Մետրոյի մասին հայերեն լեզվով տեղեկություններ ստանալու համար, խնդրում ենք զանգահարել այս հեռախոսահամարով

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1 REVISED Minutes SAN FERNANDO VALLEY SERVICE COUNCIL Regular Meeting Wednesday, September 2, :30PM Marvin Braude San Fernando Valley Constituent Center 6262 Van Nuys Boulevard Van Nuys, CA All Metro meetings are held in ADA accessible facilities. Meeting location served by Metro Local Lines 154, 156, 164, 233, 237, Metro Rapid Line 744, and Metro Orange Line. Called to Order at 6:32 p.m. Council Members Present: Michael Cano, Chair Donald Weissman, Vice Chair Ernesto Hidalgo Antonio Lopez Yvette Lopez-Ledesma Jesus R. Ochoa Dennis Washburn Officers: Jon Hillmer, Executive Director Gary Spivack, Deputy Executive Officer Dolores Ramos, Council Admin. Analyst Henry Gonzalez, Council Comm. Rel. Mgr Karen Swift, Community Relations Mgr. Israel Marin, Transportation Planner Collette Langston, Office of the Board Secretary For Metro information in English, please call the following phone number: Para más información de Metro en español, por favor llame al número que aparece a continuación: Մետրոյի մասին հայերեն լեզվով տեղեկություններ ստանալու համար, խնդրում ենք զանգահարել այս հեռախոսահամարով Для получения информации о Metro на русском языке, пожалуйста, позвоните по указанному ниже телефонному номеру: 需要都会运输局的 ( 语言名称 ) 资料, 请拨打以下电话号码 : Metro に関する日本語での情報は 以下の電話番号でお問い合わせください : ส าหร บข อม ลเก ยวก บรถโดยสารเมโทรเป นภาษา [ไทย] กร ณาต ดต อท หมายเลขโทรศ พท ด านล าง: ដ ម បន យ ជ ម អ កបក រ Metro ម ក ស មទ រស ព ត លខ 메트로 (Metro) 정보를 [ 한국어 ] 로알아보시려면, 아래번호로전화하십시오 : Để biết thông tin về Metro bằng tiếng Việt, vui lòng gọi số điện thoại dưới đây:

2 1. PLEDGE of Allegiance 2. RECOGNIZED Division 8 Bus Operator Arnold Fortaleza, Gary Spivack, Deputy Executive Officer, Don McKenzie, Division 8 Transportation Manager Operator Fortaleza was recognized by Gary Spivack, Deputy Executive Officer, Don McKenzie, Division 8 Transportation Manager, and the Council for his excellent driving record and customer service. 3. APPROVED Minutes of July 1, 2015 Meeting with Abstention of Councilmember Lopez 4. RECEIVED Chair s Remarks Chair Cano expressed appreciation of staff s work to keep the Council informed. He mentioned that Metro recently hired a new Chief Operating Officer, Jim Gallagher. 5. RECEIVED Public Comment David Arnold requested that Metro provide recyclable bags to distribute through the annual YMCA s San Fernando Valley Thanksgiving Dinner Give Away. They typically give out 3,000-4,000 meals and use 6,000-8,000 bags to pack the meals that are delivered to the families. The families are chosen through the school system. Mr. Spivack replied that it would be a gift of public resources and that the agency does not have sufficient funds to provide that amount of materials to all organizations that would then approach. He recommended that the organization consider approaching the for-profit organizations that donate to the event. Nate Zablen, Southern California Transit Advocates commented that he is seeing a lot of fare evasion on buses. When patrons don t have enough money on their TAP cards, the operators just let them on the bus anyway. People are also sneaking in through the back doors Operators don t have time to argue with the patrons about fare. The system is losing money that could be used to improve service. He would like to see statistics on how much fare evasion occurs and how much it is costing Metro. Mr. Spivack replied that there is limited data on passengers who pay partial or no fare. A report on fare evasion will be brought to a future Council meeting. Jason Ackerman commented on the special edition TAP cards that were available for the Special Olympics and Metro s 25th Anniversary. He had messaged Metro through the Instagram account and was told that they weren t doing special edition cards for the 25th Anniversary and then the cards were released. However, they were only made available at 4 stations near downtown and off of the Blue Line; the celebration is supposed to be a yearlong event of the entire system. He would like to see the cards made available at other stations across the system; at the very least, at North Hollywood Station to acknowledge that the Valley is part of the system. At previous meetings he requested that signage be installed around the escalators directing people to stand on the right and walk on the left but he hasn t seen any. He believes that simple signage would really help. SFV Service Council September 2, 2015 Minutes 2

3 6. RECEIVED Update on NoHo Joint Development Project and Community Outreach, Jenna Hornstock, Deputy Executive Officer, Countywide Planning Metro's Joint Development (JD) Program is a real estate management program that collaborates with qualified developers to build transit-oriented developments (TODs) on Metro-owned properties. These properties are often parcels of land that contain Metro Rail station portals or platforms or that were acquired for parking or construction staging for transit projects. The process begins with initial community outreach, where community meetings are held to assist with the creation of Development Guidelines. Guidelines are then developed and submitted for Board approval, which typically takes 6-8 months, after which Developer Solicitation/Selection occurs. This includes issuing a Request for Information and Qualifications (RFIQ) and/or Request for Proposals (RFP), evaluation of proposals and community updates. The results of these are the authorization by the Metro Board of the Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENA) with the recommended developer(s). This takes approximately 6-8 months. Project Refinement, Joint Development Agreement (JDA) and Ground Lease (GL) negotiations are next. During this phase, the developer progresses with architectural design and there are several iterations of developer-led community outreach and input. This is the beginning of entitlements, CEQA process and the negotiation of financial terms. This leads to the Metro Board approval of the JDA and GL. This phase takes months. Finally is permitting and construction. Included is city engineering, the creation of construction documents, securement of city building permits, city-related approvals, on-site construction and occupancy. This completes the project and takes months. In total, the process can take 4-5 years. Projects currently undergoing this process include North Hollywood Station, a 15.6 acre site including terminus of Metro Red and Orange Lines and adjacent Metro-owned parcels and Sepulveda Station, a acre site at the existing park and ride facility for the Sepulveda Station of the Metro Orange Line. The NoHo site is in the community-driven design stage which will begin in September 2015, then release of the RFP with Metro Board-approved Guidelines to short listed developers is anticipated in January Metro is currently procuring design and financial consultants for the Sepulveda project and the communitydriven Development Guidelines process will begin in early 2016 with the release of the RFP anticipated in spring 2016 after Board adoption of the Guidelines. The way the RFIQ was written required that the developers need to have significant experience in affordable housing. The RFIQ was shared with the AIA, ULI, BIA, and Metro s own extensive database of developers. Metro is also working with the City Housing Department. Councilmember Hidalgo shared that Los Angeles County Affordable Housing ( and the Housing Rights Center, have a database of affordable housing on their websites. Council asked how the project will affect transit around the NoHo Station. Ms. Hornstock replied that final plans have not been drawn up, only basic requirements were shared with developers. Chair Cano requested that those requirements be shared with the Council. SFV Service Council September 2, 2015 Minutes 3

4 Jason Ackerman applauds Metro for adding TODs. He doesn t think the W Hotel is a good example of the concept as they made Metro move a bus stop. He suggested that the information be shared with the neighborhood councils to get their buy-in. They are elected to represent the area and know what their constituents want for their neighborhoods. He encouraged inclusion of renewable energy resources like water, electric and solar power. He thinks the discount cap may be too low and would like to see it at 45% to incentivize building of more affordable housing. 7. RECEIVED Presentation on Annual Customer Survey and Fall Survey Preview, Jeff Boberg, Transportation Planning Manager, Strategic Initiatives Metro conducts a semiannual customer satisfaction survey focus on a variety of issues. The most recent survey collected nearly 20,000 responses and was completed in spring of Overall, perception of Metro performance has been increasing, as has access to cell phones and smart phones. The survey also included a series of questions addressing sexual harassment and makeup of households of Metro patrons. Metro has also developed an extensive campaign to address the problem of sexual harassment. Harassment can be reported via the Transit Watch cell phone app which sends reports directly to bus operations control and the on duty watch commander. Reporting through the app also helps track where incidents occur, which is used to deploy system security. Councilmember Lopez Ledesma suggested expanding methods for patrons to report, such as providing the Transit Watch app in Spanish or providing other means of reporting for those who do not have smart phones. She asked if it was possible to analyze the data by location where it was collected. Mr. Boberg clarified that the survey is taken on board and there is no way to tell where along the bus line the respondent boarded or alighted. Councilmember Hidalgo asked where patrons with the highest income are concentrated in ridership. Mr. Boberg replied that overall, rail tends to carry patrons with a higher median income. Staff did not analyze by line, however, a line by line analysis would not necessarily indicate where those riders live. Chair Cano asked that future survey data be analyzed by Line/region so that the data might be compared to performance metrics and used to address service issues. Jerome Segal was on his way to a friend s house a few hours ago. He walked to Vanowen, east of Balboa, and a bus listed as a regular bus full of students passed him. Then a second and a third bus went by him. He walked to Hayvenhurst and a bus stopped. He asked why the buses aren t listed as school buses on the schedule. He needed to get somewhere and it was an inconvenience with all of the pass-ups. He understands that the buses stop at Birmingham and are full of students but they should be listed as such. Ralf Quint was late to the Council meeting because the bus was late. A Councilmember make a comment about people on the bus feeling uncomfortable and he has experienced that while on the bus. Mr. Quint said he s had problems with a bum that rides Line 734 and two men board on Ventura Blvd. that stink. One of them boarded the bus with soiled pants. He s only once seen an operator tell them that they couldn t board the bus. The seats need to be disinfected after they disembark and some of the buses are unbearable. He knows they shouldn t discriminate but there should be a limit as to what people are expected to put up with when they ride the bus. There are also sanitary standards that should be considered. SFV Service Council September 2, 2015 Minutes 4

5 8. RECEIVED Presentation on Ridership Trends and Initiatives, Conan Cheung, Executive Officer, Office of Management and Budget Overall, Metro has experienced a decline in bus ridership since 2014, similar to national and regional trends. Metro and regional rail ridership has declined despite national upward trends. In examining external factors affecting ridership, employment has the strongest correlation. However, the reduction in service hours as an internal factor that occurred a couple of years ago did not influence boardings. Fare changes generally have temporary effect on ridership. Increased enforcement also caused a slight decline, but ridership is rebounding. Overall, customer complaints have increased, which warrants closer examination. Metro has formed a task force aimed at retaining current ridership, and is trying to encourage choice riders to use the system for more of their trips. Nate Zablen is a daily bus rider. It is hard to stay with the bus system because often times they don t run every 20 minutes like they re supposed to but really they run every minutes. The schedule should be real time so the times are more accurate. The buses are based on the grid system from 50 years ago and there are areas that have a denser population of riders. This forces the riders to walk a noticeable distance to a stop. Can some lines be changed to where there is higher ridership? Patterns of ridership have changed and he thinks that ridership would improve with better schedules that were synced between trains and buses, even when there s reduced frequency. Wayne Wright said that the low density routes are poor with lack of service. There is no service to Porter Ranch on Sunday and there is a lack of shaded stops while waiting for the bus in the heat. The EZ Pass has been around since 2002 and the only purchase option is a monthly pass. The TAP card cannot be used for all of the municipal operators and that is why the EZ Pass is important. Metro has not done enough to expand the EZ Pass so riders can ride seamlessly. Efran Stone lives in a neighborhood that can be considered close to Orange Line stations but not close enough to walk every day. For him to use the system daily, he has to Uber to the station, because the connecting bus only has 40 minute service even during rush hour. Mr. Stone attempted to use the system to get from USC to North Hollywood Station during the late evening hours and spent a lot of time waiting due to poor timing of connections and service disruptions. Councilmember Washburn stressed that better marketing of Metro use to access national, state, and regional parks and tourist destinations is needed, not only for tourists, but also for local residents who might consider visiting destinations if they better understood how to use the system and the convenience to many of those locations. Councilmember Lopez-Ledesma suggested that Metro work with LAUSD, local clinics and other large community organizations to do more education about how to use the system. 9. RECEIVED Report on San Fernando Valley Service Performance, Gary Spivack, Deputy Executive Officer Bus Cleanliness Rating: San Fernando Valley: 9.12, Goal: 8.0 On-time Performance: San Fernando Valley: 83.6%, Goal: 80.0% SFV Service Council September 2, 2015 Minutes 5

6 Complaints Per 100,000 Passengers: San Fernando Valley: 3.20, Goal: 3.46 Accidents per 100,000 miles: San Fernando Valley: 2.82, Goal: 3.38 Average Weekday Ridership: San Fernando: 178,675 Chair Cano requested that the Council be provided with more information regarding any measures that Metro is taking to reduce water usage in the drought. 10. RECEIVED Chair and Council Member Comments Councilmember Washburn said that at the Quarterly Meet & Confer, Mr. Washington expressed high hopes for the Department of Extraordinary Innovation and he hopes it helps to make Los Angeles known for innovation. Councilmember Weissman wished the Council safe and happy holidays. Councilmember Cano mentioned that Gold Line Station dedications are being held; the extension should open for revenue service in spring He requested that the Councilmembers be invited to the grand opening. The Antelope Valley Metrolink Line has reduced the fares by 25% and is offering a deal of $2 from station to station along the line. Mr. Spivack shared a brief background about James Gallagher, the new Chief Operating Officer for Metro. He has a long history of working in transit with an emphasis in rail. ADJOURNED at 8:55 p.m. SFV Service Council September 2, 2015 Minutes 6