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CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM |
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Department: |
Transit |
Commission Meeting Date: May 16, 2017 |
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Staff Contact: |
Robert Nugent, Transit Administrator Jessica Mortinger, Senior Transportation Planner |
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Recommendations/Options/Action Requested: |
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Authorize the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Agreement with a firm to conduct a Transit Center Location Analysis. |
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Executive Summary: |
Lawrence Transit and the Lawrence Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) are coordinating to pursue a new consultant-led study to identify locations for both a primary and secondary transfer hubs. The proposal leverages $10,000 in available Transit Fund dollars to match a $40,000 Consolidated Planning Grant (CPG) to fund the study. The use of these funds for this project has been vetted by both KDOT and the MPO. The city forfeits this unspent grant funding at the end of this fiscal year, so staff recommends appropriating the funding to address this priority.
The transfer hub was identified as a priority to support the most efficient and effective operation of the Transit system and it was funded through the 0.05 cent Transit Expansion Sales Tax approved by voters in 2008. A site study was previously completed but the results of that study have essentially been exhausted and the recommended locations are no longer viable options – the exception being the KU Endowment property at 21st and Stewart. Staff recommends this study in order to support a decision making process that engages the public and stakeholders and provides the most useful and relevant information possible to the City Commission in its decision making process.
With a potential sales tax referendum later this year, the timing of this study would provide an additional opportunity to better understand the public perception of transit and the value of permanent amenities such as a primary transfer hub and secondary hubs. The study would not be complete until December 2017, so any decision about the city’s long term financial commitments associated with the recommended site/sites would occur after the November sales tax election, should the Commission decide to place the sales tax on the November ballot. Should the sales tax be placed on the November ballot, the timing of the study and public engagement process will align well with the sales tax election and the Commission will know the status of future Transit funding before the results of the location study are presented to the Commission.
The proposed study’s scope differs from the previous study. At the Commission’s direction, the Request for Proposals (RFP) was written to specifically solicit an analysis of the feasibility to site multiple transfer hubs as opposed to only one hub. The RFP was written to solicit a high level of public and stakeholder involvement early in the process. Additionally, the study will evaluate potential public private partnership opportunities to maximize the return on investment of public dollars. These objectives differ from the previous study which focused on locating one transfer hub site based primarily on operational needs and data analysis. The previous study process engaged the public after the recommendations were developed as opposed to the proposed study which will engage the public and Commission in identifying the decision criteria from the beginning. And while the previous study did not exclude the concept of public private partnerships, it was not a driving factor in the process.
The Study Team has reviewed submissions and recommends TranSystems, a nationally recognized transit planning and engineering firm, to perform the study. As proposed, TranSystems’ project approach brings a different perspective to the previous location analysis efforts by introducing a high level of public and stakeholder involvement early in the process. This effort will also be aided by data and information gained from the recent Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) that was not available during the previous study. With their considerable experience on similar projects, they possess a firm understanding of the challenges that need to be addressed through this study and decision making process.
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Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor |
Safe, Healthy, and Welcoming Neighborhoods Innovative Infrastructure and Asset Management Core Services Collaborative Solutions |
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Fiscal Impact (Amount/Source): |
The fiscal impact is $50,000 for the cost of the study. The cost is funded by an 80/20 Consolidated Planning Grant ($40,000 grant funding and $10,000 Transit Fund). Recommendations from the study process would require additional financial investment which has been planned for in the Capital Improvement Program and are funded by the 0.05 cent Transit Expansion Sales Tax. |
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Attachments: |
Lawrence Transit Center Location Analysis Final Report – Added 05/16/17 |
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Reviewed By: (for CMO use only) |
☐TM ☐DS ☐CT ☒BM |