[tabi] Re: Nova 2010 Plan

  • From: "Easy Talk" <easytalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:02:30 -0400

Hi Lorie,

Thanks for the info but I am a little skeptical in the fact that Dial A ride 
does more than federal law requires.  The only thing they can do is extent the 
3 fourths of a mile rule and I know for a fact that is not the case.  Nancy 
folsom had to walk a block or 2 to catch Dial A ride when she lived on Montrose 
and people need to remember talk is cheep and government will tell you anything 
to get you off there back.  Before I would believe this, I would want it in 
writing from the city as policy that will never be changed.  We are currently 
under budget cuts and most likely it will get worse.  If it does that extra 
that dial a ride is supposedly giving will be the first to go simply because 
federal law doesn't require it.  I think there are also other people on this 
list that will tell you that dial a ride won't pick them up because they are 
out side the 3 fourth mile requirement so I would ask what they do that goes 
beyond federal requirements.

Robert
 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Laurie Davis 
  To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Saturday, September 19, 2009 12:31 PM
  Subject: [tabi] Re: Nova 2010 Plan


  Hi all,

  As some of you may know, my husband, Kevin, is on the Transportation Advisory 
Committee for the Mayor.  This committee advises the City Commission on 
transportation issues with Star Metro.  Mr. Sheib is on the Committee, as well 
as some other people in the community.  I forwarded the questions that Sila 
posted yesterday.  He posted some of the questions to the Committee.  One had 
to do with making the street crossings at the transfer points safer.  The other 
had to do with making textual maps of the routes, similar to those books that 
Taltran had.  He thought they should have carefully-worded descriptions of the 
routes and the stops, including landmarks, such as office buildings and 
shopping centers.  
  From what he can find out so far, Dial-A-Ride will not be changed at all, 
since they already do a lot more than the federal requirements for paratransit 
service.  

  I hope this helps.

  Laurie
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Sila Miller 
    To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
    Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 8:35 PM
    Subject: [tabi] Re: Nova 2010 Plan


    Lynn, This is absolutely excellent and I truly appreciate your time, effort 
and spokesmenship!
    The below info came from a sighted but non-driving friend who takes the bus 
DAILY to the R.A. Gray building, and for virtually all her errands.  She saw 
these weaknesses with the map as published on the website. Have a look and use 
what you need. I too liked Robert's suggestion of feeder routes (smaller buses.)
    Thank you again!
    Sila

    1.  No bus access on Ocala Road between Tharpe and Tennessee
    2.  No bus access to schools on Miccosukee Road (Leon High, Trinity 
    Catholic, Cobb Middle and Kate Sullivan)
    3.  No bus going into either Tallahassee Mall or Governor's Square Mall
    4.  No bus to Griffin Middle School or Ruediger Elementary
    5.  No bus on South Bronough Street between Pensacola Street and Gaines 
    - access to R.A. Gray Building
    6.  No bus on West College Avenue
    7.  No bus on Governor's Square Boulevard
    8.  No bus access to Lincoln High, Apalachee Elementary or Adult 
    Education
    9.  No bus to Trousdell Gymnastics Center and pool

      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: Lynn Evans 
      To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
      Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 3:54 PM
      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 
        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 
          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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