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WELCOME EVERYONE TO THE APRIL, 2023 MEETING OF OUR TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY COMMITTEE.
UH, TODAY WE'LL BE LISTENING TO THREE BRIEFINGS, UH, A M A, I'M NOT USED TO CALLING IT AA, I'M JUST GONNA CALL IT M P O,
UH, WELCOME OUR VISITORS TODAY.
I WANNA CALL EVERYONE'S ATTENTION TO A COUPLE OF THINGS AS WE LISTEN TO THE PRESENTATION.
UH, WHAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE THESE ORGANIZATIONS AND PLANS BETTER, AND WHERE ARE THE GAPS? WHERE CAN WE, UM, FIGURE OUT THOSE GAPS THAT WE CAN HELP FILL AND, AND, OF COURSE, BETTER SERVE OUR COMMUNITY IN COLLABOR IN COLLABORATION.
MADAM CLERK, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL THE RULE COUNCIL MEMBER MAKI RODRIGUEZ.
COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE PRESENT CHAIR CABELL HDA.
HERE, MA'AM, WE HAVE A QUORUM.
ARE THERE, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? OKAY, THANKS.
UM, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND BEGIN WITH ITEM TWO A BRIEFING ON THE ALAMO AREA METROPOLITAN MINUTES.
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UM, ALRIGHT, WERE THERE ANY, UH, COMMENTS OR, UM, EDITS TO THE MINUTES? OKAY, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO, WELL, I'M SORRY, WHAT DATE WAS IT? JUST, JUST FOR THE RECORD.UM, SO THE MARCH 21ST, 2023 MINUTES.
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AND MOVE ON TO ITEM TWO.APPRECIATE YOU, UH, HAVING US ON THE AGENDA TODAY.
UH, JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO.
I KNOW A LOT OF THE, YOU OR THE FOLKS THAT ARE HERE AT THE COUNCIL, PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE TODAY ARE MEMBERS OF THE M P O TRANSPORTATION POLICY BOARD.
AND SO I THINK THIS IS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REINTRODUCE OURSELVES, KEEP YOU, UM, UH, TOP OF MIND ON WHAT THE MPO IS AND WHAT WE DO.
AND AGAIN, UH, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR IF, IF YOU, UM, HAVE ANY FOLLOW UP, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO STOP ME ANYWHERE IN BETWEEN THIS.
SO I'LL KEEP THIS AS INFORMAL AS WE CAN.
UH, IN TERMS OF WHAT THIS PRESENTATION IS GONNA INCLUDE, OF COURSE, AGAIN, SOME INTRO AND SOME BACKGROUND ON THE M P O, UH, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR FUNDING RESOURCES AND WHERE THEY COME FROM, THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS THAT THE M P O IS TASKED WITH CREATING AND, AND UPDATING.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE AN UPCOMING CALL FOR PROJECTS THAT BEGINS MAY 1ST.
SO JUST KINDA GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THAT SINCE WE KNOW THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WILL LIKELY BE PURSUING PROJECTS THROUGH THAT CALL.
AND THEN, UH, JUST A FEW SLIDES ON SOME OF THE CAPABILITIES AND PROGRAMS THAT WE DO THAT YOU MIGHT NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH OR SEE EVERY DAY.
IN TERMS OF THE M P O, AGAIN, I KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT AN AGENCY THAT EVERYBODY, UH, IS EXTREMELY FAMILIAR WITH.
UH, YOU PROBABLY HEAR THE TERM M P O BEING THROWN AROUND QUITE A BIT.
BUT WE ARE A FEDERALLY MANDATED AGENCY THAT PROVIDES REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING, INCLUDING ALLOCATING FEDERAL DOLLARS TO TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS IN THE ALAMO AREA.
SO BASICALLY, IT IS THE MPOS WORK, THE PLANT, AND THE PROGRAMS THAT WE DO THAT IS A CONDUIT OR THE, THE, THAT ALLOWS FUNDING TO COME THIS TO THIS REGION FOR FEDERAL, UH, FEDERALLY FUNDED TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS.
WE ALSO ADMINISTER PROGRAMS THAT IMPROVE MOBILITY, AIR QUALITY, AND SAFETY.
AND ALL OF THIS IS GUIDED BY THE WORK OF OUR M P O TRANSPORTATION POLICY BOARD.
AND WE'LL GO THROUGH, UH, A SLIDE IN A FEW BIT, A FEW MINUTES THAT KIND OF, UH, DETAILS WHO THOSE MEMBERS ARE.
THIS MAP, UH, SHOWS THE MPOS BOUNDARY, WHICH INCLUDES THREE AND A HALF COUNTIES, ALL OF BEAR, KAMMA, GUADALUPE, AND A PORTION OF KENDALL COUNTY.
UH, AS YOU CAN SEE BY THIS MAP, UH, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU HEAR A LOT OF COURSE ABOUT THE TREMENDOUS GROWTH THAT'S OCCURRING IN BEAR COUNTY.
YOU HEAR ABOUT THE ADDITIONAL MILLION PEOPLE THAT WE EXPECT OVER THE NEXT 25 YEARS.
UH, AND THAT'S ABSOLUTELY TRUE, AND BEXAR COUNTY WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE POPULATION CENTER AND THE JOB CENTER FOR THIS REGION.
BUT AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS MAP, WE EXPECT SOME TREMENDOUS GROWTH IN KAMUA, LUPE AS WELL.
THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE, UH, IN KENDALL KAMUA LUPE'S TRIPLE DIGIT.
AND SO THEY'RE GROWING AT A PHENOMENAL RATE, WHICH OF COURSE MEANS THAT THEY HAVE A LOT OF TRANSPORTATION ISSUES AND NEEDS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES AS WELL.
SO TODAY WE HAVE A POPULATION OF ABOUT 2.4 MILLION PEOPLE THAT DRIVE ON 12,000 LANE MILES A ROADWAY AND LOG OVER 67 MILLION VEHICLE MILES PER DAY.
AND WE EXPECT THAT TO INCREASE DRAMATICALLY OVER THE NEXT 25 YEARS, UH, TO A POPULATION OF 4.2 MILLION THAT ARE DRIVING ON 13,000 LANE MILES OF ROADWAY AND LOGGING ALMOST DOUBLE 116 MILLION VEHICLE MILES PER DAY.
AND THAT'S THE DILEMMA FOR OUR REGION AND THE ISSUE FOR OUR REGION THAT WE EXPECT TO DOUBLE IN POPULATION, DOUBLE IN THE VEHICLE MILES THAT ARE BEING DRIVEN, BUT ONLY ADDING AN, AN ADDITIONAL A THOUSAND LANE MILES OF ROADWAY BASED ON THE FEDERAL FUNDING AND THE STATE FUNDING THAT WE FORECAST TO COME TO THIS REGION.
AND SO OUR GOAL AND, AND OUR, UM, OUR, I GUESS NOT, NOT OUR GOAL, BUT OUR CHALLENGE WILL BE HOW WE MOVE PEOPLE OVER THE NEXT 25 YEARS WITHOUT ADDING AN ADDITIONAL TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ROADWAYS.
AND I, I WILL JUST SAY AS WELL, UM, BECAUSE IT'S AN ISSUE THAT'S TOP OF MIND RIGHT NOW, THE M P O BOUNDARY, I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE ASK, WELL, WHY IS IT LARGER THAN BAYER? WHY DOES IT INCLUDE UA LUPE? UM, THE M P O BOUNDARY IS DRIVEN BY THE CENSUS DESIGNATED URBAN AREA BOUNDARY, WHICH IS, UH, RELEASED EVERY
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10 YEARS, UH, AFTER THE DECENNIAL CENSUS.AND WE ACTUALLY JUST RECEIVED OUR NEW CENSUS URBAN AREA BOUNDARY, UM, LASTS, UH, JUST IN DECEMBER, UH, AND EARLY JANUARY.
AND BASED ON THAT, WE KNOW THAT WE, WE WILL BE REQUIRED TO EXPAND THE M P O BOUNDARY INTO MEDINA COUNTY AND MAYBE EVEN FURTHER INTO KENDALL COUNTY.
THOSE ARE CONVERSATIONS WE HAVE TO HAVE, BECAUSE THE M P O BOUNDARY, UH, IN ACCORDANCE TO FEDERAL RULES HAS TO BE LARGER THAN THE CENSUS DESIGNATED URBAN AREA BOUNDARY.
AND THAT CENSUS DESIGNATED AREA BOUNDARY HAS ALREADY SPILLED INTO MEDINA COUNTY BASED ON THE TREMENDOUS GROWTH THAT WE SEE IN WESTERN BEXAR COUNTY.
SO IN THE COMING MONTHS, WE'LL BE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR BOARD.
OF COURSE, EXPANDING THE BOUNDARY ALSO MEANS CHANGING THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD.
SO THOSE ARE DISCUSSIONS THAT'LL, THAT'LL HAPPEN, UH, BETWEEN THE BOARD MEMBERS AND ALSO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, BEXAR COUNTY, AND VIA V NPOS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I JUST MENTIONED THAT OUR URBAN AREA BOUNDARY IS BASED, OR THAT, I'M SORRY, THAT OUR M P O BOUNDARY IS BASED ON OUR URBAN AREA BOUNDARY, UH, BUT BASICALLY FEDERAL, STATE, THAT ANY URBAN AREA BOUNDARY THAT HAS 50,000 OR MORE IN POPULATION HAS TO HAVE AN M P O OR BE A PART OF AN M P O.
AND SO IN OUR REGION ALONE, YOU HAVE SAN ANTONIO, OF COURSE, WITH AN URBAN AREA BOUNDARY OF, UH, I BELIEVE 1.9 MILLION PEOPLE, UH, WHICH IS, AGAIN, SMALLER THAN THE MP THAN THE ACTUAL POPULATION, BUT IT'S BASED ON POPULATION DENSITY AND ROOFTOPS.
UH, AND THEN YOU ALSO HAVE NEW BRAUNFELS, WHICH IS, ITS SEPARATE AND, AND DISTINCT URBAN AREA, UH, WITH THE POPULATION OF ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
UM, SO OF COURSE, NEW BRAUNFELS IS A PART OF THIS M P O, SO THAT'S TAKEN CARE OF, NOT AN ISSUE.
UM, BUT THERE'S 400 MPOS AROUND THE COUNTRY.
23 IN TEXAS, ABOUT TO BE 24 EAGLE PASS, JUST SURPASSED THAT 50,000, UH, POPULATION THRESHOLD BASED ON THIS LAST CENSUS.
SO THEY'LL HAVE TO CREATE THEIR OWN M P O, UM, AS WELL.
UM, ALL OF THOSE 400 MPOS AROUND THE COUNTRY ARE DIFFERENT, UH, BOTH IN COMPLEXITY.
OUR JOKE, OUR RUNNING JOKE IS, IF YOU'VE SEEN ONE M P O, YOU'VE SEEN ONE M P O, UH, BECAUSE WE'RE ALL VERY DIFFERENT IN HOW WE OPERATE, WHERE WE'RE LOCATED.
SOME MPOS ARE INDEPENDENT, SOME ARE HOUSED WITHIN CITIES, SOME ARE HOUSED WITHIN COUNTIES, SOME ARE HOUSED WITHIN COGS.
UM, BUT REGARDLESS, WE'RE ALL REQUIRED, UH, TO FOLLOW WHAT WE CALL A THREE C PLANNING PROCESS.
UH, THE FIRST C BEING COOPERATIVE, MEANING THAT NO SINGLE AGENCY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENTIRE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
THAT'S WHY IT TAKES AN AGENCY LIKE THE M P O TO BRING THE CITIES, THE COUNTIES, TEXT VIA ALL OF YOUR TRANSPORTATION OPERATORS TOGETHER, UH, TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS, UH, FOR THE REGION, UM, AS OPPOSED TO EVERY ENTITY JUST DOING THEIR OWN THING.
COMPREHENSIVE MEANING THAT WE ENCOMPASS ALL MODES OF SURFACE TRANSPORTATION, SO BICYCLE, PEDESTRIAN, UM, OF COURSE, HIGHWAY ROADWAY TRANSIT PROJECTS.
AND IT'S CONTINUOUS MEANING THAT WE, ONCE WE FINISH ONE PLAN, WE'RE CONSTANTLY WORKING ON THE NEXT ONE.
THE WHOLE POINT OF THAT IS THAT NOTHING STAYS STALE.
THAT EVERYTHING IS CONTINUOUSLY BEING LOOKED AT BASED ON NEW PRODUCTIONS, NEW POPULATION ESTIMATES, AND NEW NEEDS FOR THE REGION.
UH, THIS CHART HERE SHOWS THE DIFFERENT, UM, BOARDS THAT ARE, OR, OR, UH, COMMITTEES THAT ARE, UM, AFFECT THE WORK THAT THE M P O DOES.
OUR TRANSPORTATION POLICY BOARD IS MADE UP OF 21 MEMBERS.
UH, WE MEET ONCE A MONTH AND THEY'RE, UH, ASSISTED THROUGH A NINE MEMBER EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE THAT HELPS MAKE THOSE IMPORTANT DECISIONS AS WELL.
UH, THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETS MONTHLY.
IT'S MADE UP OF 20 MEMBERS, UH, MAINLY ENGINEERS AND PLANNERS FROM ALL OF OUR RESPECTIVE PARTNER AGENCIES.
SO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, OF COURSE, HAS FOLKS ON THAT COMMITTEE, BEXAR COUNTY, UH, AND ALL THESE, THE MEMBER, UH, ENTITIES WITHIN THE, THAT THREE AND A HALF COUNTY REGION.
OUR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE HELPS, UM, DECIDE ON PEDESTRIAN AND, AND BICYCLE ISSUES THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO THE REGION.
AND THEN WE HAVE SEVERAL SUBCOMMITTEES THAT MEET AS NEEDED.
THIS IS A LIST OF THE 21, UH, BOARD MEMBERS, UH, CURRENTLY COMMISSIONER KEVIN WEBB FROM COMAL COUNTY IS OUR M P O CHAIR.
COUNCILWOMAN VEDA SERVES AS OUR CHAIR ELECT, AND SHE WILL ACTUALLY BE TAKING OVER AS CHAIR IN JUNE.
UH, SHE WILL SERVE A TWO YEAR TERM.
UH, AND THEN THE WAY THIS WORKS IS THAT, AND THIS GETS A LITTLE COMPLICATED, BUT WE HAVE, UM, THREE LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, THE CHAIR, THE CHAIR ELECT, AND THE FIRST VICE CHAIR.
AND THEN WE HAVE THREE BUCKETS OF CONSTITUENCIES, IS WHAT WE CALL 'EM.
WE HAVE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND ONE, UH, THE OUTER COUNTIES AND CITIES IN ANOTHER, AND THEN, UH, BEARER COUNTY AND THE SUBURBAN CITIES IN THE THIRD.
AND THOSE POSITIONS HAVE TO BE ELECTED OFFICIALS.
AND SO THEY ROTATE EVERY TWO YEARS.
SO, AGAIN, UH, COUNCILWOMAN MELISSA
SHE'LL SERVE HER TWO YEAR TERM.
AND THEN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WILL HAVE, UH, A, THE FIRST VICE CHAIR POSITION AFTER THAT, UH, AND THEN ROTATE AGAIN EVERY TWO YEARS UNTIL THEY BECOME CHAIR AGAIN.
SO IT KEEPS ALL OF THE ENTITIES, UH, IN, IN THOSE LEADERSHIP ROLES, MAKE SURE THAT, THAT, THAT, I DON'T WANNA SAY POWER, BUT
AND I DO, OF COURSE, WANT TO THANK, UH, COUNCILWOMAN TERRY CASTILLO AND COUNCILMAN COURAGE FOR THEIR SERVICE ON THE M P O BOARD AS WELL.
I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN THERE JUST FOR A COUPLE MONTHS, AND, UH, I BELIEVE RIA GROUND IS BRAND NEW TO THE BOARD.
SHE WILL BE ATTENDING HER FIRST MEETING HOPEFULLY THIS MONTH AS WELL.
AND AGAIN, WE, WE THANK YOU FOR THE SERVICE THAT YOU PROVIDE TO AND THE LEADERSHIP TO
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THAT TRANSPORTATION POLICY BOARD.THESE ARE THE FUNDING RESOURCES THAT THE, UM, M P O, UH, ACCOUNTS FOR.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT SPECIFIC HERE IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM, BUT, UH, IN TERMS OF FEDERAL FUNDING, WE DO, IN TERM, THE, THE MPOS WORK.
WE HAVE A STAFF OF ABOUT 20 PEOPLE, A LOT OF CONSULTANTS THAT HELP US, UH, IN MEETING THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE PLACED UPON US.
UH, AND SO THAT'S FUNDED THROUGH FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING FUNDS.
WE GET FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION SECTION 53 0 3 FUNDS, AND THEN FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, PL ONE 12 FUNDS, AGAIN, THAT HELP US CARRY OUT THAT WORK.
UM, THAT'S NOT A LOT OF THE MONEY THAT'S ACCOUNTED FOR AT THE N P O IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, MONEY FOR TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS THAT ACTUALLY COMES FROM, UM, FEDERAL HIGHWAY BILLS.
AND THE ONE THAT IS CURRENTLY IN PLACE IS A BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, WHICH IS, OF COURSE, APPROVED LAST YEAR AND PROVIDES RECORD NUMBER OF DOLLARS FOR, FOR FEDERALLY FUNDED TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT TO BE MADE FOR THE, OR A LOT TO BE SAID FOR THE NEW DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROGRAMS THAT ARE IN THAT BILL, BUT THAT'S ONLY ABOUT 10% OF THE MONEY THAT'S IN THAT FEDERAL BILL, THAT 90% OF IT IS GONNA COME THROUGH TRADITIONAL FUNDING FORMULAS.
AND SO THE M P O AND THIS REGION WILL RECEIVE A BIGGER SHARE OF THE FEDERALLY OF THE FORMULA FUNDING THAT WE NORMALLY GET.
AND SO I'LL GO OVER HOW THAT WORKS IN HERE IN A FEW, IN A FEW SLIDES.
IN TERMS OF STATE FUNDING, UM, THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS ADVANCED SEVERAL PROPOSITIONS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS THAT HAVE ACTUALLY GIVEN A LOT MORE MONEY TO TRANSPORTATION TO THIS REGION, WHICH IS HOW WE'RE DOING PROJECTS LIKE 1604 I 35, WHICH ARE CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION TODAY.
US 2 81, UH, PROPOSITION ONE, UH, GIVES OIL AND NATURAL TAX GAS, UH, SEVERANCE TAXES TO, UH, TRANSPORTATION OR ALLOCATE SOME OF THOSE TO TRANSPORTATION.
PROPOSITION SEVEN, UM, PUTS MORE OF THE CELLS AND USE TAX THAT ARE, THAT ARE, UM, GAINED WHEN MOTOR VEHICLES ARE PURCHASED BACK INTO TRANSPORTATION AS WELL.
AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE OUR TRADITIONAL STATE GAS TAX.
UM, IN THE PAST, FEDERAL FUNDING HAS MADE UP THE, THE, THE BULK OF THE FUNDING THAT COMES TO THIS REGION FOR TRANSPORTATION.
MOST OF THE MONEY THAT WE GET FOR TRANSPORTATION NOW COMES FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS.
ABOUT 30% IS FEDERAL FUNDING, AND ABOUT 70% IS NOW STATE FUNDING, WHICH AGAIN, IS HOW WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MOVE WITH SOME PRETTY LARGE PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THIS REGION AND THROUGHOUT THIS STATE OF TEXAS.
AND OF COURSE, THERE'S LOCAL FUNDING AS WELL THROUGH THE ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT.
SOME OF THAT MONEY COMES THROUGH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, UH, BEXAR COUNTY VIA AS WELL.
WHEN WE DO RECEIVE OUR FEDERAL FUNDING, IT DOESN'T COME DIRECTLY TO THE M P O IN A FORM OF A CHECK, OR, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T COME INTO A CHECKING ACCOUNT.
IT, IT ACTUALLY GOES THROUGH THE D O T THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
IT WORKS LIKE THIS IN EVERY, UH, STATE, UH, THROUGHOUT THE, THE COUNTRY.
UH, AND THEN IT'S UP TO THE STATE TO ALLOCATE THAT MONEY THROUGH DIFFERENT FORMULAS TO THE NPOS.
AND SO THERE'S 12 FUNDING CATEGORIES THAT TXDOT LOOKS AT WHEN THEY RECEIVE THAT FEDERAL MONEY.
SO THEY COMBINE THE STATE OF FEDERAL MONEY THAT COMES, UH, TO, TO THEM AND INTO ANY ONE OF THESE FUNDING CATEGORIES.
AND SOME OF THEM ARE REQUIRED TO COME DIRECTLY TO THE M P O.
SOME WE WORK IN CONJUNCTION WITH THEM TO, TO MAKE DECISIONS ON PROJECTS.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, THE ONES IN, IN LIGHT BLUE HERE, CATEGORIES TWO, UH, IS CALLED METROPOLITAN AREA CORRIDOR, CATEGORY FOUR, STATEWIDE CONNECTIVITY.
AND CATEGORY 12 IS STRATEGIC PRIORITY.
THOSE ARE BY FAR THE LARGEST FUNDING SOURCES THAT, UM, WE CAN ATTRIBUTE TO THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECTS.
AGAIN, HOW YOU'RE 35, YOUR 16 OH FOURS, YOUR, UH, TWO 80 ONES HAVE GOTTEN BUILT HERE IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, JUST TO GIVE AN EXAMPLE.
UM, AND THOSE ARE PROJECTS THAT ARE SELECTED BY THE M P O BOARD IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE TEXAS TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION.
SO WHAT WE DO AS AN M P O STAFF IS, UM, WE LOOK AT THE PRIORITY WORKING WITH TECH DOT AND OUR PARTNER AGENCIES.
WE LOOK AT THE PRIORITIES FOR THE REGION, PROJECTS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO BE BUILT OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
WE RANK AND PRIORITIZE THOSE, AND WE SEND THOSE UP TO THE COMMISSION.
AND THEN THEY CHOOSE THE PROJECTS THAT ARE SELECTED.
USUALLY THEY GO WITH THE TOP PRIORITIES FOR THE REGION, OF COURSE, UH, CATEGORIES FIVE, SEVEN, AND NINE THAT YOU SEE OUTLINED IN RED.
THESE ARE FUNDS THAT COME DIRECTLY TO THE M P O THROUGH THE D O T, BUT THAT ARE ALLOCATED TO THE M P O.
AND SO THOSE ARE, UM, FUNDING CATEGORIES THAT THE M P O BOARD USUALLY HOLDS, CALLS FOR PROJECTS FOR.
AND SO WHAT WE DO AS A STAFF IS A, WE PUT TOGETHER TIMELINES OF WHAT, UM, OF, OF THOSE CALLS FOR PROJECTS WE, UH, HOW MUCH WE EXPECT TO GET.
AND THEN, UM, LET THE PUBLIC AGENCIES KNOW, OKAY, WE HAVE THIS MUCH AVAILABLE OVER THESE NEXT FEW YEARS.
LET US KNOW WHAT PROJECT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU.
WE TECHNICALLY SCORE AND RANK THOSE PROJECTS.
AND THEN THE BOARD MAKES A SELECTION DIRECTLY ON WHAT PROJECTS MOVE FORWARD.
AND THEN THE OTHER CATEGORIES HERE, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE, UH, PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE AND REHABILITATION BRIDGE SAFETY CATEGORY 11, DISTRICT DISCRETIONARY.
THOSE ARE USUALLY SELECTED BY TECH DOT.
THE M P O STILL HAS TO APPROVE THOSE THROUGH OUR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS. THEY STILL HAVE THE FINAL STAY ON THOSE PROJECTS, BUT, UM, USUALLY THOSE PROJECT SELECTIONS ARE MADE DIRECTLY THROUGH, UM, THE THROUGH TECH DOT.
AND OF COURSE, TRANSIT FUNDING IS USUALLY, UH, THOSE DECISIONS ARE USUALLY MADE THROUGH VIA, BUT AGAIN, THE BOARD DOES APPROVE THAT THROUGH OUR PLANS AND PROGRAMS. AND SPEAKING OF PLANS AND PROGRAMS, I MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, THAT EVERY M P O IS DIFFERENT THAN THEY ARE, BUT WE'RE ALL REQUIRED TO DO SOME VERY SPECIFIC WORK.
AND THESE DOCUMENTS HERE OUTLINE THAT WORK.
AND I'LL, IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES, WE'LL GO INTO MORE DETAIL ON WHAT THESE, WHAT THESE ARE AND WHAT THEY MEAN.
UH, THE FIRST ONE LISTED HERE IS A UNIFIED PLANNING
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WORK PROGRAM, OR U P W P.THIS IS A BUDGET OF STUDIES THAT WE PLAN TO UNDERTAKE OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLAN IS ACTUAL PROJECTS, UH, THAT WE PLAN ON IMPLEMENTING OVER THE NEXT 25 YEARS.
SO IT'S OUR LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
THE DOCUMENT ITSELF OUTLINES GOALS AND STRATEGIES FOR THIS REGION.
UH, BUT IT ALSO, THE, THE MAIN PIECE OF THAT IS THE PROJECT LIST.
THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM IS OUR SHORT RANGE PLAN.
IT OUTLINES PROJECTS THAT WE EXPECT TO GO TO CONSTRUCTION IN THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
SO, ALTHOUGH IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE LISTED IN THE M T P OR THE LONG RANGE PLAN, IF YOU WANT THAT, IF THAT PROJECT IS GOING TO GO TO CONSTRUCTION, THEN, YOU KNOW, IN THE, IN THE NEAR TERM, IT NEEDS TO BE IN THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
AND BOTH OF THESE DOCUMENTS ARE WHAT WE CALL FINANCIALLY CONSTRAINED, MEANING THAT THEY'RE NOT A WISHLIST OF PROJECTS.
YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW THAT IF YOU'RE LISTED IN ONE OF THESE DOCUMENTS, THAT THAT PROJECT IS EXPECTED TO BE CONSTRUCTED EITHER OVER THE NEXT 25 YEARS OR OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
UM, AND THERE ARE OTHER DOCUMENTS IN BETWEEN.
I KNOW THAT'S A BIG DIFFERENCE, FOUR AND 25.
THERE ARE OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT THE STATE REQUIRES, BUT THESE ARE THE ONES THAT ARE FEDERAL REQUIRED FROM US.
AND THEN THE TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY DETERMINATION IS ONE THAT'S ONLY REQUIRED OF AREAS THAT ARE NON-ATTAINMENT, OR THOSE THAT ARE FAILING TO MEET AIR QUALITY STANDARDS.
AND AS ALL OF YOU PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW, BEXAR COUNTY IS A NON-ATTAINMENT AREA.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BEING ON ATTAINMENT ON THE TRANSPORTATION SIDE ARE PLACED ON THE M P O.
AND AGAIN, I'LL GO OVER HERE IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON WHAT THAT MEANS FOR US.
THE UNIFIED PLANNING WORK PROGRAM AT U P W P, AGAIN, UH, OUTLINES OUR M P O STAFF BUDGET AND ALL OF THE REGIONAL PLANNING STUDIES THAT WE PLAN TO UNDERTAKE OVER TWO YEAR TIMEFRAME.
THE WHOLE GOAL OF THOSE STUDIES IS TO INFORM THE WORK THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING IN OUR LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN OR, OR, OR SHORT RANGE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
THESE ARE NOT ENGINEERING STUDIES, THEY'RE NOT STUDIES THAT ARE LOOKING HOW YOU CAN CONSTRUCT A PROJECT.
IT'S MORE OF, YOU KNOW, REGIONALS PLANNING AND, UH, STUDIES THAT, AGAIN, WILL INFORM LARGER PROJECTS IN THE FUTURE.
A GOOD EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THOSE IS, UH, I, I SAY IT ALL THE TIME, BUT LIKE BEFORE WE HAD BUS RAPID TRANSIT OR ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT, THE M P O DID A FEASIBILITY STUDY, WHETHER THAT WOULD WORK IN THIS REGION.
SO IT'S NOT AN ENGINEERING STUDY, IT WAS JUST TO SEE LIKE, CAN THIS REGION SUPPORT A PROJECT LIKE BUS RAPID TRANSIT OR ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT? AND OF COURSE IT DID.
AND THE FIRST QUARTER THAT WAS HIGHLIGHTED IN THAT STUDY YEARS AGO WAS FREDERICKSBURG ROAD.
AND NOW YOU SEE, OF COURSE, PRIMO AND FREDERICKSBURG ROAD.
SO THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF THESE STUDIES, IS TO KIND OF FOLLOW THE PROCESS THROUGH AND INFORM PROJECTS IN THE FUTURE.
OUR, OUR CURRENT U P W P, UH, IS FOR FISCAL YEARS 22, 22 AND 23.
IT INCLUDES STUDIES ON RESILIENCY, LOOKING AT HOW, UM, YOU KNOW, CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTS TRANSPORTATION AND HOW WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT OUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IS RESILIENT FOR THE FUTURE.
UM, CURB MANAGEMENT STUDY IS, IS ALSO LISTED IN THERE, WHICH BASICALLY LOOKS AT THE COMPETING USES OF, OF, OF CURBS TODAY.
YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WITH UBER AND LYFT AND FREIGHT DELIVERIES, WE'RE SEEING MORE AND MORE COMPETITION FOR CURB MANAGEMENT.
AND SO WE'RE JUST TRYING TO DO SOME REGIONAL STUDIES BENCHMARKING TO SEE HOW OTHER AREAS ARE HANDLING THAT, AND HOW WE CAN MAYBE, UH, IMPLEMENT SOME POLICY CHANGES HERE IN THIS REGION.
AND THEN FREIGHT PLANNING AS WELL.
OUR NEW FIS, UH, U P L P P WILL BE ADOPTED THIS YEAR IN JUNE.
UH, AND THAT WILL BE FOR FISCAL YEARS 2024 AND 2025.
AND SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
WE WILL BE COMING TO OUR BOARD HERE IN THE NEXT MONTH OR SO TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT PLANNING STUDIES WE PLAN TO UNDERTAKE, OR THAT, THAT NEW TWO YEAR PERIOD.
THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THE STUDIES THAT WE'VE DONE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
UM, AGAIN, THESE STUDIES ARE STUDIES THAT HOPEFULLY WILL THEN INFORM PROJECTS FOR THE FUTURE.
UH, I'LL GIVE YOU ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF ONE THAT'S LISTED HERE.
THE MANAGED AND OR TRANSIT PRIORITY LANE STUDY WAS DONE IN 2016.
UH, THAT WAS LOOKING AT WAYS TO, UM, LOOK AT THE CAPACITY ON OUR EXISTING HIGHWAYS AND SEEING HOW WE CAN MAYBE GIVE, UH, EITHER TRANSIT OR CARPOOLING VAN POOLING AN ADVANTAGE IN TERMS OF HOW PEOPLE MOVE THROUGHOUT THOSE CORRIDORS.
AND THAT'S WHAT'S LED TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HIGH ANCY VEHICLE LANES ON PORTIONS OF 1604, US 2 81, AND I USE 10, FOR EXAMPLE.
AGAIN, THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLAN, OR M T P OUTLINES THE LONG RANGE STRATEGIES FOR THIS REGION.
UH, OUR CURRENT PLAN GOES TO THE YEAR 2050.
IT OUTLINES CURRENT TRENDS, UH, IN POPULATION JOBS, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND INCOME MODE, CHOICE.
UM, AND THEN IT PROJECTS THOSE OUT BASED ON, YOU KNOW, JUST PLANNING ASSUMPTIONS.
NOTHING, WE DON'T HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, BUT WE HAVE TO MAKE ASSUMPTIONS.
AND SO WE, WE TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN THE NEXT 25 YEARS.
AND THAT THEN INFORMS THE TYPE OF PROJECTS THAT END UP IN THAT LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
AS I NOTED EARLIER, UM, THE PROJECTS THAT ARE LISTED IN THIS PLAN ARE, IT'S NOT A WISHLIST, RIGHT? YOU, THE WHOLE POINT OF THAT IS TO ALSO FORECAST FUNDING THAT WE EXPECT TO GET OVER THAT 25 YEAR PA PERIOD AND THEN TIE SPECIFIC PROJECTS TO THOSE DOLLARS.
OUR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM OR TIP IS OUR SHORT RANGE PLAN.
AGAIN, IT'S A FOUR YEAR LIST OF TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS APPROVED FOR TRANSPORTATION FUNDING.
WE HEAR THE TERM SHOVEL READY, THROWN AROUND QUITE A BIT.
YOU KNOW, SHOVEL READY BASICALLY MEANS THAT YOUR PROJECT IS, YOU KNOW, AT
[00:20:01]
SOME PRETTY FINAL STAGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE.YOU'VE DONE THE ENGINEERING WORK THAT'S REQUIRED FOR THAT PROJECT.
UH, THE RIGHT OF WAY HAS EITHER BEEN ACQUIRED, IS ABOUT TO BE ACQUIRED.
MOST OF THE PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THIS TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM SHOULD BE PRETTY ALMOST FINISHED WITH ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
AND SO TECHNICALLY SHOULD BE PRETTY SHOVEL READY.
UH, THIS, THIS AGAIN DOES SET A BUDGET OF THE, OF THE FUNDING THAT WE EXPECT TO RECEIVE OVER THAT FOUR YEAR PERIOD, ENTICE PROJECTS TO THOSE DOLLARS.
IT IS DEVELOPED COOPERATIVELY AMONG OUR PARTNER AGENCIES.
AND AGAIN, IT IS, UH, LED OR INFLUENCED BY THE LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
IN TERMS OF OUR TIP, UH, WE ADOPT THE TIP, ALTHOUGH IT'S A FOUR YEAR DOCUMENT, IT'S UPDATED EVERY TWO YEARS.
AGAIN, THAT'S PART OF THAT CONTINUOUS PROCESS, RIGHT? WE'RE CONTINUOUSLY LOOKING AT THESE DOCUMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT GETTING STALE.
AND SO OUR NEXT TIP WILL BE ADOPTED NEXT YEAR.
AND SO WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING A CALL FOR PROJECTS FOR THREE FUNDING SOURCES.
UH, THOSE ARE FEDERAL FUNDS, SO THEY DO REQUIRE A 20% LOCAL MATCH WHEN, UH, SUBMIT MAKING THOSE SUBMITTALS TO US.
UH, IT IS A REIMBURSABLE PROGRAM, UH, MEANING THAT ALL FEDERAL AND STATE RULES APPLY, AND THAT THE AGENCY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING FOR THOSE PROJECTS UPFRONT, AND THEN THEY'RE REIMBURSED AS THE WORK IS BEING COMPLETED.
UH, PROJECTS WILL BE PROGRAMMED IN FISCAL YEARS 25 THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2028, WHICH IS GONNA BE THE FOUR YEARS OF THE NEXT DOCUMENT.
THESE ARE THE FUNDING SOURCES THAT WE'LL HAVE IN THIS NEXT CALL FOR PROJECTS.
THE FIRST ONE LISTED HERE IS THE CONGESTION, MITIGATION AND AIR QUALITY FUNDING, OR CMAC.
THIS IS MONEY THAT'S ALLOCATED TO THE NON-ATTAINMENT, UH, MPOS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
AGAIN, OUR, OUR NON-ATTAINMENT AREA IS ONLY BEXAR COUNTY, SO THOSE FUNDS CAN ONLY BE USED IN BEXAR COUNTY.
AND IT IS FOCUSED ON PROJECTS THAT, UH, HAVE A BENEFIT ON EMISSIONS.
SO, IN OTHER WORDS, MAKING THE AIR BETTER, CLEANING THE AIR, WHICH THEN HELPS US WITH SOME OTHER DOCUMENTS AGAIN, THAT I'LL, I'LL TALK ABOUT IN A FEW MINUTES.
THE CARBON REDUCTION PROGRAM, OR THE C R P IS A NEW FUNDING SOURCE THAT CAME OUT OF THIS LAST, UH, THE, OF THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW.
THIS IS FUNDING THAT IS BEING ALLOCATED TO REDUCE TRAFFIC CONGESTION, UH, BY FACILITATING ALTERNATIVE USE, UH, ALTERNATIVE TYPE PROJECTS, SINGLE ALTERNATIVES TO SINGLE VEHICLES.
SO, IN OTHER WORDS, WE'RE TRYING TO GET PEOPLE, UH, TO EITHER CARPOOL, VAN POOL.
UM, SO THERE'S DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE GONNA BE CATEGORIZED FOR ELIGIBILITY UNDER THIS PROGRAM.
AGAIN, IT IS BRAND NEW, SO WE'RE STILL WORKING WITH TXDOT TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY, UH, WHAT TYPE OF PROJECTS WILL BE, UM, ELIGIBLE FOR THESE FUNDS.
BUT THE WAY WE CAN, WE THINK ABOUT IT NOW, IS BASICALLY CONGESTION MITIGATION, AIR QUALITY FUNDS FOR THE ENTIRE M P O REGION AS OPPOSED TO JUST AN ENTERTAINMENT AREA.
THE WHOLE GOAL OF THESE FUNDS IS TO CLEAN THE AIR THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COUNTRY, NOT JUST IN THOSE NON-ATTAINMENT REGIONS.
UH, TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES IS FUNDING FOR BICYCLE PEDESTRIAN TYPE PROJECTS.
UH, THESE ARE PROJECTS THAT MUST BE IN FACILITIES THAT ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
AND WE SAY THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS CAN'T BE, UM, IN A PARK THAT, OR, UH, A GOOD, A BETTER EXAMPLE IS THROUGH, UM, AN ARMY BASE OR SOMETHING THAT'S NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ALL THE TIME.
UH, THE N P O DOES RECEIVE ANNUAL ALLOCATIONS THROUGH EACH OF THESE DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES AND CONGESTION MITIGATION, AIR QUALITY, WE GET ABOUT $22 MILLION A YEAR.
CARBON REDUCTION PROGRAM, AGAIN, IS BRAND NEW.
WE'LL BE GETTING ABOUT SEVEN AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR THROUGH THAT PROGRAM.
AND TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES IS ABOUT THE SAME SEVEN AND A HALF MILLION.
SO IT'S NOT A, A TON OF MONEY, BUT IT IS ENOUGH TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET SOME GOOD PROJECTS, UH, THROUGH THIS CALL FOR PROJECTS.
THE CALL WILL OFFICIALLY BEGIN ON MAY THE FIRST.
WE WILL HAVE PUBLIC INPUT AS A PORT PART OF THIS PROCESS.
WE DO WITH EVERYTHING THAT WE DO.
UM, AND SO PROJECT SELECTION AGAIN, WILL BE BASED ON TECHNICAL SCORE, AGING AGENCY PRIORITY PROJECT READINESS, AND THAT PUBLIC INPUT.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE POLICY BOARD WILL HAVE THE FINAL SAY ON WHAT PROJECTS GET SELECTED.
SO PROJECT CALL BEGINS MAY 1ST.
WE, UH, I THINK THIS NEXT SLIDE HAS A TIMELINE.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE HERE ON THE LEFT, MAY 1ST IS WHEN THE, THE CALL BEGINS, WE WILL HAVE AN INFORMATIONAL WORKSHOP FOR ANY ENTITY, UH, WHO WANTS TO SUBMIT PROJECTS TO US.
IT WILL BE REQUIRED FOR THEM TO ATTEND SO THEY UNDERSTAND, UH, THE REQUIREMENTS, EACH OF EACH OF THOSE FUNDING SOURCES AND THE DOLLARS THAT THEY'RE RECEIVING IF THEY, IF THEY'RE AWARDED A PROJECT, UH, IN MAY AND JUNE IS WHEN WE EXPECT THE AGENCIES TO DEVELOP THE PROJECT LIST THAT THEY'RE GONNA SUBMIT TO US AND COME UP WITH A LOCAL MATCH FOR THOSE, UM, FOR THOSE PROJECTS.
AUGUST 1ST IS WHEN THOSE PROJECTS ARE DUE TO US, UH, ARE IN SEPTEMBER, OUR TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND OUR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL BE SCORING THOSE PROJECTS.
AND THEN WE'LL DO THE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IN OCTOBER WITH SELECTION BY THE BOARD IN DECEMBER IN PREPARATION FOR THE DOCUMENT, WHICH IS DUE TO T.BY MAY OF NEXT YEAR.
AND THEN AGAIN, UH, TRANSPORTATION BEFORE CONFORMITY DOCUMENT IS A FOURTH DOCUMENT THAT WAS LISTED THERE AS A REQUIREMENT FOR ALL MPOS.
THOSE THAT ARE NON-ATTAINMENT, UH, TRANSPORTATION CONFORMITY ENSURES THAT ALL FEDERALLY FUNDED OR APPROVED TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS AND AN MPOS PLANS ARE CONSISTENT WITH THEIR QUALITY.
IN OTHER WORDS, AS A WHOLE, NOT INDIVIDUALLY, BUT AS A WHOLE, THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE, THAT WE ARE BUILDING HERE OVER
[00:25:01]
THE NEXT 25 YEARS, OR THE, THE FOUR YEARS OF THAT SHORT RANGE PLAN, WE HAVE TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE NOT FURTHER DEGRADING THE AIR.SO WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH A LOT OF TECHNICAL WORK TO DO THAT MODELING WORK.
AND THEN IT REQUIRES ASSISTANCE THROUGH THE TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE, UH, THROUGH SOME E P A, UH, REQUIRED MODELS TO ENSURE THAT, AGAIN, ALL THOSE PROJECTS ARE NOT MAKING THE AIR WORSE.
IT'S A VERY COMPLICATED PROCESS.
UH, IT'S ONE THAT REQUIRES A LOT OF PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AS WELL.
AND IT, IT, THE, THE CHALLENGE FOR THE M P O, OF COURSE, IS TRYING TO TAKE THAT TECHNICAL WORK AND TRYING TO PUT IT IN, UM, IN A WAY THAT'S PUBLIC FRIENDLY.
SO THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS WHAT WHAT'S BEING ASKED OF US.
UH, IT, IT, AGAIN, IT'S A HUGE UNDERTAKING AND ONE THAT WE'RE PRETTY NEW TO.
UH, BUT I DO COMMEND OUR STAFF FOR, FOR DOING THAT WORK.
WE'VE RECEIVED TWO, UH, CONFORMITY ANALYSIS APPROVALS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, AND WE HAVE, WE'VE CURRENTLY WON BEFORE THE FEDERAL HEIGHT ADMINISTRATION, FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION TODAY THAT'S BEING REVIEWED.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY THAT'LL GET APPROVED SOON.
WE SHOWED THIS CHART, UH, JUST TO SHOW THAT, BECAUSE OF COURSE, WE WERE DECLARED NOT ATTAINMENT FOR FAILING TO MEET AIR QUALITY STANDARDS IN 2018.
AND SO A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK THAT THAT MUST HAVE MEANT THAT THE AIR GOT WORSE THAN BEXAR COUNTY ALL OF A SUDDEN FOR US TO BE DECLARED THAT WAY.
AND THE REALITY IS THAT IT HASN'T GOTTEN WORSE.
IT'S THAT THE STANDARD ITSELF HAS BEEN LOWERED OVER THE LAST FEW DECADES.
SO IN 2015, THE E P A DID, ITS, DID TIGHTEN THEIR QUALITY STANDARDS.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THIS CHART, I KNOW IT'S A LITTLE COMPLICATED, BUT ON THE, ON THE LEFT, UH, HERE, THE NUMBERS THAT ARE, UH, VERTICAL, YOU'LL SEE THE DESIGN VALUE.
UH, SO BACK IN 2000, FOR EXAMPLE, THE STANDARD, IF YOU WERE, IF YOU WERE ABOVE 85 PARTS PER BILLION IN OZONE, THAT'S WHEN YOU WERE DECLARED NON-ATTAINMENT.
THAT HAS GONE DOWN TO 70 PARTS PER BILLION TODAY.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT CAUSED, UM, US TO BE DECLARED TAINMENT.
SO IN 2018, WHEN WE WERE DECLARED NON-ATTAINMENT, WE HAD THREE YEARS TO CLEAN OUR AIR.
UM, AND THEN AFTER THAT, WE WOULD, WE WOULD BE, UM, OUT OF NON-ATTAINMENT.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE DIDN'T DO THAT.
UM, AND SO WE WERE BUMPED UP TO WHAT WE CALL MODERATE.
SO THERE'S DIFFERENT, UM, ATTAIN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S DIFFERENT CATEGORIES FOR, FOR NON-ATTAINMENT.
THE FIRST ONE BEING MARGINAL, IT GOES UP TO MODERATE AND THEN SERIOUS.
AND SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE CONSIDERED A MODERATE, UH, M P O OR MODERATE REGION FOR NON-ATTAINMENT.
AND SO HOPEFULLY THE, THE GOAL IS THAT THE, THE, THE DOLLARS THAT ARE, THAT ARE GIVEN TO US, UM, IMPLEMENT PROJECTS, AGAIN, THAT REDUCE THOSE EMISSIONS.
IT'S, IT'S A TOUGH CHALLENGE THOUGH.
UM, THERE'S VERY FEW NPOS THAT ONCE THEY GO INTO NON-ATTAINMENT COME OUTTA NON-ATTAINMENT, UNFORTUNATELY.
UM, BUT EVEN ONCE YOU COME OUT OF NON-ATTAINMENT, YOU'RE CONSIDERED A MAINTENANCE AREA FOR 20 YEARS.
SO WE EXPECT TO BE DOING THIS WORK FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
UH, AND THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE OF THE, THE, THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLAN TRANSPORTATION NETWORK.
UH, THIS IS THE, THE NETWORK THAT WE LOOK AT WHEN WE, THESE ARE THE REGIONALLY SIGNIFICANT ROADWAYS WITHIN THE REGION.
AND THESE ARE THE NETWORKS THAT WE LOOK AT WHEN WE'RE, UM, LOOKING AT THE PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED AND HOW THAT ANA EMISSIONS ANALYSIS IS DONE, AND HOW THOSE RESULTS ARE, ARE PASSED ON TO US THROUGH THE TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE.
AND IN TERMS OF, UH, THE MPOS PROGRAMS AND CAPABILITIES, UH, THERE'S A LOT MORE TO THE WORK THAT WE DO.
ASIDE FROM THAT, THAT'S FEDERALLY REQUIRED OF US.
WE, UH, AGAIN, ARE A, A, AN AGENCY THAT IS VERY HEAVY ON PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND PUBLIC FACING WORK.
SO WE DO HAVE, UM, UH, AN IMAP, WHICH IS BASICALLY, UM, A TOOL THAT ALLOWS THE PUBLIC TO GO IN AND LOOK AT DIFFERENT LAYERS OF EITHER PROJECTS, BOUNDARIES, UH, ELECTED OFFICIALS.
IT IS BASICALLY A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR ALL OF THE TECHNICAL TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION THAT YOU WOULD EVER WANT.
UM, THE ALAMO COMMUTES PROGRAM IS OUR TRAVEL, UM, DEMAND MANAGEMENT, UM, WORK THAT WE DO TO TRY TO HELP PEOPLE GET OUT OF THEIR SINGLE ANCY VEHICLES.
WE WORK WITH LARGE COMPANIES TO TRY TO GET THEM TO INSTITUTE THOSE T D M, UM, PROGRAMS THAT WILL THEN GET PEOPLE TO CARPOOL VANPOOL, OR TO USE TRANSIT.
UH, WE DO A LOT OF TRAVEL DEMAND MODELING WORK, WHICH IS WHAT INFORMS OUR LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLANS.
WE DO A LOT OF BICYCLE SKILLS CLASSES TO HELP PEOPLE FEEL COMFORTABLE RIDING, UH, BICYCLES, NOT JUST KIDS, BUT ADULTS AS WELL.
SO WE DO THOSE FOR ADULTS TOO, WHERE WE HAD OUT, UH, BIKE HELMETS AND LIGHTS TO TRY TO GET PEOPLE AGAIN, OUT OF THOSE SINGLE ANCY VEHICLES.
I KNOW THERE WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION, BUT AGAIN, WE JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU KIND OF AN UPDATE, UH, ON THE M P O AS A WHOLE.
AND OF COURSE, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF THERE ARE ANY AT THIS TIME.
THAT WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION.
I FEEL LIKE WE'VE GOTTEN OH, IT'S GOOD THOUGH.
I THINK, I FEEL LIKE WE'VE GOTTEN A, UM, PRESENTATIONS ON EACH ONE OF THESE SLIDES AT MPO, SO THERE'S SO MUCH MORE THAT GOES BEHIND EVERY SLIDE.
BUT, UM, I, I WANNA SAY JUST A MO TAKE A MOMENT TO SAY, I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE MORE, MORE COLLABORATIVE, UM, BOARDS THAT I SIT ON FOR THE CITY.
UH, I, I'M REALLY GRATEFUL TO BE A PART OF IT.
UM, I THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU SHOWED THAT ONE OF THE FIRST SLIDES WAS ALL THE BUCKETS.
UM, AND WE EACH ADVOCATE FOR OUR OWN BUCKET, OUR OWN ENTITY WE'RE COMING FROM.
BUT IT REALLY IS A SYM, THERE'S A SYMBIOSIS THERE.
'CAUSE TRANSPORTATION IN SAN ANTONIO AFFECTS KENDALL COUNTY.
[00:30:01]
UM, EVEN OUR TRANSIT, IT ALL, WE ALL AFFECT EACH OTHER.SO IT'S A, A VERY STRONG RELATIONSHIP.
UM, NOT THAT WE GET, DON'T GET INTO OUR, OUR SPATS, YOU KNOW, BUT IT'S, UH, I THINK I REALLY ENJOY BEING ON THE BOARD.
UM, I THINK THE FIRST THING THAT I LEARNED TOO, AND THIS IS MORE FOR THE BENEFIT OF OUR COMMITTEE THAT, UH, ON THE M P O, IS THAT WE DON'T GENERATE REVENUE, RIGHT? WE DON'T LIKE, HAVE MONEY THAT WE HAVE AND KEEP IN A BUCKET AND GIVE AWAY.
IT COMES FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES.
I THINK THAT WAS A SLIDE TO DIFFERENT SOURCES, AND THEN WE, WE ALLOCATE IT OUT.
AND SO SOMETIMES THAT'S WHERE SOME OF THE CONFLICT COMES IN, IS WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE DOING THAT.
BUT I THINK FOR THE MOST PART, WE ALL COLLABORATE, REALIZING, YOU KNOW WHAT, THEY NEED IT MORE THAN WE DO RIGHT NOW, OR, UM, UH, OR THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
SO I'M, I REALLY DO ENJOY AND LEARN, HAVE LEARNED A LOT.
I STILL FEEL LIKE, I MEAN, TRANSPORTATION CAN BE VERY COMPLICATED, WE ALL KNOW.
AND, UM, SO, BUT I, I'VE LEARNED SO MUCH BEING ON THIS BOARD.
UH, I WANNA TAKE JUST A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT, I THINK IT'S THE FOURTH SLIDE.
UM, THE, THE STUDY AREA SLIDE.
THE, YEAH, THE, UM, THE POPULATION GROWTH, IT'S A MAP.
I THINK IT'S, UH, I THINK IT'S SLIDE FOUR, THE POPULATION YOU TALKED ABOUT THE M THE M P O STUDY AREA.
UM, IT'S A, IT PAINTS A VERY EYE-OPENING PICTURE.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT KENDALL KAMAL, GUADALUPE BEAR, AND MENTIONING THAT BY 2050 WE'LL HAVE 4.2 MILLION PEOPLE, A LITTLE OVER 4.2 MILLION PEOPLE IN THESE FOUR COUNTIES.
AND AS YOU MENTIONED, WE MIGHT BE GROWING TO DIFFERENT, UM, OR INCLUDING NEW REGIONS.
AND NOW THAT THE NEW CENSUS, UH, TRACKS ARE OUT, UM, WE'RE TALKING, OF COURSE, SAN ANTONIO, BERNIE, UH, SINE NEW BRAUNFELS IS OUT OF IT.
RIGHT? UM, BUT, BUT I MEAN, IF I HEARD YOU CORRECTLY, RIGHT, THEY'VE GOT THEIR OWN MPO IS PART OF IT, IS PART OF THE M P O, OF COURSE.
SO, UM, I, I THINK THE OTHER THING WE HAVE TO REMEMBER IS BY 2037, ABOUT SEVEN AND A HALF MILLION PEOPLE ARE GONNA LIVE ON THE I 35 CORRIDOR.
SO IT'S NOT JUST IN THIS GROUP.
WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT GOING BACK AND FORTH TO OUR, OUR PRIMOS AUSTIN DOWN THE ROAD, RIGHT? UM, SO I THINK THE WORK THAT WE DO ON THIS COMMITTEE AND, AND, AND THIS COMMITTEE HERE, TRANSPORTATION, AND THEN AT, AT THE M P O, THEY SET THE FOUNDATION AND THE PLANNING FOR THE GROWTH THAT WE'RE GONNA INCUR IN THE NEXT, UH, FEW DECADES.
AND THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE, I DON'T THINK CAN BE OVERSTATED.
UM, TRANSPORTATION HAS TO BE, UH, ALL OF OUR MINDS, NOT JUST PEOPLE, UH, THAT ARE ON THIS COMMITTEE OR M P O AND ON ALL OF THE COUNCIL'S MIND, BUT THE STAKES ARE THAT WE ARE, WE DON'T WANNA KICK THIS DOWN THE DOWN THE ROAD.
WE CAN'T KICK THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD.
WE HAVE TO START LOOKING AT IT NOW.
THE POPULATION'S NOT GONNA STOP.
I MEAN, THE GROWTH ISN'T GONNA STOP.
UM, WE'RE EITHER TRANSFORMING OUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM RIGHT NOW TO THRIVE, OR WE'RE GONNA BE LEFT BEHIND.
AND, UM, AND WE'RE ALL GONNA SUFFER FOR THAT.
UM, ESPECIALLY OUR MO MOST VULNERABLE, UH, COMMUNITIES.
SO, UM, I JUST DON'T WANNA BE OVERWHELMED BY IT ALL.
I THINK WE JUST HAVE TO KEEP MOVING WITH THE POPULATION GROWTH.
AND, AND ANOTHER, AND, YOU KNOW, WHILE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT, YOU MENTIONED THAT WE HAVE, UM, WE DON'T JUST TALK ABOUT TRANSPORTATION ROADS, RIGHT? BIKE, BIKE LANES, BIKE, UH, SAFETY, UM, AIR QUALITY.
SO MUCH OF THAT IS, IS JUST REALLY IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THOSE THINGS AT N P O.
'CAUSE I THINK PEOPLE JUST THINK WE'RE TALKING HIGHWAYS.
UM, WHEN, I MEAN, WE EVEN DID THE, THE HELP.
UM, WE HELPED FUND THE, UH, THE HELP TRUCKS, YOU KNOW, THAT GO ALONG.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT? THE, WHAT WERE THEY CALLED? THE TRUCKS THAT WILL HELP YOU ON THE OH, THE HERO TRUCKS.
UM, THAT I THINK IS REALLY INCREDIBLE THAT I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'ALL HAVE SEEN THOSE HERO TRUCKS ON THE ROAD.
UM, I REMEMBER VOTING ON THAT, AND I FEEL LIKE THAT'S SOMETHING I CAN POINT TO AND BE LIKE, I WAS A SMALL PART OF, OF GETTING THAT ON THE ROAD.
UM, SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS SOMEWHAT FOR MAYBE ROD OR TAMIKA, BUT HOW WE CAN COORDINATE A LITTLE BETTER, UM, WITH M P O TO, FOR, FOR, FOR OUR, OUR KIND OF PRIORITIES, RIGHT? COMPLETE STREETS, VISION ZERO, THE BIKE PLAN, ALL THESE THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT, UM, AS A MATTER OF FACT LATER TODAY, AND HOW WE CAN COORDINATE A LITTLE BETTER WITH N P O.
FOR THOSE OF YOU ON, UM, ON M P O, WE, UH, YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED WE ADVOCATE FOR THE CITY, BUT IT IS, IT IS, THERE'S THAT SYMBIOSIS THAT WE HAVE TO WORK WITH.
SO I'M CURIOUS IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT, OR SID, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT? YEAH, I'LL JUST SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY OUR BOARD ONLY COMES IN ONCE A MONTH, BUT I, I JUST WANT YOU TO, TO KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THE STAFF AT THE CITY IS, IS GREAT TO WORK WITH, AND THEY'RE INVOLVED IN DIFFERENT COMMITTEES THAT WE HAVE AT THE M P O TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, OR ADV, UH, ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND THOSE ARE THE GROUPS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT IT FROM A TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE AND GIVING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE BOARD.
SO ULTIMATELY, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER YOU VOTE ON OR YOU APPROVE, UH, IS COMING FROM, FROM EVERYBODY SITTING AROUND.
SO WE WORK REGIONALLY, OF COURSE, AS A BOARD, BUT WE ALSO DO THAT AT THE TECHNICAL LEVEL AS WELL.
AND SO, I JUST WANT YOU TO, TO KNOW THAT YOU, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU DO HAVE THAT REPRESENTATION AT THOSE COMMITTEE LEVELS THAT ARE HELPING INFORM THOSE PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING SELECTED AND THOSE DECISIONS THAT ARE BEING MADE BY YOU.
ULTIMATELY, THE DECISION IS AT THE BOARD, AND, AND YOU GUYS CAN
[00:35:01]
GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION, OF COURSE MM-HMM.THERE'S SO MUCH MORE THAT GOES INTO WHAT YOU JUST SEE AT, AT NM P O MEETINGS, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SO THAT, THAT'S REALLY GOOD POINT.
DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD, RON? NO, I WAS, I WAS JUST GONNA ECHO WHAT
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES BETWEEN OUR, OUR STAFFS, UH, ON VARIOUS PROJECTS.
SO I, I DO FEEL LIKE WE, WE ARE PRETTY COORDINATED, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO PROJECTS.
WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL.
UH, AND IT MAKES FOR BETTER PROCESSES.
WE'LL MOVE OVER TO COMMITTEE QUESTIONS NOW.
I, YOU TOUCHED ON SOMETHING THAT I HADN'T HEARD EARLIER, AND I'D LIKE TO, TO KNOW.
UH, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY AND PUBLIC SAFETY ON OUR STREETS AND ROADWAYS.
AND SO TO ME, UH, VISION ZERO IS A BIG ISSUE.
DISTRACTED DRIVING'S A BIG ISSUE.
COMPLETE STREETS WHERE PEOPLE CAN WALK SAFELY AS WELL AS BIKE OR, OR DRIVE, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE ALL THOSE INTEGRATED IN WHAT THE M P O HAS DONE OR CAN DO? YEAH, AND I, I DON'T WANNA GET IN THE WEEDS, BUT THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION BECAUSE A LOT OF THOSE THINGS ARE ACTUALLY PART OF THE SCORING THAT WE DO.
YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED THAT WHEN WE DO PROJECT SELECTION, THERE'S A LOT THAT GOES INTO IT.
IT'S, IT'S THE AGENCY PRIORITIES.
SO WHEN YOU SUBMIT PROJECTS TO US, WE ASK THAT YOU RANK THEM BASED ON YOUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY VERSUS YOUR FIFTH PRIORITY.
BUT A BIG COMPONENT OF IT IS THE TECHNICAL SCORE.
AND THE TECHNICAL SCORE IS BASED ON SAFETY METRICS, ON COMPLETE STREET METRICS, THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO THIS REGION AS A WHOLE, RIGHT? WHEN WE'RE SELECTING PROJECTS, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY MAKE SENSE AND THAT THEY'RE GONNA MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND AN IMPACT, BECAUSE THESE FEDERAL FUNDS ARE SCARCE.
AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TECHNICAL SCORING, THAT'S A, THAT'S A COMPONENT OF THOSE PROJECTS.
AND WE, WE WILL GO OVER THAT WITH THE FULL BOARD.
FOR EXAMPLE, AT OUR NEXT MEETING, UH, ON MONDAY, WE'LL KIND OF GO OVER WHAT THE PROJECT CALL IS ENTAILS, AND THEN WE'LL GO OVER EACH PROJECT FUNDING CATEGORY AND THE SCORING.
BUT YEAH, YOU'LL SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, ACCIDENT RATES, CRASH RATES, UH, WHICH OF COURSE INCLUDE DISTRACTED DRIVING AND THINGS THAT ARE, OR REASONS WHY THOSE CRASHES, UH, ARE, ARE OCCURRING.
UH, THERE IS A COMPLETE, UH, A BICYCLE.
YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE BICYCLE PROJECTS, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE, THAT THE TOP PRIORITY IS GOING TO COMPLETE STREETS OR THOSE PROJECTS THAT ARE ACTUALLY DOING MORE THAN JUST ADDING A BIKE LANE WHERE DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, RIGHT? WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S BEING CONNECTED TO A NETWORK.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IF, IF YOU'RE REHABILITATING THE WHOLE ENTIRE ROADWAY AND YOU'RE, YOU'RE MAKING, YOU'RE ADDING SIDEWALKS AND BIKE LANES AND YOU'RE ACCOUNTING FOR TRANSIT, THAT THOSE PROJECTS RISE TO THE TOP.
AND SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW IT'S INTEGRATED INTO THE PLANNING WORK THAT WE DO AND MAKING SURE THAT THE BEST PROJECTS ARE COMING OUT OF, OF THESE, OF THESE PROJECT CALLS.
WELL, LET ME ASK YOU, UH, WHAT'S THE SMALLEST STREET LEVEL THAT M P O GETS INVOLVED IN? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION TOO.
SO, UM, IN, IN TURN, AND IT'S NOT, IT'S, AGAIN, THESE, BECAUSE OF THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE FUNDS, THERE'S A, WE, WE FUNCTIONALLY CLASSIFIED ROADWAY ROADWAYS BASED ON THEIR USE, RIGHT? AND SO, UH, YOU HAVE YOUR LOCAL ROADS, WHICH ARE THE LOWEST LEVEL OF ROADWAYS.
SO THOSE ARE BASICALLY ROADS ON YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS, THE, THE ONE THAT COMES OUTTA YOUR DRIVEWAY, RIGHT? UH, AND THEN NORMALLY THOSE FEED INTO WHAT WE CALL COLLECTORS.
SO THOSE ARE COLLECTING THOSE NEIGHBORHOOD ROADS.
THEN YOU GO ONTO MINOR ARTERIALS, MAJOR ARTERIALS AND HIGHWAYS.
AND SO ANYTHING FROM A COLLECTOR ABOVE IS WHAT'S ELIGIBLE FOR FEDERAL FUNDS.
YOUR LOCAL STREETS ARE WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, BEXAR COUNTY, CITY OF NEW BRAUNFELS, RIGHT? THEY, THEY ARE THE ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE LOCAL ROADS.
THERE'S NO FEDERAL FUNDING THAT THAT CAN BE USED ON THOSE, UNLESS IT'S A DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROGRAM OR COMMUNITY BLOCK GRANT FUNDING, THAT, THAT SOMETIMES COMES TO THESE REGIONS.
THE WORK THAT THE M P O DOES IS, AGAIN, AT THE COLLECTOR ABOVE LEVEL.
BUT YOU SAID TODAY A LOT OF THE MONEY IS COMING FROM STATE, SO DOESN'T STATE MONEY.
COULDN'T THAT GO DOWN INTO ANY OF THOSE LEVELS? NO.
DO THEY JUST MIMIC THE, THEY MIMIC THE FEDERAL RULES FOR A LOT OF THESE, JUST 'CAUSE IT'S EASIER.
THEY BLEND THOSE DOLLARS A LOT.
UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN I MENTIONED THE 12 FUNDING CATEGORIES EARLIER, A LOT OF THOSE ARE COLLECTING BOTH STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDS AND JUST DUMPING THEM INTO THOSE CATEGORIES.
AND SO IN ORDER TO NOT HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR THE FUNDING SEPARATELY, THEY JUST IMPLY THE SAME RULES.
SO THE SAME ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE PLACED ON FEDERALLY FUNDED PROJECTS ARE ALSO REQUIRED ON STATE PROJECTS.
THE SAME ELIGIBILITY STANDARDS ARE, ARE PLACED ON THOSE STATE DOLLARS AS WELL.
AND, AND HOW ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, SPEED LIMITS.
DOES THE M P O HAVE ANY INPUT ON SPEED LIMITS ON, ON THOSE COLLECTOR ROADS ON UP? UNFORTUNATELY, WE DO NOT.
THAT'S, THAT, THAT OCCURS WITHIN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS OR AT THE STATE LEVEL, DEPENDING ON WHO'S IN CHARGE OF THE FACILITY OR WHO'S, UH, WHO OWNS THE FACILITY.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING THOSE DECISIONS HERE.
BUT THE M P O CAN'T TAKE A STAND ON STREET LIMITS, UH, ON SPEED LIMITS AND THINGS.
WE PROBABLY COULD THROUGH SOME TYPE OF RE LIKE REGIONAL RESOLUTION.
WE JUST HAVE NOT, UH, BUT I MEAN, IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE COULD DO.
UM, THIS IS MY FIRST TIME GETTING A PRESENTATION ON THE NM P O AND THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
I FEEL I WAS LOOKING AT THE LIST OF ALL THE MEMBERS, AND I FEEL A LITTLE LEFT OUT THAT EVERYONE ELSE IS
[00:40:01]
ON IT, BUT ME,UH, I KNOW COUNCILWOMAN COO HDA HAD MENTIONED, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME AREAS HAVING NEED IN SOME INSTANCES, AND SOMETIMES WE HAVE THE NEED.
UM, BUT HISTORICALLY, AS FAMILIES, UH, OF COLOR SPECIFICALLY EXPERIENCE REDLINING AND RACIST HOUSING PRACTICES, FAMILIES WERE RELEGATED TO NEIGHBORHOODS, UH, WITH POOR INFRASTRUCTURE WHILE WHITE FAMILIES, UM, FLED TO THE NORTH SIDE AND BEGAN THIS TREND OF UNSUSTAINABLE GROWTH.
AND SO NOW WE'RE HAVING TO ADDRESS THE TRANSPORTATION ISSUES THAT COME WITH THAT.
UM, NEEDING TO BUILD MORE ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A CULTURE THAT IS INCREASINGLY, UH, DEPENDENT ON CARS FOR ACCESS TO QUALITY GROCERY STORES AND AMENITIES LIKE THEATERS AND FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT.
AND SO I'M WONDERING, AND MAYBE THIS IS THE DEEP PART OF THE QUESTION, IS HOW ARE WE REVERSING THAT TREND AND MAKING SURE THAT LOW INCOME FAMILIES, ESPECIALLY IN HISTORICALLY BLACK AND BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES, ARE CONNECTED TO THE REST OF THE CITY AND, AND THE REGION? SO THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT, UM, UH, THINGS THAT I'LL POINT OUT HERE.
ONE IS THAT THE, THIS CURRENT ADMINISTRATION AT THE, AT THE PRESIDENTIAL LEVEL, AND, AND THE U S D O T, OF COURSE, IS GOING TO INSTITUTE POLICIES THAT ARE IN LINE WITH THAT ADMINISTRATION WRITING.
SO THIS NEW ADMINISTRATION THROUGH THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW THAT WAS JUST APPROVED DOES HAVE A LOT NEW, A LOT OF NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR EQUITY AND TRANSPORTATION AND RULES HAVE NOT BEEN MADE YET ON WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE OR WHAT THAT'S GONNA ENTAIL.
THERE'LL BE NEW REQUIREMENTS PLACED ON ALL NPOS AROUND THE COUNTRY, OF COURSE, NOT JUST OURS, BECAUSE THIS IS AN ISSUE NATIONWIDE, RIGHT? AND IN MOST COMMUNITIES, THIS IS AN ISSUE AS YOU JUST OUTLINED.
AND SO THERE'LL BE NEW REQUIREMENTS PLACED ON US THAT WILL REQUIRE US TO LOOK AT EQUITY AND TRANSPORTATION, WHETHER THAT BE THROUGH CREATING PLANS, PROGRAMS, UM, OR DOING THIS AS A PART OF OUR PROJECT SCORING, WHICH I MENTIONED EARLIER.
NOW, WHAT I WILL SAY IS THAT THIS AREA TRADITIONALLY HAS DONE THAT, UM, THROUGH OUR PROJECT SCORING ALREADY.
UH, WE, WE DO, UM, THERE'S AN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, UM, INITIATIVE THAT WAS STARTED BACK IN THE 1990S IN TRANSPORTATION.
IT WASN'T A REQUIREMENT 'CAUSE IT WAS, IT IS NOT A FEDERAL LAW, BUT IT WAS DONE THROUGH EXECUTIVE ORDER WHEN, UH, PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON WAS IN OFFICE.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE HAVE TRADITIONALLY LOOKED AT ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AS A PART OF THE WORK THAT WE DO AND OUR PROJECT SELECTION.
AND SO WE DO HAVE, UM, POINTS THAT ARE AWARDED IF A PROJECT IS IN A LOW INCOME OR MINORITY NEIGHBORHOOD.
THEN OF COURSE, LIKE I SAID EARLIER, YOU KNOW, THE MORE POINTS THAT ARE AWARDED TO THE PROJECT, IT KIND OF RAISES IT UP TO THE TOP OF THE LIST.
AND SO WE HAVE DONE THAT TRADITIONALLY IN THIS REGION FOR THE PROJECTS THAT WE IMPLEMENT.
SO PROJECTS THAT ARE IN LOW INCOME MINORITY NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND WE USE OF, OF COURSE, RGI I S AND MAPPING TOOLS TO FIND THOSE AREAS, UH, AND THEN AWARD POINTS BASED ON WHERE, WHERE THOSE PROJECTS ARE LOCATED.
SO I'M SURE THAT SOME OF THAT TYPE OF WORK IS GONNA, IS GONNA BE WHAT'S GONNA BE REQUIRED OF US THROUGH THIS NEW ADMINISTRATION, BUT WE ALREADY DO SOME OF THAT.
WE WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT COMES OUT OF THE ADMINISTRATION AND WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE FROM THE NPOS AROUND THE COUNTRY AND WHAT WE'RE NOT ALREADY DOING, WHAT WE'LL BE SURE TO DO.
AND I GUESS THIS IS MORE JUST FOR MY OWN CURIOSITY 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN ON, UM, BOARD, LIKE THE TOURS BOARDS, UH, INTERGOVERNMENT, INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS.
I'M WONDERING, UM, WHAT'S BEEN Y'ALL'S EXPERIENCE, UH, IN TERMS OF EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COMMITTEE AND IT, I'M JUST READING THE LIST OF PEOPLE IN THE COMMITTEE AND IT'S, OR IN THE, UH, IN THE BOARD AND IT'S A LOT OF PERSONALITIES.
THAT'S WHY I WOULD LOVE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF INSIGHT WOULD BE GREAT.
UH, NO, UH, UH, I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR, I'VE BEEN AT THE M P O FOR 20 YEARS.
I'VE BEEN THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SINCE 2005.
UH, SO I'VE BEEN AROUND A LONG TIME, SEEN A LOT OF CHANGE.
UM, WHEN I FIRST CAME ON THE M P O, IT WAS REALLY JUST BEAR COUNTY.
UM, I THINK YOU CAME IN A LITTLE LATE.
UM, BUT THE M P O BOUNDARIES BASICALLY, UH, WAS APPROVED, WAS, UH, IS CENSUS DRIVEN.
AND SO WE EXPANDED OUR BOUNDARY IN 20 20 10 AFTER THE 2010 CENSUS, AND TOOK TWO YEARS TO EXPAND THE BOUNDARY INTO THESE OTHER COUNTIES BECAUSE IT WAS A LOT OF FIGHT, UH, RURAL VERSUS URBAN IS, UH, THE BEST WAY I CAN PUT IT.
YOU KNOW, I THINK THOSE AREAS WERE SCARED THAT IF THEY CAME INTO THIS M P O, THAT THEIR VOICES WOULDN'T BE HEARD AND THAT THEY WOULD NEVER GET, GET ANY FUNDING BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE TO COMPETE WITH THE STATE OF SAN ANTONIO MM-HMM.
I WILL SAY THAT THAT HAS BEEN PUT TO BED.
I THINK EVERYBODY WORKS REALLY WELL TOGETHER.
THOSE ENTITIES ENJOY BEING A PART OF THIS M P O.
UM, THEY HAVE SAID THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN REPEATEDLY, UM, THAT THEY'RE GLAD THAT THE DECISIONS WERE MADE THE WAY THEY WERE, AND THAT THEY ARE NOW PART OF THIS MP, WHICH IS COMPLETE, AGAIN, 180 FROM WHERE THEY WERE 10 YEARS AGO.
UH, AND SO I THINK THAT THE, THE BOARD ITSELF WORKS REALLY WELL.
THERE'S A LOT OF COMPETING INTERESTS, AGAIN, URBAN VERSUS RURAL TRANSIT VERSUS HIGHWAY, YOU KNOW, UM, EQUITY VERSUS, YOU KNOW, NOT EQUITY, BECAUSE OF COURSE, IN THOSE OUTER COUNTIES SOMETIMES THAT THEY FEEL THAT THOSE ARE BUZZWORDS THAT AREN'T IMPORTANT, RIGHT? AND SO IT'S, IT'S A LOT OF CHALLENGING WORK IN THAT REGARD.
BUT EVERYBODY DOES IS VERY RESPECTFUL OF EACH OTHER.
I THINK EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THAT NO ONE IS TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, DO SOMETHING THAT'S NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE ENTIRE REGION, OR AT LEAST NOT FOR THEIR OWN CONSTITUENTS.
AND SO I THINK WHEN YOU COME TO THAT, TO THE TABLE WITH THAT UNDERSTANDING, EVERYBODY GETS ALONG.
AND ALTHOUGH NOT THERE HAS, THERE HAVE BEEN FIGHTS AT THE N P O,
[00:45:01]
UM, NOT, NOT LITERAL FIGHTS, RIGHT? BUT FIGHTS OVER FUNDING OR LEADERSHIP, UM,SO, UH, EVERYBODY GETS ALONG PRETTY WELL.
AND, AND PART OF MY TARDINESS, I WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, DRIVERS CAN'T DRIVE WHEN IT'S RAINING SOMEWHERE ELSE.
BUT I'LL, UM, THE REASON I ASK THAT QUESTION IS BECAUSE AT THE LAST BUDGET, AT THE BUDGET GOAL SETTING SESSION, I HAD BROUGHT UP THAT, YOU KNOW, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE, UH, COLLABORATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE BETWEEN THE COUNTY AND THE CITY.
FOR EXAMPLE, JUST BEAR COUNTY AND THE CITY, FOR EXAMPLE, I'M THINKING OF, UH, ON THE NORTHEAST, UH, SIDE OF MY DISTRICT, KIRBY, UM, AND THE CITY BOTH HAVE PRETTY ROUGH INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND I THINK A LOT OF THE, SOME OF THE REASON WHY I THINK IT NEVER GETS ADDRESSED IS BECAUSE IT'S ALMOST, UH, UH, WHEN IS THE COUNTY GONNA INVEST OR WHEN IS THE CITY GONNA INVEST? AND SO I'M WONDER, I WAS KIND OF TESTING, YOU KNOW, IF THE INTERACTIONS HAVE BEEN POSITIVE THERE AND IF SOMETHING LIKE THAT MIGHT BE EFFECTIVE ON A SMALLER SCALE.
UM, BUT I APPRECIATE THE INSIGHT AND I LOOK FORWARD TO LISTENING FOR MORE.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AND I, I, UH, WILL ADD TOO THAT, UM, IN NO SMALL PART TO SID BEING THERE, RIGHT? I MEAN, HE'S BEEN THERE A LONG TIME, UM, TAUGHT ME A LOT ABOUT, UM, ABOUT TRANSPORTATION.
BUT I THINK THAT WITH ALL THOSE PERSONALITIES, AS YOU SAW ON, AROUND THE DAIS, UH, HE'S REALLY GOOD AT, AT HELPING, UH, I MEAN, I'M JUST USE THE WORD KIND OF WRANGLING ALL THE PERSONALITIES, RIGHT? I ALSO JUST VERY QUICKLY WANNA, UM, GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO THE CURRENT CHAIR COMMISSIONER KEVIN WEBB.
HE'S ALSO REALLY GOOD AT, UM, MAKING SURE, TRYING TO MINIMIZE THE CONFLICTS.
UM, AND THEN BEFORE HIM WAS OF COURSE, UH, KEVIN WOLF.
UH, SO I THINK THAT, OR WAS HE THE IMMEDIATE, HE WAS THE IMMEDIATE PASTOR, RIGHT? YES.
THEN RAY LOPEZ BEFORE THAT, AND RAY LOPEZ BEFORE THAT.
SO I THINK THAT THERE'S BEEN A KIND OF A, A MOVEMENT, AT LEAST SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD, I'VE SEEN, UH, MORE COLLABORATIVE NATURE.
UM, AND I THINK IT'S A LOT OF THE WILLINGNESS OF THE, THE PARTIES THERE, RIGHT? UM, SO I, I'M IN THAT REGARD.
UH, I, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A WAY MAYBE WE COULD SIT DOWN WITH SID AND, AND FIGURE OUT A WAY TO HELP THAT RELATIONSHIP, UM, AND WHAT, WHAT THE COUNCILMAN'S TRYING TO DO IN, IN HIS AREA.
SO, ANYWAY, I APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, THANK YOU CHAIR.
AND THANK YOU SID, FOR THE PRESENTATION AS A FAIRLY NEW MEMBER TO THE A A M P O.
THE, THE QUESTIONS AND THE CONVERSATION HERE HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL.
UM, I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS REGARDING THE COFFER PROJECTS AND THE FUNDING CATEGORIES, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES.
UM, WHAT ARE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES? COULD THAT POTENTIALLY INCLUDE, UM, REBATES FOR EBIS OR INVESTING IN PUBLIC TRANSIT, UH, BUS SHELTERS? LIKE WHAT ARE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES FOR TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES? YEAH.
TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES IS, UM, MAINLY JUST BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN, UH, PROJECTS THEMSELVES.
SO UNFORTUNATELY, LIKE, UM, TRANSIT MM-HMM.
AND IT WAS KIND OF, UH, LOOKING AT BUILDING BUS SHELTER ALONG MAIN MAJOR CORRIDORS TO ENSURE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOUR MOST HEAVILY USED CORRIDORS, UM, WERE GETTING THOSE ON STATE AND CITY FACILITIES.
SO THAT WAS A GREAT PROJECT, BUT THAT WAS DONE THROUGH A DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCE FOR TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES.
AGAIN, IT'S ONLY FOR BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PROJECTS, SO SIDEWALKS, BIKE LANES, BIKE TRAILS.
UM, IT COULD BE OFF, IT COULD BE OFF, OFF ROAD OR ON ROAD.
UM, BUT YEAH, IT'S BASICALLY JUST FOR THOSE TYPE OF PROJECTS SPECIFICALLY.
THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL.
AND WITH THE CARBON REDUCTION PROGRAM, UH, WHAT ARE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES WITH THAT? RIGHT? UH, AND I KNOW IN ONE OF THE A M P O BRIEFINGS, I WAS CONVERSATION ABOUT SCHOOL DISTRICTS APPLYING FOR FEDERAL GRANTS FOR, UH, ELECTRIC, UH, BUSES.
SO THIS IS A BRAND NEW PROGRAM.
AND AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S VERY LITTLE GUIDANCE OUT RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE DOING, WE'RE PUTTING IT IN THIS CALL BECAUSE IF WE DON'T DO IT NOW, WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT TWO YEARS RIGHT FROM NOW FOR THE NEXT CALL.
AND WE'VE ALREADY STARTED RECEIVING MONEY FOR THIS CATEGORY, FISCAL YEAR 2022 AND 23.
SO THIS CALL IS FROM 24 TO 28.
SO IF WE DON'T DO IT NOW, WE'RE GONNA BE SITTING ON SOME MONEY FOR A FEW YEARS AND WE DON'T WANNA DO THAT.
THE GUIDANCE THAT WE DO HAVE OUT NOW, I WOULD SAY YES, IT WOULD FALL UNDER THAT.
IT'S FOR EMISSION REDUCTION TYPE PRO PROJECTS.
SO IF YOU'RE GOING FROM GAS POWERED OR DIESEL POWERED BUSES TO ELECTRIC BUSES, I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THAT WOULD FALL UNDER THE, THAT THAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE HERE.
UM, OF COURSE, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WOULD PROBABLY, UM, HAVE TO APPLY FOR THAT THROUGH THE CITY, MAYBE.
UM, SCHOOL DISTRICTS TRADITIONALLY HAVE NOT APPLIED FOR FUNDING THROUGH THE M P O, BUT, UM, THEY MAY BE ELIGIBLE.
WE WOULD JUST HAVE TO LOOK INTO THAT.
BUT EITHER WAY, IF THE, IF THEY PARTNERED WITH THE CITY OR TXDOT MM-HMM.
AND, UH, WITH THE CONGESTION MITIGATION AND AIR QUALITY FUNDING,
[00:50:01]
IT, IT'S, IT HAS A BULLET FOR BEXAR COUNTY PROJECTS ONLY.IS THAT DUE TO BEXAR COUNTY BEING LIKE THE NEXT IN LINE, OR, UH, IS THAT IT? IT'S BECAUSE BEXAR COUNTY IS THE ONLY NON-ATTAINMENT, UH, AREA OR COUNTY IN THIS REGION.
SO, UM, AND I, THIS GETS REALLY COMPLICATED TOO, BUT IN THE PAST, UM, IT, IT ACTUALLY JUST CHANGED WHEN OUR M P O OR, OR BEXAR COUNTY WAS DECLARED ATTAINMENT IN THE PAST, IF A REGION WAS DECLARED NON-ATTAINMENT, IT HAD TO BE THE ENTIRE M S A, OR AT LEAST THE M P O BOUNDARY, WHICH MEANS THAT KAMUA LOOP AND KENDALL WOULD'VE PROBABLY ALSO BEEN NON ATTAINMENT WHEN, WHEN WE WERE DECLARED NON ATTAINMENT IN 2018, THEY CHANGED THE RULES MM-HMM.
AND SO THAT'S WHY AIR COUNTY'S THE ONLY, IF YOU LOOK AT THE OTHER NPOS AROUND THE STATE AND AROUND THE COUNTRY, IF THEY'RE NON ATTAINMENT.
'CAUSE WE WERE THE ONLY ONES THAT WERE DECLARED NON ATTAINMENT IN 2018 AROUND THE COUNTRY.
AND AGAIN, THIS CONVERSATION HAS BEEN SO HELPFUL, SO THANK Y'ALL.
AND I, WE CAN ALSO, MAYBE SSID DOESN'T WANNA COME BACK, BUT WE CAN INVITE HIM BACK.
I WANNA JUST BRING SOMETHING UP REAL QUICK ABOUT THE AIR QUALITY TOO.
UM, WE, I REMEMBER THAT WE TALKED ABOUT WHERE THE SENSORS WERE.
WE HAVE A COUPLE OF SENSORS IN THE REGION, AND ONE OF 'EM IS A CAMP BULLIS, AND SOMEBODY MADE A COMMENT ABOUT THE FACT THAT IT'S KIND OF MAYBE ONE OF THE WORST AREAS TO HAVE A SENSOR, BUT IT'S, THAT'S WHY THEY PUT IT THERE, RIGHT.
UM, SO, UM, YEAH, SO, UH, THE E P A REQ, UH, HAS REQUIREMENTS ON WHERE THOSE SENSORS SHOULD BE PLACED.
AND THEY WORK WITH THE TEXAS COMMISSIONER ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ON ON, AND SO WE HAVE NO SAY AS THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, AS THE M P O, AS BEXAR COUNTY, WE HAVE NO SAY IN WHERE THOSE ARE LOCATED.
THOSE ARE DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE BY T SSEC AND THE EPA A BASED ON EPAS ROLES AND REQUIREMENTS.
AND SO, YEAH, UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU LOOK AT OUR AIR QUALITY MONITORS AND READINGS, THAT ONE'S COMPLETE, YOU KNOW, ALWAYS HIGHER THAN THE OTHERS.
UM, AND I, WE THINK THAT IT'S BECAUSE OF THE WORK THAT'S DONE AT CAMP BULLIS.
WE HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING THAT.
OBVIOUSLY, A LOT OF IT COULD ALSO BE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SAID THIS BEFORE, WEATHER PATTERNS AND WIND, WIND PATTERNS, AND WE GET A LOT OF WHAT WE CALL TRANSPORT, WHICH IS BAD AIR FROM OTHER AREAS BASED ON THOSE WIND PATTERNS.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S JUST WHERE WE ARE, WHERE THEY ARE, WHERE WE'RE ALL LOCATED.
UM, AND SO WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT.
BUT THAT DOESN'T EXCLUDE US FROM BEING NON ATTAINMENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THEY STILL REQUIRE YOU TO, TO BE NON ATTAINMENT.
AND I GET WHY, I MEAN, WE SHOULD BE WORKING FROM THE WORST, UH, AREA IN, IN TOWN, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
I, I JUST WANNA MAKE THE POINT THAT THEY ARE IN A COUPLE OF THE WORST SPOTS.
AND SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF THE ENTIRE AREA, BUT IT IS THE WORST SPOT.
COUNCILMAN? K I HAD ONE QUESTION RELATED TO THAT.
DO YOU KNOW WHEN WE'RE GONNA BE IN A SITUATION WHERE WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO START TESTING CARS TO MEET REQUIREMENTS? AND WILL THE M P O HAVE ANY INVOLVEMENT IN THAT? UH, COULD THEY INCENTIVIZE PEOPLE TO MAKE SURE THAT GETS DONE OR HELP SUBSIDIZE THE, THE, UM, THE BUSINESSES THAT MAY BE DOING THAT KIND OF WORK? WHAT HAVE YOU ALL BEEN THINKING ABOUT THAT? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
UH, THOSE, THOSE PROGRAMS ARE REQUIRED FOR AREAS THAT ARE MODERAT OR ABOVE.
SO IT WILL BE A REQUIREMENT THAT'S PLACED ON THIS, ON THE COUNTY SOON.
I WOULD IMAGINE THAT, UH, THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY WILL, WILL WORK DIRECTLY WITH BEXAR COUNTY AND MAYBE EVEN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO TO INSTITUTE THOSE REQUIREMENTS.
BEXAR COUNTY IS THE ONE THAT ASSESSES THAT THROUGH YOUR VEHICLE REGISTRATION.
SO I'M ASSUMING, ASSUMING THEY'LL GO THROUGH BEXAR COUNTY.
UM, BUT THE M P O ITSELF WOULD NOT BE INVOLVED.
THERE HAVE BEEN PROGRAMS IN THE PAST THROUGH THE LEGISLATURE HERE THAT, UM, ONE OF 'EM, WHAT'S CALLED THE LOW, UH, LOW INCOME VEHICLE REPLACEMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, OR LRA, UH, THAT WAS FUNDED TO HELP, UM, OF COURSE THE OLDER VEHICLES AND, UH, HAVE TRADITIONALLY BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH LOW INCOME FOLKS OR PEOPLE WHO CAN'T BUY NEW VEHICLES.
AND SO THAT PROGRAM WAS THERE TO HELP PEOPLE REPLACE THEIR CARS THROUGH SOME TYPE OF, UH, GRANT OR, OR SUBSIDY.
UH, THAT PROGRAM WENT AWAY, UNFORTUNATELY, I'M ASSUMING THAT, UM, THERE'LL BE A NEW ITERATION OF THAT PROGRAM AT SOME POINT.
UH, AND IF SO, THAT USUALLY WILL BE, UM, ADMINISTERED THROUGH IN PART BY THE M P O.
AND SO, UH, IF THAT FUNDING IS RESURRECTED, THEN WE WOULD HAVE AN INVOLVEMENT IN THAT REGARD.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? OKAY.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM THREE AND TAKE IT AWAY.
GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCILWOMAN TAMIKA MONVILLE, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, TAMIKA MONVILLE, DIRECTOR OF THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.
WE WANTED TO PROVIDE YOU WITH AN UPDATE ON TWO OF OUR MAJOR PROJECTS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
THE FIRST IS THE TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT PLAN UPDATE.
AND THIS IS THANK YOU C FOR THE MONEY.
UM, THIS IS ACTUALLY A FEDERALLY FUNDED GRANT THAT WE RECEIVE THROUGH THE M P O, AND ESSENTIALLY TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF S CID, THE T D M IS A PART OF TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT.
THE GOAL IS TO REDUCE THE DEMAND
[00:55:01]
FOR THOSE SINGLE OCCUPANCY TRIPS THAT PEOPLE TAKE AND HELP TO CHANGE PEOPLE'S MINDS AND MAKE DIFFERENT DECISIONS FOR SHORT TRIPS.SO WE WERE AWARDED THIS GRANT IN 2018 AS A PART OF THE NM P O FUNDS THAT WE RECEIVED THROUGH, I BELIEVE IT WAS TA SAID, YEAH, TRANSPORTATION, C CMAC, CONGESTION, MITIGATION, AND AIR QUALITY.
SO THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT'S DESIGNED TO REDUCE OUR IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT.
SO WE HAVE KICKED THIS PROJECT OFF.
WE'VE HAD AN INTERNAL MEETING WITH THE INTERNAL CITY STAFF TO MAKE THEM AWARE.
AND WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING WITH OUR C AND E DEPARTMENT AND DEPARTMENT HEADS TO DEVELOP A SURVEY OF OUR INTERNAL EMPLOYEES.
SO WHEN WE ORIGINALLY RECEIVED THIS GRANT, WE STARTED A T D M PROJECT WHERE WE WERE ACTUALLY DOING CARPOOL AND VANPOOL, BUT COVID HAPPENED.
SO FORTUNATELY TEXDOT AGREED WITH US IN REASSESSING THE SCOPE OF THAT PROJECT.
SO WE AMENDED OUR ADVANCED FUNDING AGREEMENT, AND REALLY THE THREE SEMINAL THINGS THAT HAPPENED FOR US RELOCATION INTO CITY TOWER.
A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS ARE NOW IN CITY TOWER, WHICH WE WORK, WE ARE HYBRID.
SOME ARE IN THE OFFICE, SOME ARE NOT.
AND THIS WAS OUR OPPORTUNITY IN LOOKING AT THE PARKING, CITY PARKING SITUATION AT CITY TOWER.
THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO EVALUATE AND DISCUSS WITH THE EMPLOYEES.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY IF THERE WERE A DEDICATED SHUTTLE, IF THERE WERE VAN POOL OPPORTUNITIES? SO THE GOAL OF THIS 12 MONTH STUDY IS TO ACTUALLY ASSESS OUR EMPLOYEES, LOOK AT WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED, AND COME UP WITH SOME ALTERNATIVES TO IMPROVE OUR, UH, IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT, WHICH WILL CHANGE THE WAY IN WHICH WE DO SOME OF THESE TRIPS.
SO WE'RE CURRENTLY ASSESSING THE DATA NEEDS.
WE'RE COLLECTING DATA ABOUT THE EMPLOYEES IN TERMS OF WHERE'S THE ZIP CODE THAT HAS MOST OF OUR EMPLOYEES WHO ARE COMING INTO THE DOWNTOWN CORE.
SO WE CAN LOOK AT TRIPS AND WE CAN ALSO LOOK AT A PEER REVIEW OF OTHER CITIES WITH SIMILAR PROGRAMS TO ASSESS WHAT COMPONENTS OF THOSE PROGRAMS WILL HELP US WITH OUR NEEDS HERE IN THE CITY.
SO THAT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPDATE.
WE ANTICIPATE THIS STUDY BEING DONE BY THE END OF THE YEAR, NO LATER THAN EARLY JANUARY.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS YOU GUYS WILL SEE COMING FORWARD IS OUR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN, HOW WE PLAN TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE EMPLOYEES.
WE'RE GONNA DO A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVES, SOME INCENTIVES.
WE'VE ALREADY INCENTIVIZED OUR BIKE NETWORK PLAN, WHICH I'LL TALK ABOUT NEXT, AND GIVING OUT MEDALS AND EXCHANGE FOR THREE QUESTION SURVEY.
WE'RE ALSO GONNA ENGAGE THE FINANCE, THE INNOVATION, HR AND CENTER CITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICE BECAUSE THEY MANAGE A LOT OF OUR PARKING INFRASTRUCTURE AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT HAVE BEEN THE PAST PATTERNS AND WHAT CAN WE DO IN THE FUTURE TO HELP REDUCE SOME OF THESE TRIPS.
SO WITH OUR EMPLOYEE SURVEY, WE'RE GONNA ANALYZE THOSE RESULTS AND COME UP WITH SOME OPTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES, AND WE'LL COME BACK AND SHARE THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE LEARNED ABOUT OUR EMPLOYEES IN THE TRAVEL PATTERNS AND WHAT THEY'RE MORE INCLINED TO DO IF WE PROVIDED THOSE ALTERNATIVES AND WHAT THOSE COSTS LOOK LIKE.
ANOTHER COMPONENT, THIS STUDY IS APPROXIMATELY $700,000 THAT WE'VE RECEIVED, AND WE HAVE THE 20% LOCAL MATCH.
ANOTHER COMPONENT IS THAT WE DON'T WANNA JUST DO THE STUDY AND, AND HAVE A STUDY THAT SITS ON A SHELF.
WE WANNA TAKE SOME OF THOSE FUNDS AND ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT ONE OF THOSE ALTERNATIVES.
SO THAT COULD BE BASED ON THE INFORMATION DOING A DEDICATED SHUTTLE FROM ONE PART OF THE CITY WHERE WE SEE THAT'S GONNA HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S GONNA BE, BUT WE DEFINITELY WANT TO IMPLEMENT SOMETHING AND PILOT SOMETHING AS A RESULT OF THIS STUDY.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
I THINK THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW THE NM P O, UM, AND THE GRANTS HAVE BEEN USED TO STUDY HOW PEOPLE MOVE AND HOW WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO IMPLEMENT IT.
SOM GLAD YOU STUCK AROUND SSID AGAIN, THANK YOU.
UM, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION, TAMIKA.
I'M GLAD TO SEE THIS, UH, MOVING FORWARD.
UM, IS, I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A WHILE BACK, OR, BUT I'M CURIOUS IS BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT'S CITY EMPLOYEES, HAVE WE TALKED AT ALL ABOUT MAYBE EXPANDING IT OUTWARDS, UM, TO THE COMMUNITY? THAT HAS COME UP SEVERAL TIMES I, WHEN WE RECEIVED THE GRANT, AND THAT'S THE THING ABOUT THE GRANTS THAT WE GET FROM THE N P O T DOT, THEY WANT US TO BE SPECIFIC ABOUT OUR GOALS.
SO WHEN WE APPLIED, IT WAS FOR CITY EMPLOYEES ONLY BECAUSE WE ARE SUCH A LARGE EMPLOYER HERE IN THE CITY AND HAVE A BIG FOOTPRINT OVER 12,000 EMPLOYEES.
SO THE GOAL IS TO MODEL THIS, AND WHATEVER WE COME UP WITH, THIS WILL BE SOMETHING AS A PART OF OUR T D M STRATEGIES IN THE DEPARTMENT, IS SHARING THIS AND COORDINATING WITH THE N P O AND ALAMO COMMUTES AND SEEING WHERE WE CAN LEVERAGE OUR PROGRAMMING, BUT ALSO GIVING THIS AS A MODEL TO EMPLOYERS.
SO IDEALLY, I ENVISION US WORKING WITH BRENDA HICKS SORENSON, ALSO WORKING WITH MIKE RAMSEY AND THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TEAM TO IDENTIFY WHERE CAN WE ADVANCE OUR T D M STRATEGIES WITH FUTURE EMPLOYERS, CURRENT EMPLOYERS, AND ALSO WITH THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
[01:00:01]
AND SO TYING IT ALL TOGETHER.UM, UH, COUNCILMAN MCKAY RODRIGUEZ HAD TO LEAVE EARLY, BUT, UH, HE, HE DID MENTION COMMUNICATION TO EMPLOYEES.
SO I THINK YOU COVERED IT PRETTY WELL ON THE FOURTH SLIDE.
UM, ALTHOUGH I, I, I GUESS TO ADD, TO JUST ADD TO THAT, UM, I THINK IT'S A, WE HAVE A PRETTY EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION PLAN WITHIN THE CITY.
UM, WE ALL GET EMAILS AND, AND ALL THE, UM, INFORMATION THAT WE CAN GET, BUT SOMETIMES THERE'S A LOT OF THEM.
SO I'M CURIOUS, ARE YOU, HOW ARE YOU GETTING INTO, LIKE ARE YOU TALKING TO, I, I SEE HR IN HERE, ARE YOU TALKING TO MAYBE MANAGERS, SUPERVISORS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE ASKING THOSE QUESTIONS, KIND OF BRINGING IT TOP OF MIND SO THAT THEY'LL ANSWER THEIR SURVEY? YES.
SO WHAT WE DID IN NOVEMBER BEFORE WE ACTUALLY ENTERED INTO THE CONTRACT WITH THE H N T B, AND JASON IS HERE FROM H N T B, IS A PART OF THE TEAM WORKING WITH US, WE SEND AN EMAIL OUT TO ALL OF THE MANAGERS TO SAY, HEY, THIS IS WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU.
THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING.
HAVING THAT CONVERSATION AND SAYING, HEY, THIS IS HOW MUCH TIME OVER THE NEXT YEAR WE ANTICIPATE YOU OR YOUR DESIGNEE SPENDING WITH US TO GLEAN INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR TEAMS AND HOW THEY WORK.
RECOGNIZING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IS REAL.
I I'M SURE THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO OR COUNCIL, UM, MEN COUNCILMAN MCKEE RODRIGUEZ WOULD POINT OUT IS THAT WHEN INNOVATION DID THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND DID THE STUDY OF ACCESS, WE RECOGNIZE WE HAVE A LOT OF FIELD EMPLOYEES.
SO WE WANNA HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MANAGERS AND GET THE INFORMATION TO SEE WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE IN THE FIELD.
SO WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO? IT'S GONNA BE A VERY FLUID THING.
IS IT GOING OUT TO OUR SERVICE CENTERS, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE WILL DO TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND HOW DO PEOPLE GET TO WORK? ARE THEY COMMUTING, ARE THEY CARPOOLING AT THESE SERVICE CENTERS? SO WE REALLY ANTICIPATE BEING IN THEIR FACES AND REALLY JUST ASKING PEOPLE, HOW DO YOU MOVE AND WHAT WOULD WORK FOR YOU? WOULD YOU RIDE A BUS? IF THERE WAS A BUS? YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY, OH, I WOULD RIDE A BUS IF THERE WAS A BUS.
BUT THEN WHEN WE LOOK AT THEIR LIFESTYLE, IS IT CONDUCIVE IF YOU HAVE TWO KIDS, ONE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL, ONE IN ELEMENTARY AND AND DOING THAT? YEAH.
SO WE REALLY PLAN TO KEEP THE CONVERSATION OPEN AND THEY CAN GO TO THE TRANSPORTATION WEBSITE AND GIVE THEIR FEEDBACK AS WELL.
I DO RECALL BEFORE THE PANDEMIC ANYWAY, VANPOOL WAS PRETTY SUCCESSFUL.
UM, DO WE KNOW THAT THE NUMBERS HAVE COME BACK UP SINCE WE HAVE NOT DONE A VANPOOL? OH, WE DIRECTLY MANAGED BECAUSE ONCE THAT ENDED, WE HAD THE CONVERSATION WITH TEX DOT ABOUT REFRAMING THE PRIORITIES AND REFRAMING THE SCOPE OF WHAT WE WANTED TO STUDY BECAUSE WE JUST DON'T HAVE THAT DATA RIGHT NOW TO SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE STILL TRAVELING THE SAME WAY THEY DID PRE COVID.
AND NOW SINCE WE ALL HAVE FREE PARKING, HOW DOES THAT IMPACT THE WAY IN WHICH PEOPLE MOVE? OH, RIGHT.
SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT WHAT ARE OUR TRAVEL PATTERNS AND WHAT PROGRAMMATIC DECISIONS AND POLICY DECISIONS HAVE CHANGED SINCE WE INITIALLY DID IT.
AND NOW THAT EMPLOYEES HAVE FREE PARKING, ARE THEY WILLING TO GIVE THAT UP TO REDUCE THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND TAKE A BUS AND MAYBE READ A BOOK ALONG THE WAY? SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE HOPE TO ANSWER WITH THE T D M STUDY.
COUNCIL CIO, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, WITH THE SURVEY, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE SURVEY QUESTIONS GOING TO BE? HAVE Y'ALL UM, DECIDED ON THAT YET? YES, AND WE CAN SEND YOU THAT SURVEY.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE JUST, UH, HAD C N E TAKE A LOOK AT THAT SURVEY, SO THEY'RE TAKING A LOOK AT IT RIGHT NOW.
SO WE'LL SEND YOU THE SURVEY IF YOU'D LIKE TO REVIEW IT.
WE CAN SEND IT TO EVERYONE HERE.
AND DO WE ALREADY KNOW HOW MANY CITY EMPLOYEES, UH, COMMUTE THROUGH VIA? NO, I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
SO THAT'S PART OF THE DATA COLLECTION.
SO WE ARE JUST STARTING THAT DATA COLLECTION AND GETTING THAT DATA FROM THEM.
WE JUST DEVELOPED A SURVEY AND SO NOW THE TEAM WILL BE STARTING THAT PROCESS, GETTING THE INFORMATION WITH THE SURVEY, AND THEN WE'RE DOING THE DATA COLLECTION AND FINDING OUT WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS, WHAT HAVE BEEN THE TRENDS MM-HMM.
SO WE'RE IN THE DATA COLLECTION PHASE.
SO THE NEXT REPORT OUT WILL BE GIVING YOU THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY AND ALSO SHARING WITH YOU WHAT THOSE TRENDS HAVE BEEN.
'CAUSE I'M CURIOUS TO, UM, FOR THOSE WHO DO TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, WHAT'S ONE THING THEY WOULD CHANGE ABOUT IT? RIGHT.
FOR EXAMPLE, I THINK OF HOW I USED TO ALWAYS RIDE VIA, AND DOWNTOWN USED TO BE SO ACCESSIBLE VIA PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, BUT NOW YOU HAVE TO GET OFF AT CENTRO AND CONNECT TO ANOTHER BUS JUST TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE OF DOWNTOWN.
LIKE OF COURSE YOU COULD WALK, RIGHT? BUT, UM, YOU COULD, YOU USED TO BE ABLE JUST TO GET OFF ON COMMERCE AND LIKE GET TO WHERE YOU NEEDED TO BE, AND NOW YOU HAVE TO WAIT 15 MINUTES, CATCH ANOTHER BUS.
AND I'M CURIOUS TO IF UM, IF THERE'S MAYBE A SHUTTLE FROM CENTRAL TO CITY TOWER RIGHT.
IF THAT WOULD INCENTIVIZE FOLKS TO USE IT.
SO THAT WAY YOU DON'T HAVE TO WALK IN THE ELEMENTS OR HAVE TO WAIT 15 MINUTES TO CATCH A BUS TO GET TO CITY TOWER.
AND THAT, AND THAT'S A VERY VALID POINT.
[01:05:01]
TRANSIT NERDS KNOW IF AN INDIVIDUAL HAS TO SHIFT MORE THAN TWO MODES MM-HMM.AND SO PART OF THE DATA COLLECTION IS US REALLY UNDERSTANDING AND BEING ABLE TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS AND LOOK AT THE TRAVEL PATTERNS.
SUBSEQUENT SURVEYS CAN GLEAN MORE INFORMATION.
I THINK JUST UNDERSTANDING HOW PEOPLE ARE CURRENTLY GETTING TO WORK AND WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO DO, THEN WE CAN ACTUALLY DEVELOP THAT TYPE OF SYSTEM.
TYPICALLY A COMMUTER BUS STYLE COMING FROM THE WEST SIDE, ONE BUS COMING DOWNTOWN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S ATTRACTIVE.
BUT WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED IS HOW WE LOSE PEOPLE WHEN WE PRESENT THE OPTION OF FREE TRANSIT MM-HMM.
LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT BRIEFING.
YEAH, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THIS AND I, I WOULD HOPE THAT WE CAN HELP PEOPLE FIND A WAY TO GET TO WORK ANYWHERE IN THE CITY IF THEY WORK FOR THE CITY.
I THINK, UM, YOU, YOU MAY HAVE MISSPOKEN WHEN YOU SAID EVERYBODY GETS PARK FREE, BUT NOT EVERYBODY DOES.
NOT EVERYONE BUT A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF ARE PARKING FOR FREE.
AND SO WHEN WE LOOK AT TRAVEL PATTERNS, THERE'S A HUGE BODY OF EVIDENCE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE VALUE OF TIME.
AND SO WHAT WE UNDERSTAND IS THAT PEOPLE WHO MAKE LOWER INCOMES HERE IN THE CITY, THEIR WILLINGNESS TO WAIT FOR A BUS OR FOR SOME ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION IS A LOT LONGER THAN AN ADMINISTRATIVE PERSON.
SO SOME OF THOSE FACTORS, YOU'RE CORRECT, I MISSPOKE.
BUT SOME OF THOSE FACTORS ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBERS TELL YOU ONE THING, BUT THEN UNDERSTANDING THE TRAVEL PATTERNS AND THE STORIES AND THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE INDIVIDUAL.
SO LOOKING AT WHAT IS THE PAY GAP, YOU KNOW MM-HMM.
I I'M SURE YOU KNOW, CARPOOLING IS ONE OF ONE OF THE AREAS YOU'RE EXPLORING AND I, I WOULD IMAGINE YOU PROBABLY HAVE SOME PRETTY SUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS AT CARPOOLING, PARTICULARLY IF THERE WAS AN INCENTIVE.
YOU KNOW, IF THERE WAS AN INCENTIVE TO PAY FOR THE COST OF GAS FOR WHOEVER DRIVES A CARPOOL OR, OR THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO, UH, I, I DON'T THINK THAT THE FIRST TIME OUT YOU'RE GONNA SAY, WHAT IF WE OFFER THIS INCENTIVE? AND THAT'S INCENTIVE.
YOU JUST WANNA FIND OUT WHO MIGHT CONSIDER CARPOOLING OR RIDING A BUS, WHATEVER.
BUT I THINK THAT AS, AS WE LOOK AT THE VALUE OF AN INCENTIVE AND HOW MANY MORE IT MAY BRING INTO IT, UH, I THINK, I THINK WE CAN FIND, UH, A GOOD GROUND TO GET PEOPLE TO COME ON IN AND USE WHAT WE MAY CONSIDER PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OR THE TRANSPORTATION THAT THE CITY MIGHT PROVIDE, WHICH REALLY ISN'T PUBLIC, BUT MORE RELATED TO THEIR JOBS.
I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING, UH, THE RESULTS THAT WE GET.
I'D LOVE A COPY OF THE SURVEY AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, SEEING THOSE RESULTS AND SEE WHERE IT MAY LEAD LATER.
I'M SURE THE TEAM IS, UM, WORKING ON SENDING THAT TO Y'ALL RIGHT NOW.
'CAUSE WE LITERALLY JUST FINISHED REVIEWING THE SURVEY THAT THE TEAM PUT TOGETHER.
THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN COURAGE.
UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH TAMIKA, APPRECIATE YOU'RE WELCOME.
AND ACTUALLY WE GET YOU AGAIN ONE MORE TIME, SIR.
ITEM FOUR, THE BIKE NETWORK PLAN.
AND REALLY TO SPEAK TO THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY AND AMPO, EVEN BEFORE WE WERE A FUNDED AND ALLOCATED FUNDING FOR THE BIKE NETWORK PLAN, WHICH WE'RE WORKING ON NOW, $2.7 MILLION THAT THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED IN THE F Y 22 BUDGET.
THE REGIONAL BIKE PLAN THAT THE M P O ESTABLISHED MANY YEARS AGO WAS ACTUALLY THAT PLAN THAT INFLUENCED THE 2011 SAN ANTONIO BIKE MASTER PLAN.
SO IN 2011, $150,000 WAS ALLOCATED TO THAT BIKE PLAN.
AND THAT PLAN REALLY WAS EXTENSIVELY A, A, A NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND REALLY IDENTIFYING CORRIDORS WHERE BICYCLE INFRASTRUCTURE COULD POTENTIALLY BE PLACED.
SINCE THAT TIME, THE BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM THROUGH CITY COUNCIL HAS BEEN GIVEN A MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY SINCE 2016 TO FUND BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE, STRIPING LANES, ALSO ADDING SIGNAGE AND IN SOME AREAS DURING THE THERMO PLASTY THAT YOU SEE HERE.
BUT WHAT WAS REALLY A SEMINAL MOMENT FOR THE DEPARTMENT WAS THE $2.7 MILLION AWARDED IN F Y 2022 TO DEVELOP THE BIKE NETWORK PLAN.
AND WHAT WE WANNA SHARE WITH YOU TODAY IS WHERE WE ARE IN THAT STUDY, THE FIRM THAT WAS AWARDED THIS WORK, R, S AND H.
AND WE HAVE ELIZABETH HIGH HERE FROM THE TEAM WHO IS A PART OF A REALLY DYNAMIC TEAM OF R S N H, KITSON AND ASSOCIATES AND CHAMOY COLLABORATIVE HELPING US WITH THIS PROJECT.
THOSE ARE SOME OF THE, UM, MAIN PARTNERS ON THE TEAM SUPPORTING US.
WE STARTED OUR KICKOFF IN JANUARY.
[01:10:01]
WE HAD AN INTERNAL KICKOFF.WE'VE MET WITH SEVERAL OF YOUR COUNCIL OFFICES AND YOUR TEAMS, AND WE'RE CONTINUING THOSE INTERNAL CONVERSATIONS.
THE NEXT STEP FOR US IS A TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH SID WILL BE A PART OF.
UM, SO JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE HAVING THE CONVERSATIONS WITH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS IN THE REGION TO INFORM THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS STUDY.
AND SIMILAR TO THE T D M, WE ARE IN THAT DATA COLLECTION PHASE, LOOKING AT EXISTING INFORMATION, EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE, BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT MAY BE A PART OF PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS THAT MAY BE A PART OF CONNECTING TO REGIONAL PROJECTS.
AS SSID MENTIONED, ALL OF THIS CONNECTS TO COUNTY TO ADJACENT MUNICIPALITIES.
SO OUR REVISIONS OF OUR BRANDING AND LOGO ARE TAKING PLACE RIGHT NOW.
AND WE'RE FINALIZING THAT SO THAT WE CAN LAUNCH OUR WEBSITE IN THE NEXT MONTH.
WE'LL BE LAUNCHING OUR WEBSITE AND WE ANTICIPATE THE STUDY BEING COMPLETED BY AUGUST, 2025.
BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.
WE WILL BE, BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR, WE WILL HAVE THE FOUNDATION OF WHAT THAT PLAN LOOKS LIKE, AND WE WILL BE IN ANOTHER ROUND OF BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE DISCRETIONARY GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.
THE KEY COMPONENTS OF THE BIKE NETWORK PLAN ARE A FUNDING AND FINANCING STRATEGY.
ALSO LOOKING AT A HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT.
SO AS WE TALK ABOUT T D M AND SUSTAINABILITY AND AIR QUALITY, THE H I A IS GOING TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT'S THE CURRENT STATUS OF OUR HEALTH, WORKING WITH METRO HEALTH AND OTHER REGIONAL HEALTH PARTNERS TO SAY THIS IS THE CONDITION OF OUR COMMUNITY AND IF WE IMPLEMENT THE PLAN THAT RESULTS FROM THIS STUDY, WE CAN ANTICIPATE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE HEALTH OF OUR REGION BY THESE FACTORS.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE KEY COMPONENTS, INCLUDING A POLICY COMPONENT.
THE, WE'RE WORKING WITH I T S D AS WELL RIGHT NOW WITH MAPPING SOME OF THE EXISTING CONDITIONS THAT WE HAVE.
AND A SEMINAL ASPECT OF THE PLAN IS THAT WE'RE INCORPORATING THE HOWARD WP GREENWAY TRAIL WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE.
THAT'S A HUNDRED MILES ESSENTIALLY, THAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN CALLING BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT JUST RECREATION.
SO THAT'S GONNA GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO START LABELING IT A TRANSPORTATION NETWORK.
SO WHEN WE SEEK FUNDS, AND HOMER AND I SIT AND TALK ABOUT WHAT COMPONENTS OF ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE BOND TO COMPLETE THE TRAIL, WHERE CAN WE MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS AND ADD TO OUR BICYCLE NETWORK? SO EXPECT THE BRANDING, THE WEBSITE, DATA COLLECTION, EXISTING CONDITIONS AND INVENTORY ASSESSMENT.
AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE A MAP-BASED COMMUNITY SURVEY ON THE WEBSITE.
AND THAT'S ANOTHER SURVEY THAT WE WILL ALSO SEND TO YOU ALL.
AND PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT IT IS YOU WANT.
ONE OF THE CONVER, DURING OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUR RESPECTIVE OFFICES, WE'VE ASKED WHO SHOULD WE BE TALKING TO FROM YOUR COMMUNITY? WHO ARE THE CONSTITUENTS WHO YOU THINK WILL REALLY HAVE A POWERFUL VOICE, BUT ALSO SPEAK TO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE USE THE TERM THE SPANDEX WRITERS, WE DON'T JUST WANT TO ATTRACT THE PEOPLE WHO ALREADY RIDE BIKES.
WE WANT TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE WHO WE KNOW THAT OWNING A CAR IS A BURDEN FOR THEM, BUT IF THEY CAN GET A BIKE FOR $250 AND THAT CREATES ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY TO THEM FOR A JOB, THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO COME OUT OF THIS STUDY.
SO WE ENVISION DOING SOME TACTICAL BIKE LANES OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS FROM THOSE CORRIDORS TO REALLY SEE IF WE CAN GET PEOPLE TO USE A BIKE IF THEY'RE COMING FROM THOUSAND OAKS AND THEY HAVE A PROTECTED LANE, AND WE PUT SOME JERSEY BARRIERS UP IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY TO DEMONSTRATE WHAT IT'S LIKE.
THAT'S WHAT WE WANNA DO AS A PART OF THIS STUDY.
AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE, AND I WILL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
THAT'S A LOT OF GOOD STUFF, TAMIKA.
WE, UH, ROD AND I WERE MARVELING AT YOUR FIRST SLIDE WITH THE PRETTY BRIGHT GREEN, UH, UM, BIKE, YOU KNOW? YEAH, IT'S LOVELY.
AND, UM, OBVIOUSLY ATTRACTS ATTENTION AND THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT WE WANT.
BUT, UM, THANK YOU, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I KNOW I, Y'ALL HAVE HEARD ME SAY THIS A LOT OF TIMES, BUT WE, UM, I'LL CONTINUE TO SAY IT.
WE ARE, UM, BIKE RIDING, BIKE PATHS IN OUR CITY ARE, UM, ARE NOT A LUXURY, THEY'RE A NECESSITY.
UM, I LOVE WHAT YOU JUST SAID ABOUT THE SPANDEX.
WHAT'D YOU CALL 'EM? THE SPANDEX CREW OR YEAH, THE SPANDEX CREW.
YOU, I'VE NEVER THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE BEHIND THEM WHEN YOU'RE ON ACCOUNT ROAD OH, ROAD OR YOU'RE BEHIND THEM ON THE ROAD.
I KNOW, BUT WE WANNA MAKE IT SAFE FOR THEM TOO.
BUT YES, MY GOAL IN THE TEAM'S GOAL IS TO CREATE SPACES FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T ALREADY RIDE BIKES MM-HMM.
AND TO UNDERSTAND WHAT CONDITIONS DO THEY NEED.
THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE KNOW THE POPULATION THAT IS UNDERSERVED IN TERMS OF FACILITIES MM-HMM.
BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT POPULATION WITHIN OUR CITY WHO JUST DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A CAR AND CANNOT AFFORD A BUS PASS.
SO I SEE THE BITE, GIVEN THE CHALLENGES THAT THE TRANSIT INDUSTRY IS FACING, THAT OUR PARTNERS AT VIA ARE FACING WITH GETTING OPERATORS.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE OPERATORS, YOU CAN'T RUN BUSES.
SO THAT DISCONNECTS THE COMMUNITY TO ACCESS.
[01:15:01]
REALLY IMPORTANT TO US AS A PART OF THIS STUDY.I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE, THE SPANDEX CREW IS IMPORTANT, RIGHT? THEY'RE OUT THERE A LOT.
WE SEE, SEE 'EM, WE WANNA KEEP THEM SAFE.
UM, WE JUST HAD THE BIG BIKE RIDE FROM BERNIE, UH, TO, FROM U T S A TO BERNIE AND BACK, UM, OVER A THOUSAND BIKE RIDERS.
NOT SOMETHING I CAN DO, BUT AMAZING.
UM, BUT THERE ARE PARTS OF TOWN, UH, THAT, UH, MY OWN DISTRICT INCLUDED THAT, UH, USE A BIKE AS A NECESSITY.
I KNOW I'VE TOLD THIS STORY A LOT, BUT WE, WE HAVE, UM, BIKE RIDERS WHO RIDE THEIR BIKES TO THE BUS, PUT THEIR BIKES ON THE BUS, AND THEN GO WHERE THEY NEED TO GO AROUND TOWN TO GO TO WORK OR TO SCHOOL.
SO A BIKE IS THEIR FORM OF TRANSPORTATION.
IT'S NOT, UH, THEIR, THE HOBBY, THEIR HOBBY.
SO, UM, AND THEN YOU BRING UP A REALLY GOOD POINT, ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO PICK UP BIKES AND, AND GET AROUND TOWN LIKE THAT.
UH, WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THE HUGE POPULATION GROWTH IN THE AREA.
AT SOME POINT IT'S GOING TO BE, UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO THAT.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO BE MORE CREATIVE ABOUT GETTING AROUND, UM, NOT JUST IN OUR VEHICLES.
UH, I, I, I MAINTAIN THOUGH I WILL SAY THIS, I, I, I THINK THAT THE, THIS, OUR TOWN, UM, AND SID AND I TALKED ABOUT THIS YESTERDAY, OUR CITY AND OUR REGION, THERE'S A VERY HIGH PAIN POINT TO GET OUTTA YOUR CAR.
UM, FREE PARKING, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, THE AUTONOMY, THE INDEPENDENCE THAT YOU HAVE BEING IN YOUR VEHICLE.
SO WE'RE VERY TOLERANT UNTIL, BUT I, I STILL MAINTAIN THAT THERE, THAT PAIN POINT IS GONNA HAPPEN AND WE'RE GONNA NEED TO FIGURE OUT, UM, MORE CREATIVE WAYS TO GET AROUND, INCLUDING OUR TRAIL SYSTEM, ALL OF THAT.
SO, UM, OF COURSE THIS IS AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ISSUE.
UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD, UM, WAS, HOW CAN WE HELP YOU GET THE MESSAGE OUT? HOW CAN COUNCIL MAKE IT BETTER? AND YOU MENTIONED, UM, OF COURSE WORKING WITH US IN MY AREA, WE LIKE TO KNOCK ON DOORS.
UM, EVEN BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WHEN IT'S NOT ELECTION TIME, WE GO OUT ALL THE TIME.
AND, UH, BECAUSE THAT'S THE, THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO HELP PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE CITY.
PEOPLE ARE WORKING, THEY'RE RAISING THEIR FAMILIES.
THEY, UM, EVEN IF THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS GOOGLING WHAT, WHAT, WHAT CAN THE CITY DO FOR ME? RIGHT? OR WHAT PROGRAMS ARE OUT THERE? WELL, HOW CAN I PARTICIPATE? UM, SO ANYWAY, IT'S, IT'S REALLY INCUMBENT UPON US TO FIND THE, THOSE GET OUT INTO THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS, FIND THE CONNECTORS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS TO GET THE WORD OUT.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT IF THERE'S ANY OTHER WAY WE CAN HELP.
UM, I KNOW THAT THIS COUNCIL IS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO HELP GET THE WORD OUT AND WHAT THE CITY'S DOING.
AND I THINK THAT'S, UM, THIS IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY.
UM, WHAT I DO WANNA KNOW IS AFTER THE STUDY IS FINALIZED, WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS? WHAT, WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT? SO THE STUDY WILL ALSO INCLUDE AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
SO THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, WE ENVISION A 10 YEAR PLAN OF IMPLEMENTING THIS NETWORK.
SO EACH YEAR WE WILL USE THIS AS OUR GUIDE FOR OUR ASK FOR OUR BUDGET FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
SO IF, FOR EXAMPLE, AS A PART OF THE BIKE NETWORK PLAN, IT SAYS WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PROTECTED BIKE LANE DOWN ZAMORA IN YEAR ONE.
THAT'S GONNA BE OUR BUDGET ASK.
SO THE FUNDING AND FINANCING STRATEGY ARE REALLY CRITICAL BECAUSE THE FINANCING IS HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? THE FUNDING IS WHO'S GONNA BE THAT SOURCE.
SO THIS PLAN IS GOING TO TELL US IN THIS YEAR, WE KNOW WE HAVE BILL FOR SEVERAL MORE YEARS.
WE SHOULD BE GOING AFTER U P W P MONEY, SEE IT
SO THAT FUNDING STRATEGY IS GOING, GOING TO HELP GUIDE US IN OUR ASK.
SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THAT PLAN AND SAY, HEY, WE'RE IN 2027, WE KNOW WE NEED TO BE APPLYING FOR THE CALL FOR PROJECTS.
OR WE KNOW IN THIS YEAR WE'RE GOING TO APPLY FOR A RAISE GRANT FOR A SIGNIFICANT COMPONENT OF THE BIKE NETWORK PLAN THAT MAY COST 25 30 MILLION.
AND WE THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE COMPETITIVE BECAUSE IT CHECKS ALL OF THE BOXES FOR THE RAISES.
IT'S IN A JUSTICE 40 COMMUNITY.
IT CONNECTS THOSE UNDERSERVED RESIDENTS, OR IT CONNECTS THOSE MAJOR EMPLOYMENT CENTERS.
SO THAT'S OUR GOAL WITH THE PLAN, IS TO HAVE THAT BE OUR GUIDE FOR OUR ASK OF THE COUNCIL AND OUR FUTURE FUNDING REQUESTS FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES OF FUNDS, DISCRETIONARY AND OR FORMULA.
SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT A, UM, WHAT, WHAT IS KIND OF THE TIMELINE? I THINK YOU'RE TALKING VERY SPECIFICALLY ABOUT, UM, THE, SOME OF THE FUNDING SOURCES FROM NM P O IN 2027.
IS THAT WHAT WE'RE, SO AS WE LOOK AT WHAT THE FUNDING CYCLE IS FOR THE CALL FOR PROJECTS, WE'LL PREPARE OURSELVES FOR EACH YEAR.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE WILL SIT DOWN WITH R S N H AND THE TEAM AND SAY, OVER THESE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS, WE HAVE THIS MUCH MONEY IN THE APPORTIONMENT FOR THE STATE.
WE WILL ASK FOR THIS MUCH FROM TDOT AND THE M P O AND WE WILL SUBSEQUENTLY ASK FOR THIS MUCH FROM SAFE STREETS, OR WE MIGHT SAY A RAISE GRANT OR OTHER DISCRETIONARY PROGRAMS THAT MAY BE COMING DOWN THE PIKE WITH FUTURE REAUTHORIZATIONS.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COUNCILMAN? COURAGE.
[01:20:01]
UM, I'VE DONE ENOUGH TRAVELING OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES TO RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF BICYCLE TRANSPORTATION.UH, IF YOU'VE BEEN TO EUROPE, YOU SEE IT EVERYWHERE.
I'VE EVEN BEEN TO ASIA AND I SEE IT EVERYWHERE.
UH, BUT I, I'LL I'LL SAY WHEN I SAW IT IN ASIA, THEY HAVE A LOT OF VERY GOOD PROTECTION IN THEIR BIKE LANES.
THERE'S NO WAY A CAR IS GONNA HIT A BIKE UNLESS SOMEBODY REALLY GETS WAY OUT OF THEIR WAY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
UH, BECAUSE THEY, THEY ESTABLISHED VERY CLEAR, WELL DELINEATED AND WELL PROTECTED LANES.
UH, AND YOU KNOW, EVEN IN EUROPE YEARS AGO, YOU'D SEE BIKES GOING EVERYWHERE, BUT NOT ANYMORE.
THERE'S A LOT OF PROTECTION BUILT INTO THOSE.
AND, AND WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT MAKING A CHANGE ON BROADWAY TO PUT IN BIKE LANES AND WIDEN SIDEWALKS, BUT END UP NARROWING THE REGULAR TRAFFIC, TXDOT STEPPED IN AND SAID, NO, NO, NO, YOU CAN'T DO THAT.
AND I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY A LOT OF PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT WOULD SAY, NO, NO, NO, DON'T CLOSE DOWN THOSE TWO LANES TO ONE.
SO I THINK THERE'S SOME INHERENT OBSTACLES THAT WE ARE GONNA BE LOOKING AT THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO FACE WHEN IT, WHEN WE LOOK AT TRYING TO CREATE SAFE BIKE LANES, UH, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME MAINTAINING THE KIND OF FLOW OF TRAFFIC THAT WE, WE NEED FOR PEOPLE TO MOVE AROUND.
SO I'M INTERESTED IN SEEING HOW THIS PLAN DEVELOPS AND IT MEETS THOSE THINGS.
PARTICULARLY I WANT TO KNOW THAT THERE IS SOLID PROTECTION FOR PEOPLE ON BIKES, ON WHATEVER STREETS THEY'RE RIDING ON AS FAR AS MAIN ARTERIALS OR, YOU KNOW, CONNECTORS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UH, I ALSO WANNA SAY I AM VERY SKEPTICAL ABOUT USING, UH, THE GREENWAY TRAILS AS A WAY OF GETTING BACK FORTH TO WORK.
I WALK THE TRAILS, A LOT OF PEOPLE WALK THE TRAILS AND A LOT OF PEOPLE ON THOSE TRAILS ON BICYCLES ARE A HAZARD TO PEOPLE WALKING ON THOSE TRAILS.
I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU'RE GONNA ELIMINATE THAT HAZARD IF YOU'RE GONNA HAVE MORE PEOPLE GET ON THERE TRYING TO GO BACK AND FORTH TO WORK EARLY IN THE MORNING OR LATE IN THE DAY.
AND, AND THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN EVEN IMPOSE WHAT'S ON THERE NOW, A 15 MILE AN HOUR SPEED LIMIT FOR BICYCLES.
SO HOW ARE YOU GOING TO CONTROL PEOPLE WHO WANT TO GET BACK AND FORTH TO WORK IN THE MORNING AT THE END OF THE DAY, AS WELL AS PEDESTRIANS USING THOSE SAME WALKWAYS.
SO LIKE I SAID, I'M SKEPTICAL ABOUT TRYING TO USE THAT AS AN ADDITIONAL TRANSPORTATION WAY OF GETTING PEOPLE AROUND THE CITY.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT THOSE PLANS ARE GONNA BE FOR TRYING TO INCORPORATE THAT IN THERE.
AND I WANNA SEE THE COMMUNITY IS REALLY ALLOWED TO HAVE THEIR INPUT WHEN IT COMES TO TAKING THOSE TRAILS AND USING THEM FOR, UH, TRAFFIC FOR PEOPLE GOING BACK AND FORTH TO WORK.
I THINK YOU'D FIND THAT YOU WOULD NOT GET MASSIVE COMMUNITY SUPPORT OTHER THAN FOR THE BIKERS.
SO THOSE ARE A COUPLE OF THOUGHTS THAT COME TO MY MIND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THIS.
AND I'VE MENTIONED YOU, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE, YES, YOU MENTIONED ONE OF MY STREETS, THOUSAND OAKS.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE BIKE LANES ON THOUSAND OAKS
I THINK IT'S WIDE ENOUGH, BUT WE MIGHT END UP HAVING A NARROW FROM FOUR TO BOOM GOING BOTH WAYS AND A TURN LANE IN THE MIDDLE IN SOME PARTS TO JUST ONE GOING BOTH WAYS.
AND I THINK ONCE WE START LOOKING AT THE PRACTICALITY OF PUTTING IN PROTECTED BIKE LANES ON A LOT OF THOSE STREETS, WE'RE GOING TO BE HEARING A LOT FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU'RE WILLING TO LIMIT THEIR OWN DRIVING TO GET BACK AND FORTH.
ANYWAY, I JUST WANNA THROW THAT OUT THERE.
ONE COMPONENT OF THIS STUDY THAT WILL ADDRESS A LOT OF YOUR CONCERNS IS THE POLICY DOCUMENT.
SO WE COULD HAVE A WONDERFUL PLAN, BUT IF WE DON'T LOOK AT OUR EXISTING POLICIES AND STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES AND ZONING REQUIREMENTS, THEY COULD BE ANTITHETICAL TO THE PLAN THAT WE PROPOSE.
SO ONE OF THE TASKS WE WERE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT INCLUDING WAS THE POLICY GUIDANCE, WHICH WILL OUTLINE TO US WHAT ARE THE CURRENT POLICIES THAT NEED TO BE CHANGED AND OR DISCUSSED WITH THE COMMUNITY SPECIFICALLY.
LIKE YOU USE THE EXAMPLE OF THE TRAILS, THE TIME OF DAY, THE MANAGING, THE SPEEDS OF THOSE WHO ARE RIDING THEIR BIKES VERSUS THOSE WHO ARE WALKING AND WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THAT PROPOSAL TO ACTUALLY UTILIZE IT AS A TRANSPORTATION NETWORK.
SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT TASK AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO R S N H AND KITSON AND ASSOCIATES IN SHARING WITH US WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN THAT COMES FROM THIS STUDY.
AND, UH, THANK YOU AGAIN, TAMIKA.
I, I DO SHARE SIMILAR CONCERNS WHEN IT COMES TO THE TRAILS.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE ELISON, UH, CREEKWAY, IT'S NOT WIDE ENOUGH FOR TWO PEOPLE TO WALK TWO DOGS ON LEASHES.
AND THEN YOU PUT SOMEONE ON A BICYCLE IN THE MIX.
THAT'S A VERY DANGEROUS SCENARIO.
UM, AND ALSO, UM, PRIMARILY WITH THE, THE WEST SIDE CREEKS, RIGHT? IT'S, UM, FAR MORE EFFICIENT TO TAKE A STREET BIKE LANE RATHER THAN THE CREEK TO GET TO, TO
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ANYWHERE DOWNTOWN OR A MAIN CORRIDOR.UM, SO I, I DO SHARE THAT SIMILAR CONCERN, BUT, UH, I'M EXCITED FOR THE, UM, THE DEPLOYING THE COMMUNITY SURVEY.
I HAVE A COUPLE OF IDEAS FOR DISTRICT FIVE ON HOW TO ENGAGE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND UH, LAST WEEK MY OFFICE AND I, OR MY TEAM, AND I RATHER, UM, WE RAN INTO SOME HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO HAD THEIR FIXIE BIKES RIGHT HERE AT THE SEVEN 11.
THERE WERE ABOUT 12 OF 'EM AND THEY HAD THE COOLEST BIKES, BUT AS YOU KNOW, FIXES DON'T HAVE, UH, BREAKS.
AND, UH, WE TOOK A PHOTO 'CAUSE THEIR BIKES WERE COOL AND I NEEDED A PHOTO, RIGHT.
UH, AND THEY'RE LIKE, FOLLOW US ON, ON INSTAGRAM AND TWITTER, AND I LOOKED THEM UP, FIXIE BEANS IS THEIR, THEIR HANDLE.
AND I LEARNED THAT ONE OF 'EM WAS IN THIS REALLY BAD ACCIDENT, UH, OFF OF GUADALUPE STREET IN DISTRICT FIVE.
AND THE, THE BIKE LANE, THERE'S A BIKE LANE, BUT IT'S A, A BIT FADED AND IT'S PRETTY NARROW, RIGHT? UM, AND WHAT HAPPENED THERE IS SOMEONE PARKED ON THE BIKE LANE AND HE RAN INTO IT.
UM, AND THIS IS WHAT I LEARNED AFTER, RIGHT? INSTAGRAM
AND, AND WITH THAT, I'M ALL THAT TO SAY THAT I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A COMPLETE AND, UH, AUDIT OF IT.
WOULD THAT BE OF THE CURRENT BIKE LANES THAT EXIST OR WHAT? WHAT'S THAT? YEAH, SO THAT'S THE EXISTING CONDITIONS.
THAT'S REALLY THE, THE CHALLENGE THAT WE'RE FACING RIGHT NOW IS A LOT OF, BECAUSE OF THE SUN, WHAT IT DOES TO OUR ROADWAYS.
AND I KNOW A RIDER'S LIKE, YES, WE LIVE WITH THIS ALL THE TIME IN PUBLIC WORKS, BUT SOME OF THE CORRIDORS, YEAH, SOME OF THE CORRIDORS WHERE WE HAVE HAD BIKE LANES, IF IT'S BEEN REPAVED AND IT WAS SO FADED MM-HMM.
SO A LARGE PART OF THE WORK THAT THE TEAM IS HAVING TO DO NOW IS WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO HAVE TO DO A MORE EXTENSIVE DATA COLLECTION EFFORT MM-HMM.
BUT IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED, THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PARKING, THAT'S PRECISELY WHY WE HAVE THAT POLICY COMPONENT OF THE STUDY BECAUSE IN A LOT OF PARTS OF THE CITY, WE ALLOW PARKING, BUT THERE'S A BIKE LANE MM-HMM.
SO OUR, OUR ZONING REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT IN KEEPING WITH OUR ACTUAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO A LARGE PART OF THE EXISTING DATA COLLECTION IS LOOKING AT THOSE CONTRADICTIONS THAT WE HAVE WHERE WE'VE SAID, HEY, CYCLISTS, YOU CAN GO RIDE HERE, BUT WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE AS IN GEORGIA, THE JUNGLE.
AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR PLAN IS CONSISTENT AND THAT WE UPDATE THOSE POLICIES AND GUIDANCE AND WHATEVER THOSE STATUTES MM-HMM.
AND I THINK IN THE PAST WE HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THAT.
WE'VE JUST SAID THIS IS A GREAT ROAD, BUT WHAT ARE SOME OF THOSE THINGS, CURB CUTS THAT WE LOOK AT? AND WE HAVE TO BE SENSITIVE TO RESIDENTS WHO DON'T, YOU KNOW, EVERY RESIDENT DOESN'T WANT A BIKE LANE IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSE.
IT'S A GREAT IDEA UNTIL IT'S IN FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE.
SO WE WANNA HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND WE'D BE HAPPY TO GO AND WE WANNA GO OUT, IF THERE'S A H O A WE ARE GOING TO HAVE ON THE WEBSITE WHERE THEY CAN REQUEST THAT WE COME OUT TO THEIR H O A AND TALK TO THEM.
AND IF THEY WANT US TO BRING INFORMATION OR IF THEY JUST WANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT THE STUDY OR THEY WANT BE ENGAGED, WE WANNA DEFINITELY HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, YOU'RE OFF THE HOOK, TAMIKA.
UM, AND OUR MEETING IS ADJOURNED.