[tabi] Re: Nova 2010 Plan

  • From: "Chip Orange" <Corange@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:04:21 -0400

Maybe though Dial-a-ride will still do it (pick us up), even though not
required to.  we haven't heard anything about that have we?
 
 




------------------------------

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 Easy Talk
        Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 9:15 AM
        To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
        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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