[tabi] Re: Nova 2010 Plan

  • From: "Blackjack" <misterblackjack2@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:23:11 -0400

I think dial a ride will still have to pick you up. This is for people with
disabilities. So the ADA will kick in. The only problem is reasonable
accommodations. If we could get rid of that word reasonable! Or at least
define it in plain language what they mean by reasonable. Like I say Dial a
Ride I think will have to pick you up as long as it is with in the coverage
area they work. For example they would not have to go to Quincy to pick you
up but if it was in Tallahassee area that they covered they would have to
pick you up at your door and drop you off at the building you was going to.
This is what Dial A Ride was designed for to get people with disabilities to
doctors and work and back. Then came the extras that has been added on. Just
my thought on it.



 


Thanks,
Blackjack
misterblackjack2@xxxxxxxxx
 

-----Original Message-----
From: tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Chip Orange
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 11:04 AM
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [tabi] Re: Nova 2010 Plan

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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