[tabi] Re: Nova 2010 Plan

  • From: "Lynn Evans" <evans-lynn@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:58:12 -0400

Just keep in mind that none of this is in concreate. The point of all the 
meetings is to get rider input. 

These folks listen and are willing to work with us. 

Here are the upcoming meetings:

-         September 21 at the Tallahassee Senior Center, located at 1400 North 
Monroe Street, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

-         September 28 at the Tallahassee Senior Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1 
p.m.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Chip Orange 
  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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