
Subject: [tabi] Re: Nova 2010 Plan
Hi William and all,
thank you for the posting.
I'd like you to know I've been speaking with
another blind individual, who is neither associated with TABI or TCB, so
most of us are unlikely to know what he knows and vice versa.
He in turn has been speaking with Sam, and has
mentioned to him that the new routes as planned, do not go directly up
to the malls (such as Governor's Square), but only approach a near-by
street corner (I believe he said the Parkway and Park Avenue for
instance).
This would mean quite a walk for someone going
to Gov Square, and even worse, part of it would have to be across the
parking lot without any landmarks.
He has also mentioned that several routes would
require transferring by walking across a difficult to cross street such
as ThomasVille Road or Capitol Circle, in order to achieve certain
routings.
In general, he believes Star Metro has made
these decisions without considering the difficulty a blind pedestrian
would face in following the plan.
I don't know if his understanding is correct,
and even if the current plan is still this way, but I thought I'd point
it out for those who are interested as an item I would judge to be of
importance.
hth,
Chip
------------------------------
Chip Orange
Database Administrator
Florida Public Service Commission
Chip.Orange@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(850) 413-6314
(Any opinions expressed are solely those of the
author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Florida Public
Service Commission.)
________________________________
From: tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of blindwilly
Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 5:40
PM
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [tabi] Nova 2010 Plan
Greetings,
The following is an on going discussion
I have been having with Sam Scheiv of Star Metro. In fact here is his
first message, back to me.
Dear Mr. Benjamin:
It was nice speaking to you yesterday.
Please find attached the document describing the Nova 2010 project.
Below I have written descriptions of each route
as they are now. I have not included
every turn or small street, but enough to understand the general
direction. These routes are still in flux. In
fact I just made a change this morning.
So this is not final. We are taking suggestions from the public and
incorporating them into the plan. That means
we need to know what people DO like as
much as what people don't like. I hope you find this interesting and I
appreciate you calling.
Sincerely,
Samuel L. Scheib
Senior Planner
Nova 2010 Overview
For many years transit concentrated in
downtown Tallahassee where shoppers, moviegoers, employees, and diners
invariably traveled. Over the ensuing decades, the downtown share of
the city's employment decreased as shopping centers, restaurants, movie
theaters, and even government jobs relocated to the periphery (Tax
World, Koger Center, CCOC, etc.).
The practice of transit is changing, and
a growing number of agencies have found serving multiple destinations
has been tremendously successful, starting with West Coast transit
properties in Portland, Oregon, and San Diego, California and then
spreading to places like Colorado Springs and Madison, Wisconsin, a
state capital with a large university presence like our own. In
Florida, Pinellas and Broward Counties have similarly restructured their
systems.
Concurrent with the 2005 StarMetro
Renaissance Plan, the 2005 Transit Development Plan, the November 2008
City Commission Target Issue Meeting and the City Manager's 2009
Resolutions, StarMetro has taken preliminary steps to create a
decentralized route structure plan for the City of Tallahassee. Once
implemented, the plan, known as Nova 2010, would distribute transit
services mostly along major roadways in Tallahassee; several routes will
not serve downtown at all. By not sending every route to C.K. Steele
Plaza, passengers would experience greater frequency of service and a
system that more closely resembles contemporary vehicular travel
patterns.
In developing the draft plan, there were
several assumptions about conditions in Tallahassee. First, the system
would, like the present one, serve the city of Tallahassee with the few
exceptions currently in place, such as Bradfordville on the 80x.
Second, we would work to use, to the best extent possible, existing
facilities. We have Steele Plaza and approximately 105 bus shelters,
and have adapted a draft plan to use these resources as a starting point
on implementation day. Expanding with additional facilities would be
added as the plan gains popularity, as needed and as fiscally feasible.
Lastly, we assumed two lanes on Tennessee Street between Monroe and
Ocala would be converted to transit-only use, as is currently
recommended in a study by Genesis Group. Beyond that, our goal was to
use similar existing resources-the number of buses and drivers, the
funding level-all would remain as close as possible to current levels.
The above is based on our cursory draft plan. This draft plan is
subject to changes based minimally on a full system analysis, review of
alternatives, considerable public involvement, a thorough origin and
destination study and Commission approval.
We focused our analysis on employment
density, as the planning literature consistently points to employment
density being better at generating transit trips than population
density; although having high densities of both is best. Since
employment densities are highest on major roadways, we assigned routes
to these roads while trying to approximate a grid network as seen on the
attached map.
Nova 2010 is intended to accomplish
several things:
q Reduce Downtown Trips: The most
common customer complaint is that all the buses go downtown. At a
recent listening session, a customer lamented the only way to get from
one section of Orange Avenue to another was to first go to Steele Plaza
at the corner of Tennessee and Adams Streets. In order to mimic
contemporary travel patters (i.e. to go to jobs on the periphery)
passengers often must make the V-shaped trip of going downtown first and
then back out again to the customers final destination.
q Reduce Redundancy: The current
hub and spoke system requires all buses to meet at the same time at the
central hub. Since C.K. Steele Plaza is located along a major arterial
(W. Tennessee Street, near the intersection with Monroe Street), every
bus must travel along this corridor at the same time in order for
passengers to make their transfers. This results in two or more buses
arriving and leaving from the plaza in tandem to travel along the same
corridor for a significant distance, passing the same stops. With the
concept Nova 2010 plan, the importance of C.K. Steele Plaza is
downplayed as buses operate independent of each other. This allows for
one bus to cover an entire corridor, instead of five buses covering the
same corridor, as is the case of W. Tennessee Street.
q Increase On-Time Performance:
Another complaint staff receives is buses run behind schedule. This is
primarily due to two reasons - buses traveling at lower speeds in
neighborhoods, and routes being dependent on each other for transfers
(i.e. if one arrives late, the other buses are held for transferring
patrons). Under Nova 2010, buses will remain on the major roads allowing
for higher travel speeds as applicable. In addition, the routes operate
independent of each other. This means if one arrives late, it does not
affect the operation of the other routes. Patrons are would be
accommodated better with Nova 2010 with higher service frequency leading
to shorter wait times (10 to 30 minutes during peak hours verses up to
an hour with the current system).
q Increased Ridership/Decreased
Carbon Footprint: StarMetro expects Nova 2010 to make transit
significantly more attractive to a much broader part of the community,
and each single-occupancy-vehicle driver that shifts to transit
represents reduced carbon emissions, cleaner air, reduced congestion,
less road maintenance, etc.
q Reduce travel time for patrons
using transit: Instead of going in and out of neighborhoods, the Nova
2010 plan would have more direct service to major employment and
shopping/recreation centers.
q Increase frequency: Buses will
arrive more often giving our customers more options for using transit
service with greater convenience.
q Increased Opportunities for
Regional Travel: With few exceptions (80X, Route 17, and Route 21),
there are no opportunities for regional travel in the current system. By
decentralizing the system, independent cross-town routes along major
corridors create the opportunities for regional expansion.
While there are many distinct advantages
in addition to the aforementioned ones of the Nova 2010 concept plan,
there are a few perceived disadvantages, which have proven to be
advantages across the country:
q Routes would no longer circulate
within neighborhoods. This will, however, allow StarMetro to serve a
larger population by providing higher frequency and better service to
the most popular destinations.
q Related to the above, walking
distances to StarStops are anticipated to increase. On the other hand,
this will lead to fewer stops, increased mobility, a more pleasurable
riding experience and a healthier community.
The benefits, however, would far
outweigh the few discrete disadvantages, which are better communicated
in a longer visual presentation. StarMetro would have a more dependable
system going where our patrons want to go doing so in a timely,
efficient fashion.
After I got this message, as per Sila
requested, I asked for a discription of the routes for the eleven bus
routes, and they are as follows..
US 90 (1), 20 minutes: Fallschase, W US
90, S Appleyard, W Pensacola, N Blountstown, E US 90
US 90 (2), 20 minutes: Fallschase, W US
90, N Capital Circle, loop through Commonwealth, S Capital Circle, E US
90
Orange, 15 minutes: Loop through Paul
Dirac, W Roberts, S Eisenhower, E Lake Jackson/Orange Ave, S Capital
Circle, loop through Capital Circle Office Center
East, 15 minutes. Village Square,
Capital Circle, Southwood/Capital Circle Office Center
Southside, 15 minutes: Ross Road, N
Shelfer, N Crawfordville, Gaile Ave, N Monroe Street, Steele Plaza
Frenchtown/Bond, 15 minutes: Orange,
Saxon, Wahnish/Macomb/Old Bainbridge, Volusia, Alabama to Preston Loop,
and back.
Pensalachee, 20 minutes: Pensacola,
Gaines, Lafayette, Apalachee Parkway
Hospitals, 30 minutes: Woodland,
Tuscan, Sunnyside, N. Ridge, E Springsax, E Bragg, E Paul Dirac, N Jim
Lee, N Magnolia, E Miccosukee, Capital Medical,
Bufford, NE Centerville, SE Fleischmann,
W Misscosukee
West Loop, 30 minutes (both directions):
N Monroe, SW Fred George, S Mission, S Appleyard, E Jackson Bluff, N
Woodward, E St. Augustine, through downtown
to Monroe
NE to Innovation: N Pottsdamer, E
Iamonia, N Lake Jackson, E Gaines, Gadsden, Thomasville
North Mover, 30 minutes: Commonwealth,
Hartsfield, Pullen, Allen, Henderson, Meridian, Bradford/Betton
CommonWalmart, 30 minutes: Commonwealth,
Tharpe, MLK/Duval/Bronough, Park, Gov. Square Blvd, Park Conner Blvd,
Walmart.
It has been that discriptions brings up
more questions than answere, so here it is to work with.\
William benjamin
William Benjamin, Piano Tuner
Extraordinaire.
The tuner alone preserves the tone.
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