[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:05]
I WILL CALL TO ORDER THE FEBRUARY 22ND, 2024 MEETING OF THE PETALUMA TRANSIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
THIS IS A SPECIAL MEETING WITH JUST A SINGLE AGENDA ITEM.
I BELIEVE WE BEGIN BY CALLING ROLL ABRAMS. HERE, ALDEN.
[PRESENTATIONS]
THAT, WE GO ON TO OUR FIRST ITEM, THE PRESENTATION ON THE BLUEPRINT FOR CARBON NEUTRALITY.MR. HALL, I ASSUME YOU WILL KICK US OFF.
GREAT TO SEE EVERYONE AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON.
SO, AS YOU MAY RECALL, THIS IS A CONTINUATION, UH, GENERALLY OF OUR LAST MEETING.
WE HAD TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, SO WE WEREN'T ABLE TO HAVE A DISCUSSION AS WAS INTENDED ON THE BLUEPRINT FOR CARBON NEUTRALITY.
AND SO WE'RE BACK HERE AT THIS SPECIAL MEETING TODAY, AND THAT'S THE ONLY ITEM WE HAVE ON OUR AGENDA.
SO WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, TIME FOR A NICE DISCUSSION AND ANY QUESTIONS OR PUBLIC COMMENTS THAT WE HAVE FOR THAT.
UH, SO WITH THAT, UM, HEATHER HINES IS HERE TO HELP LEAD US THROUGH THE DISCUSSION.
ANYTHING, COMMITTEE MEMBER, CHAIR.
UM, SO I'M PLEASED TO BE HERE, UM, TO RUN THROUGH A BRIEF PRESENTATION ABOUT THE BLUEPRINT, CARBON NEUTRALITY.
AND REALLY, I SHOULD PROBABLY TALK INTO MY MICROPHONE, HUH? UM, TO TALK ABOUT THE BLUEPRINT FOR CARBON NEUTRALITY.
UM, WE'VE DONE A LITTLE BIT OF TAILORING THIS TO YOUR COMMITTEE'S PURVIEW, LOOKING AT SOME OF THE CORNERSTONE ACTIONS, UM, UH, THAT HAVE TO DO WITH TRANSIT.
UM, AND, UM, RECEIVE YOUR COMMENTS.
I DO KIND OF WANNA JUST PREFACE THIS, THAT THE CITY HIRED, UM, RAMI AND ASSOCIATES TO PREPARE THIS.
SO THERE IS A LOT OF TECHNICAL STUFF THAT HAPPENS ON THE BACKSIDE OF PREPARING THIS IN TERMS OF HOW SOME OF THE STUDIES WERE DONE AND THE INVENTORIES AND SUCH.
I'M HAPPY TO DO MY BEST WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT METHODOLOGY, BUT I MIGHT ALSO HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT I CAN'T CONJURE UP A, A, A COHERENT ANSWER ON.
UM, BUT REALLY IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY, UM, FOR ALL THE CCBS TO PROVIDE SOME INPUT ON THIS.
UM, VERY BIG, VERY PIVOTAL PLAN, UM, FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND COMMENTS WILL BE CONSIDERED WHEN WE'RE MAKING REVISIONS FOR A FINAL DRAFT, ULTIMATELY FOR ADOPTION.
SO, WITH THAT, UM, JUST TOUCHING A LITTLE BIT ON THE PROCESS SO FAR.
SO THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR SOME TIME.
UM, WE HAD ORIGINALLY THOUGHT THAT THE CLIMATE ACTION AND ADAPTATION PLAN WOULD BE PART OF THE GENERAL PLAN, WHICH WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON.
UM, GIVEN THE CITY'S, UH, COMMITMENT TO CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2030, AND SOME OF THE TIMING WITH THE GENERAL PLAN, IT FELT LIKE, UH, THE BEST DECISION TO SEPARATE THIS BLUEPRINT FOCUSED ON OUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND MOVE IT FORWARD IN ADVANCE SO WE COULD REALLY START FOCUSING ON, UH, COMMUNITY ACTIONS AROUND REDUCING GHG EMISSIONS AND WORKING TOWARDS THAT CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2030 GOAL.
UM, SO THERE WAS, UM, A COMMUNITY-WIDE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INVENTORY THAT WAS DONE, AND THAT WORKED OFF THE SONOMA COUNTY CLIMATE PROTECTION AUTHORITIES WORK.
UM, AND, UH, REALLY TO LOOK AT, OKAY, WHERE ARE WE TODAY? HOW MUCH, UM, EMISSION, HOW MANY MUCH EMISSIONS ARE WE DEALING WITH SO THAT WE KNOW WHERE WE NEED TO GET TO, TO BE CARBON NEUTRAL? UM, AND THEN WHAT THE BLUEPRINT DID WAS LOOKED AT DIFFERENT SCENARIOS FOR HOW DO, HOW DO WE GET THERE? HOW DO WE GET TO CARBON NEUTRALITY? WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO? AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT AS, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION, UM, AND RELATED THAT SERIES OF ACTION PLANS THAT ARE GOING TO GET US TO WHERE WE SEEK TO, TO GO.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE RIGHT IN THIS CCB REVIEW.
UM, I THINK PLANNING COMMISSION NEXT WEEK IS THE FINAL CCB TO REVIEW AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK.
SO, UM, IT'S BEEN A GREAT, UM, PROCESS TO GET THE COMMENTS FROM THE DIFFERENT CCBS ON THEIR, KIND OF THEIR NICHE, YOU KNOW, THAT THE AREAS THAT THEY'RE EITHER FOCUSED ON, UH, MORE, HAVE MORE EXPERTISE ON, UM, AND GET THAT FEEDBACK.
UH, SO WHAT IS THE BLUEPRINT FOR CARBON NEUTRALITY? IT REPRESENTS THE CITY'S
[00:05:01]
PROGRAM TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.AGAIN, I TOUCHED ON THIS, BUT IT REALLY BUILDS ON A LOT OF THE PRIORITIES, UM, THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS ALREADY PUT FORWARD, UH, INCLUDING OUR CLIMATE EMERGENCY FRAMEWORK.
UM, MUCH OF THE PRIORITIES THAT HAVE COME OUT WITH THAT AROUND CARBON NEUTRALITY, THE CLIMATE ACTION COMMISSIONS AD HOC, THEY DID AN, UM, WORK THAT INFORMED MUCH OF THESE, UM, MUCH OF THE ACTION PLANS IN HERE.
SO, UH, IT'S REALLY BUILDING OFF OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE'VE ALREADY ADOPTED.
WE'VE ALREADY HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT, UH, IT'S INCORPORATES, UH, INNOVATIVE PRACTICES.
IT'S A SHORT RANGE PLAN BECAUSE 2030 IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER.
UM, AND THAT IS KIND OF ONE OF THE BIG COMMENTS WE'VE BEEN GETTING BACK FROM A LOT OF THE CCBS IS GREAT, AND THIS IS REALLY AGGRESSIVE, AND THAT, THAT WAS THE TASK THAT WE WERE GIVEN, IS TELL US WHAT WE WOULD NEED TO DO.
TELL US HOW TO GET TO CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2030.
UM, THE DRAFT WAS RELEASED IN OCTOBER AND HAS BEEN OUT, UM, FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, UM, SINCE THAT TIME.
SO IT'S BEEN OUT FOR QUITE A WHILE NOW.
UH, THIS KIND OF TOUCHES ON WHAT I HAD ORIGINALLY SAID.
WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA DO CLIMATE ACTION AND ADAPTATION PLAN IN ONE, AND WE'VE DECIDED TO BREAK THEM APART JUST BECAUSE OF TIMING.
SO THE BLUEPRINT IS REALLY THAT GREENHOUSE GAS MITIGATION.
IT'S WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO TO REDUCE AND CURB OUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS CLIMATE ADAPTATION? UM, IT'S REALLY TALKING ABOUT WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO TO PROTECT OURSELVES FROM THE VULNERABILITY OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
AND SO IT IS NOT THAT WE'RE NOT DOING THAT, WE ARE DOING THAT AS PART OF THE GENERAL PLAN, AND THAT MUCH OF THAT IS RELATED TO THE SEA LEVEL RISE AND FLOODING MODELING THAT THE CITY JUST DID.
IT'S JUST THIS IS OUT IN FRONT OF IT, UM, AS A SEPARATE DOCUMENT.
SO WE STILL WILL BE, UH, DEALING WITH AND, AND DISCUSSING MEASURES FOR BOTH MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION.
SO THIS IS A, A, YOU KNOW, SIMPLIFIED PIE CHART OF, UM, WHAT THAT GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY SHOWED.
UM, SO COMMUNITY-WIDE, WE EMIT 472,422 METRIC TONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE, UM, IN 2018, WHICH WAS, WHICH WAS THE, THE MOST RECENT DATA.
UM, AND WHAT IS IMMEDIATELY EVIDENT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS IS THAT TRANSPORTATION IS A HUGE PIECE OF THIS PIE.
SO 67% OF THOSE EMISSIONS IS RELATED TO ON-ROAD TRANSPORTATION.
UM, THE OTHER BIG ONE IS ENERGY USE.
SO YOU WILL SEE THAT THAT JUST THE DATA SHOWED US, THESE ARE THE TWO BIG THINGS THAT WE REALLY NEED TO BE FOCUSING ON IN ORDER TO ADDRESS GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.
SO, AS I MENTIONED, WE HAD THAT DATA, WE KNEW WHERE WE NEEDED HOW MUCH, UH, CARBON DIOXIDE WE NEEDED TO REDUCE IN TERMS OF OUR EMISSIONS.
AND SO WE STARTED LOOKING AT DIFFERENT SCENARIOS TO SEE WHERE THOSE SCENARIOS WOULD GET US.
SO THE FIRST SCENARIO WAS A BUSINESS AS USUAL, AND THIS REALLY WAS KIND OF TAKE NO ACTION, JUST KIND OF KEEP, KEEP, YOU KNOW, FOLLOWING OUR RULES, FOLLOWING STATE EMISSION RULES, UM, UH, BUT NOT TAKE ANY ACTION ADJUSTED BUSINESS AS USUAL WAS, UM, SHOWING, UH, THE ANTICIPATED CHANGES IN THE STATE POLICIES WITHOUT THE LOCAL GOING BEYOND THAT.
UM, AMBITIOUS CLIMATE ACTION WAS REALLY US, US TAKING IT FURTHER AS SAYING, WE ARE GONNA TAKE AMBITIOUS ACTIONS.
WE ARE GOING TO HAVE LOCAL, UM, REGULATIONS THAT TAKE US FURTHER.
UM, AND WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT STILL DIDN'T GET US TO WHERE WE NEEDED TO GO.
SO THE FINAL SCENARIO WAS ESSENTIALLY, WHAT DOES IT TAKE? AND THEY, THE CONSULTANTS DEALT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF PLAYED WITH DIFFERENT THINGS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT, HOW ARE WE GONNA GET THAT NEEDLE DOWN TO WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE? AND THIS, THIS SHOWS YOU THOSE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS.
SO YOU'LL SEE BUSINESS AS USUAL, IT JUST KIND OF KEEPS CLIMBING ADJUSTED BUSINESS AS USUAL.
IT DID DECREASE, UM, BUT IT NOT NEARLY ENOUGH.
[00:10:01]
CLIMATE ACTION, UM, THAT SHOWS YOU WE STILL HAD A GAP.UM, AND SO THAT, WHAT DOES IT TAKE WAS THE SCENARIO.
UM, AND THIS, I THINK THIS GRAPH OR THIS, UM, VISUAL KIND OF GIVES YOU A GOOD EYE, GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW MUCH FURTHER WE HAD HAD TO GO TO GO FROM THAT AMBITIOUS CLIMATE ACTION TO WHAT DOES IT TAKE.
SO BACK TO BUILDING EFFICIENCIES AND DECARBONIZING EXISTING BUILDINGS UNDER THAT AMBITIOUS CLIMATE ACTION SCENARIO, THE, THE PROJECTION WAS, OKAY, WE WILL DECARBONIZE 40% OF EXISTING BUILDINGS, AND THE, WHAT DOES IT TAKE? IT'S 85%.
SO THAT, THAT KIND OF SHOWS YOU THE MAGNITUDE OF WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH TO GET TO CARBON NEUTRALITY.
UM, THE OTHER ONE THAT I THINK IS A BIG ONE IS THE MODE SHARE.
SO 50% OF ALL TRIPS BY NON-AUTO MODES, UM, UNDER AMBITIOUS CLIMATE ACTION AND 75 UNDER THE, WHAT DOES IT TAKE? UM, THE ELECTRIC VEHICLES REALLY STAYED AROUND 25% BECAUSE OF THAT BIG CHANGE IN THE MODE SHARE.
SO, UM, IT DIDN'T ALSO CHANGE.
SO THAT, THAT GETS US DOWN TO WITHIN 12,600, UM, METRIC TONS, UM, WHICH IS AS, AS CLOSE AS THIS GOT US, UM, UNDER, UNDER THIS BLUEPRINT.
SO, UM, I JUST, I THINK THAT'S REALLY POIGNANT THAT WE WERE DEALING WITH SOME PRETTY MONUMENTAL SHIFTS IN THE WAY WE DO THINGS AND THE COMMITMENT THAT WE NEED AS A COMMITTEE, AS A COMMUNITY, NOT JUST AS A COMMITTEE, AS A COMMUNITY, TO MAKE THESE SHIFTS.
SO WHAT THE BLUEPRINT DOES IS IT HAS, LET'S SEE, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 SECTORS THAT IT BREAKS THINGS DOWN INTO.
UM, AND THEN UNDER EACH OF THOSE SECTORS, THERE'S A NUMBER OF ACTION PLANS.
UM, AND EVEN WITHIN THAT, IT DRAWS OUT HOW MANY OF THESE ARE THINGS THAT THE CITY NEEDS TO DO, HOW MANY ARE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DO WITH PARTNERSHIPS.
AND THEN THERE'S ALSO CORNERSTONE ACTIONS, WHICH WE'LL TOUCH ON IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL.
BUT THOSE ARE THE REALLY, SOME OF THOSE, THOSE BIG FUNDAMENTAL SHIFTS THAT WE NEED, UM, TO TAKE IN THE SHORT TERM TO, UM, TO REALLY GET THIS, GET THIS GOING.
AND AGAIN, I'LL, I'LL KIND OF CALL ATTENTION TO TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE, WHICH WE KNOW TRANSPORTATION WAS ONE OF OUR BIGGEST, UM, SOURCES.
UM, SIX ACTION PLANS, SIMILARLY WITH MUNICIPAL OPERATIONS SIX ACTION PLANS.
SO THOSE ARE KIND OF TWO OF THE AREAS THAT I WOULD THINK THAT SOME OF, UM, THE TRANSIT COMMITTEE'S, UM, PURVIEW OVERLAPS.
I JUST WONDERED IF WE COULD, IF I COULD ASK A CLARIFICATION QUESTION ON THIS CHART.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I'M READING IT CORRECTLY.
FOR EXAMPLE, UNDER TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE, THERE'S SIX ACTION PLANS, AND I'M INTERPRETING THIS, THAT THERE'S, UNDER THOSE ACTION PLANS, THERE'S ACTUALLY 51 INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS OF WHICH 30 WOULD BE DONE BY THE CITY IN 21 BY PARTNERSHIP.
AND OF THOSE 51 7 ARE CONSIDERED, UM, CORNERSTONE ACTIONS THAT I'M NOT SURE.
I'M NOT SURE IF SE IF THE CORNERSTONE ACTIONS ARE SEPARATE IN ADDITION TO, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, IT MIGHT BE IN ADDITION TOO.
BUT WHAT I THINK THIS DOES SHOW IS OF THE 20 SOMETHING CORNERSTONE ACTIONS, SEVEN OF 'EM WERE UNDER TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE.
SO AGAIN, SHOWING THAT THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT SECTOR, UM, IN MAKING SOME OF THE CHANGES, BOTH THE LONGER TERM, THE CITY ACTIONS, THE PARTNERSHIP ACTIONS, AND THOSE KIND OF FUNDAMENTAL, LET'S GET THIS JUMP STARTED.
UM, THE OTHER THING WE DID WAS UNDER EACH OF THESE, SO THIS, THE BLUE ACROSS THE TOP ARE THE SECTORS, AND THEN THE BOXES UNDERNEATH EACH ONE ARE THOSE ACTION PLANS.
AND YOU'LL SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN COLOR.
SO THE DARKER THE GREEN, IT'S THE HIGHER THE GHG REDUCTION POTENTIAL.
AND SO WE ALSO FELT LIKE THAT WAS A REALLY IMPORTANT THING TO LOOK AT BECAUSE YOU KNOW, YOU CAN, YOU CAN, YOU CAN DO A LOT OF THINGS, BUT IF THEY'RE KIND OF THE, THE LOWER THE LOWER REDUCTION, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO MORE TO GET MORE REDUCTION.
SO WE TRIED TO LOOK AT 'EM AS WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST BANG FOR THE BUCK? UM, AND LOOKING AT EACH OF THOSE ACTION PLAN.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT PIECE OF THAT IS, UM, THE RELATIVE COST.
[00:15:01]
SO ALSO LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, OKAY, SO VEHICLE ELECTRIFICATION AND ELECTRIC MOBILITY, THAT'S ONE OF THE HIGHEST IN TERMS OF GHG REDUCTION.IT'S ALSO ONE OF THE HIGHEST IN TERMS OF, UM, COST.
WHEREAS I'M TRYING TO THINK OF ONE OF THE ENERGY PURCHASING IS HIGH REDUCTION, BUT IT'S RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE WITH THE COST.
SO AGAIN, LOOKING AT HOW, HOW, HOW DO WE TAKE OUR RESOURCES AND BEST PUT THEM TOWARD GETTING THE BIGGEST REDUCTION IN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.
AND IT MIGHT BE TOO MINUTE, BUT, UH, IF YOU SAY THAT IT PROBABLY IS
UM, IT JUST KIND OF, UH, MAKES ME WONDER WHAT THE PARKING MANAGEMENT IDEAS ARE.
AGAIN, THIS MIGHT BE OUTSIDE OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE, MAYBE A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.
BUT IT SEEMS LIKE, UH, THINGS LIKE PAID FOR PARKING WOULD HELP KIND OF MOVE THAT NEEDLE BACK TO THE LOWER OR EVEN A POSITIVE.
I DON'T, I'M NOT SURE IF THERE WAS A QUESTION IN THERE, AND I'M NOT SURE I CAN ANSWER THAT QUESTION IF THERE WAS, BUT WHAT THE RATIONALE WAS AND HOW WE GET AROUND TO IT.
BUT AGAIN, I THINK PERHAPS I'M, YEAH, OVERSTEPPING.
UM, SO AGAIN, GOING BACK TO THE IDEA OF THE CORNERSTONE ACTIONS.
SO THESE WERE 22 PRIORITY ACTIONS.
THEY WERE CONSIDERED FOUNDATIONAL ACTIONS TO SUPPORT THAT DEEP REDUCTION.
AND ALSO EDUCATION, BECAUSE RECOGNIZING THAT EDUCATION AND BUY-IN FROM THE COMMUNITY IS GONNA BE ESSENTIAL TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE HERE.
AND SO, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, TO THINGS THAT EVEN IF THEY WEREN'T THE BIGGEST REDUCTIONS OFF THE BAT, THEY WERE THINGS THAT WERE CREATING THAT FOUNDATION TO THEN MOVE TO THE OTHER ACTIONS THAT COULD REALLY, UM, SPRINGBOARD US INTO REDUCTIONS.
UM, THE CLIMATE ACTION COMMISSION SPENT QUITE A BIT OF TIME WITH THE CORNERSTONE ACTIONS SPECIFICALLY, AND THEY MADE SOME, UM, RECOMMENDED CHANGES TO THE CORNERSTONE ACTIONS.
AND SOME OF THAT WAS ABOUT THAT KIND OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE PART OF IT.
BECAUSE IF WE DON'T GET THAT FULL BUY-IN THAT FULL TRANSPARENCY, HAVING EVERYONE UNDERSTAND WHY ARE WE DOING THIS, YOU KNOW, AND WHAT DOES IT COST? AND WHY ARE WE CHOOSING TO DO THIS INSTEAD OF THIS WHEN IT COMES TO THE BUDGET PROCESS OR THE, UM, STAFF RESOURCES OR, YOU KNOW, THINGS IN, IN THE COMMUNITY THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CITY PER SE, BUT UNDERSTANDING IF WE'RE ALL WORKING TOWARD THIS GOAL TOGETHER.
UM, SO THAT IS A BIG FOCUS OF THESE CORNERSTONE A ACTIONS.
AND MANY OF THEM ALSO ALIGNED WITH, UM, CURRENT CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES.
SO THINGS THAT WE HAVE ALREADY IDENTIFIED AS A CITY AS BEING A PRIORITY.
SO I DO NOW KIND OF WANNA TOUCH ON THE ONES THAT ARE KIND OF MORE IN THE TRANSPORTATION, LAND USE, TRANSIT, UM, BUCKET.
WHICH DOESN'T MEAN THIS IS THE ONLY THING WE CAN TOUCH ON, UM, THIS EVENING, BUT I THINK IT'S A GOOD WAY TO KIND OF FOCUS.
UM, SO THEN FIVE OF THESE ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON THAT.
SO, UH, TDM ORDINANCE, UH, VEHICLE MILES, TRAVEL IMPACT FEE, UM, AND AN EV CHARGING REACH CODE, UM, ARE ALL THINGS, UH, TO REALLY IMPLEMENTING ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION AND LOCAL SAFETY PLANS, UM, USING TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT TO REDUCE SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLE TRAVEL, WHICH WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT MODE SHIFT IS BEING SO CRITICAL.
UM, PROVIDING INFORMATION AND INCENTIVES, UH, TO EXISTING FUTURE RESIDENTS, EMPLOYEES, VISITORS, REALLY TO ENCOURAGE THAT NON-AUTO TRAVEL.
UM, ALSO INCORPORATION OF OUR COMPLETE STREET IMPROVEMENTS AND TO ALL ROADWAYS AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
UM, SO BY 2025, IT HAS THE, ADOPTING A MOBILITY PRIORITY POLICY WITH THE GENERAL PLAN, UM, WITH WALK BEING NUMBER ONE, MICRO MOBILITY NUMBER TWO, TRANSIT AND SHUTTLE THREE DROP OFF, AND PICKUP FOUR AND FIVE BEING THE AUTO.
UM, SO REALLY TRYING TO DECREASE THAT PRIORITIZING OF THE SINGLE VEHICLE.
UM, AND THEN, UM, CORNERSTONE ACTION BEING TO FINISH THE GENERAL PLAN AND BEGIN IMPLEMENTING IT.
SO THIS IS REALLY OUR BIG VISION, UH, FOR THE NEXT 20 PLUS YEARS.
AND SO THAT IS A HUGE ACTION BEING UNDERTAKEN.
AND WE ALSO DON'T WANNA LOSE MOMENTUM WITH THAT.
WE ARE HOPING TO BE ADOPTING THAT MID 2025, AND WE REALLY WANT TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
[00:20:01]
THAT, WE ARE GONNA BE WORKING ON A ZONING CODE UPDATE.UM, AND THAT WILL COME ON THE HEELS OF THE POLICY DOCUMENT.
WE'RE HOPING TO START THAT ALMOST CONCURRENTLY IN THE NEXT, UM, COUPLE MONTHS TO GET THAT JUST KIND OF STARTED SO THAT WE AREN'T, WE DON'T HAVE THIS MULTI-YEAR LAG BETWEEN ONE ADOPTION OF THE GENERAL PLAN AND ADOPTION OF, UM, THE ZONING CODE.
AND THAT WOULD HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH, YOU KNOW, PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE WAY WE DEVELOP AND MAKING IT MORE, UM, CONNECTED, UM, THROUGH OTHER ALTERNATIVE MODES.
UH, ALSO GENERAL PLAN IS GONNA DEAL A LOT WITH, UM, STREET, STREET SCAPE STANDARDS.
UM, SO TO TRY TO SHIFT THAT AGAIN AWAY FROM, UM, THE AUTO ORIENTED THAT WE SEE A LOT IN SOME OF OUR OLDER AREAS.
UM, AND THEN ALSO PARK PARKING PRICING POLICIES AND PROGRAMS IS ANOTHER CORNERSTONE ACTION.
UM, THAT HAS IN THE, IN THE BLUEPRINT IT HAS A DATE OF 2026.
UM, SO THE OTHER THING WE HAVE, UM, IS MUNICIPAL OPERATIONS.
SO, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES TO THE CORP YARD, TO PETALUMA TRANSIT, UM, SO THAT WE CAN BE MOVING TOWARD, UM, ZERO EMISSION BUSES.
UM, A FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR ENABLING AND IMPLEMENTING ON DEMAND MICRO TRANSIT SERVICE, WHICH I KNOW WE'RE ALREADY AHEAD OF THE GAME ON THAT ONE.
UM, IN TALKING ABOUT THAT, UM, THOSE UPGRADES TO INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, LET'S SEE, UH, BUS FLEET AS RECOMMENDED BY THE BATTERY, ELECTRIC BUS PLANNING AND ENGINEERING STUDY FOR PETALUMA TRANSIT.
SO, UM, THOSE OBVIOUSLY ARE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, ARE WORKING ON, UM, AND ARE RIGHT IN, IN YOUR WHEELHOUSE.
THE OTHER THING WE HAVE IS TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE ONGOING UPGRADES TO TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, A NUMBER OF THE SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN.
UM, I'M NOT SURE IF WE HAVE, WELL, WE DO HAVE THE, PROMOTE THE K 12 FREE YOUTH TRANSIT PASS PROGRAM.
I KNOW WE'RE KIND OF AHEAD ON THAT WITH OUR FAIR FREE PILOT PROGRAM THAT'S STARTING THIS SUMMER, UM, ON DEMAND MICRO TRANSIT PILOT PROGRAM, WHICH THIS SAYS 2027, WHICH I THINK WE'RE WELL AHEAD OF THAT AS WELL.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS, UM, THAT WE'RE DOING THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, SO THAT'S AMAZING.
UM, AND THAT MAKES THINGS FEEL A LITTLE, A LITTLE LIGHTER, UM, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT, A LOT IN HERE.
IF YOU WENT THROUGH THE FULL BLUEPRINT, YOU RECOGNIZE THAT.
SO, SO THAT REALLY CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
UM, AND JUST REALLY THE PURPOSE OF BEING HERE IS TO HAVE A CONVERSATION, UM, HEAR THE THINGS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE COME ACROSS THAT YOU THINK WE SHOULD LOOK AT THIS DIFFERENTLY, OR WHY DID WE DO THIS? AND EVEN IF I CAN'T ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS, I'M HAPPY TO FOLLOW BACK UP.
THE WAY WE WANT TO HANDLE THIS IS TO BEGIN WITH QUESTIONS.
AND BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO COMMENTS, I'LL JUST START AT MY RIGHT.
K, ANY QUESTIONS? UH, ARE THESE LAST NIGHT ITEMS, THESE ARE PART OF THE 51, UH, NUMBER? CORRECT.
MR. UM, CALON, UM, NOT TOO MANY QUESTIONS REALLY.
I NOTICED THE DATA WAS, UM, IN 2018, OBVIOUSLY WE KNOW THAT A LOT'S CHANGED SINCE THEN, ESPECIALLY IN, UH, MO SHIFT WITHIN THE CITY.
DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT THAT DATA OR, I, I MEAN, I WOULD SAY WE USE THE BEST DATA WE CAN.
YOU KNOW, WE JUST DID THIS WITH FLOOD AND SEA LEVEL RISE, AND WE WERE USING 2018 DATA 'CAUSE IT WAS THE BEST DATA WE HAD FROM THE STATE.
WE PUBLISHED THE, YOU KNOW, THE DRAFT MAPS AND THE STATE LITERALLY, LIKE, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR, I DON'T KNOW, 18 MONTHS, 15 MONTHS.
AND THEN THE STATE RELEASED 2024.
SO THE OTHER THING THAT WE'RE COMMITTED TO DOING IS THAT KIND OF CONSTANT WIN.
NEW DATA IS AVAILABLE TO BE ABLE TO RE-LOOK AT IT AND, AND RIGHT SIZE, OR, OH, WELL WE WERE, YOU KNOW, THIS HAS GOTTEN SO MUCH BETTER.
YOU KNOW, TO RE RECALIBRATE AND SHIFT WHEN NEW DATA IS AVAILABLE.
I I, I DON'T THINK IT FROM IT, IT LOOKED CONSISTENT WITH WHAT, WITH WHAT I THOUGHT WAS
[00:25:01]
GOING ON.SO I JUST, BUT I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU HAD ANY CONCERNS ABOUT IT.
UM, DO YOU THINK THIS PLAN IS REALISTIC GIVEN THE SHORT TIMELINE AND THE AGGRESSIVE, UH, CHANGES WE'LL BE MAKING? POTENTIALLY? WELL, I WILL SAY THAT THAT WAS OUR DIRECTION WAS TO GET WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO, FOR CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2030 MM-HMM.
SO I THINK THIS IS A GOOD PICTURE OF THAT.
AND WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, EACH YEAR, UM, RE REALLY LOOK AT THOSE BECAUSE THERE ARE GONNA BE SOME THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE SAY, OH, WE SHOULD DO THIS BY 2026.
BUT THEN SOMETHING THAT SAYS 2028 A GRANT COMES UP AND WE'RE LIKE, WE HAVE TO SHIFT, WE HAVE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS.
OR, UM, NEW TECHNOLOGIES OR NEW, YOU KNOW, NEW IDEAS.
SO I THINK IT GIVES US A GOOD PICTURE OF HOW DIRE THE SITUATION IS TO GET TO WHERE WE WANNA BE.
AND WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO, AS A, AS INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AS COMMITTEE MEMBERS, AS YOU KNOW, UM, STAFF, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO REMAIN COMMITTED AND, AND, AND YEAH.
I MEAN, I JUST, I, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON SOMETHING THAT'S REALISTIC AND NOT JUST A THOUGHT EXPERIMENT.
SO, SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF COMMITMENT.
UM, I KNOW THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, WE'RE AHEAD OF SCHEDULE ON SOME THINGS, SO THAT GIVES ME GREAT, UH, THING, BUT, BUT THAT, THAT TIMELINE IS THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES ME GO, AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE'RE GONNA HIT EVERY TIMELINE, AND I'M NOT GONNA, I'M NOT SAYING THAT WOULD BE RIDICULOUS,
2030, LOOK, YOU KNOW, UM, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE, YEAH, HARD CONVERSATIONS AND HARD PRIORITIZATIONS AND, UM, ONGOING.
AND THE THING THAT THIS DOES IS IT GIVES US A ROADMAP TO BE THINKING, YOU KNOW, TO KEEP REMINDING US IF WE WANNA REACH THIS GOAL, HERE'S WHAT WE HAVE TO DO.
BUT I, I THINK WE ALL KNOW THAT WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY GONNA HIT EVERYTHING AND EVERY TIMELINE.
AND, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT MEANS WE SHOULDN'T TRY.
I JUST WANTED TO, TO ADDRESS IT.
I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE THAT'S A, A BIG DEBATE.
SO YOU MENTIONED MONITORING, UH, VMT.
AND SO I WAS WONDERING IF WE HAD A BLUEPRINT YET ON HOW WE WOULD CAPTURE THAT SINCE MOST, SINCE USUALLY VMT WOULD BE CAPTURED UNDER CE QA, BUT UNDER, BUT SINCE WE'RE WITHIN AN URBANIZED AREA, A LOT OF STUFF THAT'S IS GONNA BE EXEMPT.
SO IS THE CITY INCORPORAT? IS, IS IS PLANNING INCORPORATING SOMETHING INTO USE PERMITS OR, OR HOW ARE WE, UM, GOING TO CAPTURE AN ACCURATE VMT OTHERWISE IT'S JUST GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, PUZZLE PIECES.
SO IT'LL BE LOOKED AT AS PART OF THE GENERAL PLAN UPDATE.
SO WHEN WE DO THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT, IT'LL LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE LAND USE, UM, THE LAND USE AND THE ANTICIPATED GROWTH WILL BE PART OF THAT SQUA ANALYSIS.
SO, UM, A LOT OF, WE HAVE, WE HAVE AREAS IN THE CITY NOW WHERE LIKE VMT IS HIGH MM-HMM.
UM, SO I, I AM, I'M REALLY HOPEFUL AND I THINK WE HAVE A, AN AMAZING PRIVILEGE THAT WE HAVE OUR OWN TRANSIT MM-HMM.
SO WE CAN AFFECT CHANGE, UM, E EASIER, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE THAT.
AND IF WE CAN START CONNECTING SOME OF THOSE AREAS WITH TRANSIT WITH MORE WALKABILITY, WITH THAT IDEA OF THE 15 MINUTE NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET IN YOUR CAR TO GO MM-HMM.
UM, AS, AS WE CAN STAY COMMITTED TO THAT AND BE LOOKING AT THAT, HOPEFULLY WE, WE WILL, WE'LL BE ADDRESSING VMT AND WE'LL ALSO BE ADDRESSING, YOU KNOW, IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE MM.
AND I'M SURE YOU'LL BE HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT SORT OF STUCK WITH THE, UH, PLANNING COMMISSION.
'CAUSE THAT'LL REQUIRE SOME PLANNING CHANGES.
UM, AND SO THEN YOU ALSO MENTIONED, UH, MODE SHIFT.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S GREAT AND, AND IT'S, I'M, I'M ALL FOR A LOT OF THE THINGS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, I WAS WONDERING IS, IS THERE SOME WAY THAT IS THE CURRENT, UM, PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE GOING TO BE ANALYZED AND BROUGHT TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF SERVICE BEFORE WE START MAKING MORE, UM,
[00:30:01]
INVESTMENTS IN NEW PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE? SO WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS THAT, UM, YES, YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY IT'S A 15 MINUTE WALK TO A BUS STOP, BUT IT'S ALL JACKED UP AND YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T, UH, TAKE IT'S, OR YOU CAN'T WALK SIDE BY SIDE, YOU CAN'T, UH, ROLL, YOU CAN'T USE A STROLLER OR A WHEELCHAIR OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN, THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT, UM, IN THIS PLAN OR IN A DIFFERENT PLAN? WELL, WE'RE WORKING ON THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
UM, WE WILL BE LOOKING AT SOME THINGS LIKE, UM, SO WE'VE GOT A LOT OF DEFERRED MAINTENANCE.
UM, SO WE LOOK AT THAT THROUGH OUR CIP, UM, UH, WE ARE LOOKING AT LIKE DIFFERENT PILOT PROGRAMS FOR STREET TREES TO LIKE, I KNOW THAT'S NOT EXACTLY, UH, BROKEN UP, BUT IT'S, IT'S IMPROVING THE PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE IN EXISTING CITY RIGHT.
SO I THINK WE'RE DOING IT, WE'RE TRYING TO IDENTIFY AREAS, FOR INSTANCE, UM, MCDOWELL, UM, WHICH WE'RE DOING SOME IMPROVEMENTS ON NORTH MCDOWELL, WE'RE IMPROVING SOME OF THE PEDESTRIAN, AND IT'S AN EXISTING RIGHT OF WAY.
SO IT'S A, IT'S A MULTI-PRONG.
WE'RE LOOKING AT WHERE WE CAN IMPROVE EXISTING.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING, WHEN A NEW DEVELOPMENT COMES IN, WE WANT THEM TO PUT IN THE BEST POSSIBLE CONNECTIVITY.
SO, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF I'M ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION, BUT NO, NO, I THINK THAT'S, THAT THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT ELUDES TO THE ANSWER OF THE QUESTION THAT I WAS, UM, WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE YEAH.
AS, AS THEY COME UP AND TO, AND TO, YOU KNOW, DOVETAIL DIFFERENT OPTIONS TOGETHER.
AND I THINK THAT I'LL, UH, I'LL SAVE THE REST OF MY COMMENTS, MS. HILL.
UH, I, I HAVE ONE, UH, QUICK CLARIFYING QUESTION.
UM, IN, IN YOUR CORNERSTONE ACTIONS, THERE WAS SOME, ONE OF THEM WAS TO, UM, INCREASE THE, UM, NUMBER OF ZERO EMISSION VEHICLES AMONG, UM, UH, HEAV HEAVIER DUTY.
I, I, I THINK IT REFERRED TO THE CITY'S LEGAL FLEET.
UM, ANOTHER THING I'M CURIOUS ABOUT IS, UM, A, A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS CHANGING PEOPLE'S BEHAVIOR AND, UM, ACCESSIBILITY, UM, AVAILABILITY, ET CETERA, UM, ARE ALWAYS WAYS TO DO THAT, TO CHANGE THE SERVICES AND SO ON.
BUT, UH, SOMETHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IN HERE IS, UM, THE, THE CHALLENGE OF, UM, UH, PUBLIC TRANSIT, UM, CARRYING A STIGMA THAT, UM, IT'S, UH, AND ANYWAY, IT'S, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK ABOUT AS, UH, DESIRABLE AND WHAT THEY WANNA DO, ET CETERA.
AND SO I JUST, I, I NOTICED EDUCATION ALSO IN ONE OF YOUR, UM, GOALS.
I DON'T THINK IT WAS CORNERSTONE, I DON'T REMEMBER.
BUT I'M WONDERING IF THERE ARE ANY EXAMPLES OF, UH, DEVELOPING BUY-IN BEYOND THE, WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, BUT JUST IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, I, I MEAN, WE'VE GOT A, SOME REALLY FABULOUS MARKETING GOING ON FOR PUBLIC TRANSIT.
I JUST WONDERED IF, UM, THAT'S BEEN ANY PART OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN HELD.
UM, I, I'M NOT SURE I CAN POINT TO SOMETHING VERY SPECIFIC TO THAT.
BUT DEFINITELY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WE NEED TO CHANGE THE DISCUSSION AND CHANGE THE BEHAVIORS, AND THAT THAT'S A HUGE PART OF IT.
AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S A HARD PART OF, UM, FOR, FROM THE CITY'S PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN DO A LOT OF STUFF, BUT THE CITY, THE CITY ITSELF, THE MUNICIPAL FUNCTIONS IS ONLY, YOU KNOW, THIS PART AND WE CAN'T DO IT ALONE.
AND THAT GETS INTO PARTNERSHIPS TOO.
[00:35:01]
WE HAVE A GREAT COMMUNICATION DIVISION AND WE'VE BEEN DOING SO MUCH MORE WITH OUR CITY EFFORT FOR COMMUNICATIONS, BUT WE CAN'T DO IT AT ALONE.YOU LIKE, AND ONE QUICK ADDITION COMMENT THAT I CAN YEAH.
UM, I BELIEVE WE'RE ALSO DOING A GREAT JOB WITH OUR FINITE RESOURCES.
MARIA'S DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT IT CAN BE VERY TIME INTENSIVE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT.
SO MUCH OF THAT'S KIND OF ONE-ON-ONE, IT'S GOING TO BUSINESSES, IT'S GOING TO NONPROFIT GROUPS.
IT MAY BE TALKING WITH INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES TO TELL THEM HOW DOES TRANSIT WORK? HOW DO YOU SET UP A VAN POOL? HOW DO YOU SET UP A BIKE POOL PROGRAM? MM-HMM MM-HMM.
SO IT'S REALLY IMPACTFUL, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE CITY DOESN'T HAVE GREAT RESOURCE FOR NOW, BECAUSE IT WOULD TAKE ADDITIONAL STAFF AND IT'S SO TIME INTENSIVE.
BUT THAT'S KIND OF THE PIECE THAT THE CITY WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AT KIND OF GOING FORWARD.
I, I THINK, I THINK WE'RE ALL AWARE OF THE CHALLENGES.
UM, UH, IT JUST, UM, AND IT IS HARD, BUT COMMUNITY ACTIONS ARE, UM, NOT THE SAME AS CITY ACTIONS.
UM, SO IT JUST, I'M, I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT HOW, HOW THAT CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO ALL THIS.
CHANGING INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR IS NOT REALLY HARD, EASY.
AND IT IS TIME CONSUMING AND EXPENSIVE.
I'M THINKING BLUE ZONES IS ANOTHER WAY TO LIKE, JUST BECAUSE IT'S A CURRENT MM-HMM.
YOU KNOW, UM, ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES IT DOES SEEM LIKE ALL THE ACTIONS AND WE'RE ALL KEEP REACHING THE SAME GROUP OF PEOPLE.
IF IF YOU GET THERE, YOU GET THERE.
THAT'S THE ONE I, I FEEL LIKE I ALMOST SAY THAT TOO MUCH.
I WAS JUST, I WAS JUST ADDING, UH, THE GROUP.
PETALUMA TO, UM, UM, THE ANSWER OF OH YEAH, YEAH.
THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF, NOT THAT THEY AREN'T THE SAME GROUP.
MS. ABRAMS, COULD YOU GO BACK TO THE, UM, PRESENTATION? I JUST HAD TWO MORE DETAILY QUESTIONS ABOUT IT.
I'M LIKE THE LEAST, UM, TECH SAVVY OF ALL THE CITY STAFF.
AND IF YOU COULD PAGE BACKWARDS TO THE PIE CHART, PLEASE.
UM, OR ANY, I GUESS IT WASN'T THIS THEN, BUT IT WAS WHERE WE'RE SUP IF YOU COULD GO FORWARD WHERE IT SAYS REDUCING OR, UH, SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLE.
'CAUSE I'M THINKING OF MYSELF AND I'M FORTUNATE TO LIVE WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF A NUMBER OF STORES.
AND I WALK, AND THEN I DO RIDE MY BIKE.
IF I'M GOING TO GO TO A STORE THAT'S A LITTLE FARTHER AND I'M NOT GONNA BRING BACK THINGS THAT ARE TOO BIG OR TOO HEAVY.
UM, BUT THEN I WANNA SEE A MOVIE THAT'S PLAYING IN SEBASTOPOL AND I DRIVE THERE.
SO I'VE BEEN WALKING ALL WEEK AND I'VE DRIVEN ONCE TO SEBASTOPOL AND BACK.
AND I'VE GONE WAY MORE MILES ON MY ROUND TRIP THAN I ACCOMPLISHED WITH MY FEET WALKING AND PEDALING.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE 50% AND 75%.
'CAUSE IF WE SAY TRIPS, I'M, I MIGHT BE MAKING IT, YOU KNOW? MM-HMM.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS.
I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE AN ANSWER EXACTLY ON HOW THEY DEFINED, AND I ASKED THAT IN A DIFFERENT FORM AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE AN ANSWER EITHER.
I MEAN, IF WE'RE GONNA TRY TO TRACK WHAT WE'RE, HOW WE'RE TRAVELING, WE OFTEN TALK, DON'T WE? ABOUT HOW, WHAT'S THE NUMBER? 85% OF TRIPS THAT YOU TAKE ARE UNDER FIVE MILES OR SOME SUCH LIKE THAT.
I MEAN, SO THERE ARE SOME STATS LIKE THAT.
BUT HOW, HOW MUCH DOES THE BIG TRIP BLOW THAT OUT OF THE WATER IS MY
[00:40:01]
QUESTION? YEAH, SURE.UM, AND THEN COULD YOU, UM, PAGE FORWARD A COUPLE, NOT TOO FAST,
AH, UM, WHAT IS THE, UM, I KNOW THE PEOPLE HAVE MENTIONED IT, BUT WHAT IS THE, UM, VEHICLE MILES TRAVEL IMPACT FEE? WHO, WHO GETS CHARGED THE FEE? SO IT DOES NOT EXIST CURRENTLY, RIGHT? BUT I MEAN, WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE VISION? SO THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO IT, BUT THERE'S ESSENTIALLY, IF IT WOULD BE THEORETICALLY TO THE MONEY TO COME TO THE CITY AND WE COULD DO IMPROVEMENTS OR PROJECTS THAT WOULD HELP REDUCE V MTS, HOW DO YOU KNOW? OKAY.
FIRST, WHICH PORTION OF THE CITY'S BUSINESSES, RESIDENTS, CITIZENS, ARE PAYING IT, YOU PAY IT, AND HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEIR ODOMETERS ARE SAYING? IT WOULD BE FOR LIKE, PRIVATE NEW DEVELOPMENT.
SO LET'S SAY, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU MAY HAVE FOLLOWED THE SCOTT RANCH PROJECT, UM, OUT AT WINDOR AND D UM, AND THEY HAD A IMPACT WITH, BECAUSE OF VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED.
SO JUST BECAUSE OF WHERE THEY WERE IN THE CITY, THEY'RE ON THE EDGE OF THE CITY.
THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MINIMAL EVEN WALKING, YOU KNOW, SO IT'S A THEORETICAL ASSESSMENT OF IF PEOPLE MOVED IN HERE, THEY WOULD HAVE TO DRIVE THESE MANY MILES THANK YOU BECAUSE OF WHERE, WHERE IT IS AND WHAT OPTIONS THEY HAVE.
AND SO THEORETICALLY YOU COULD SAY, WELL, YOU HAVE YOUR, YOU KNOW, THIS MANY VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED, UH, FOR, FOR YOUR DEVELOPMENT.
THERE WOULD BE AN A NUMBER AND THEORETICALLY THERE COULD BE A FEE THAT THE CITY WOULD THEN GET TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND TRANSIT OR BUY TRANSIT PASSES FOR, WELL, WE DON'T NEED TRANSIT PASSES ANYMORE, BUT
MAKE IMPROVEMENTS THAT THEN THEORETICALLY WAS REDUCING THE NEED FOR THE AUTOMOBILE BY DOING, YOU KNOW, SIDE SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS, TRAIL IMPROVEMENTS TO, TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO GET PLACES WITHOUT GETTING IN THEIR CAR.
ONE QUICK THOUGHT ON THAT TOO.
THERE'S DIFFERENT SCALES OR CITY SCALE, BIGGER SALE, LIKE STATE, I KNOW OREGON HAS HAD A STATEWIDE PROGRAM RUNNING FOR SEVERAL YEARS WHERE THEY COLLECT, YOU KNOW, UM, DATA ON THIS BASED ON WHEN YOU GO TO THE GAS PUMP AND FILL YOUR CAR UP, A LOT OF STATES ARE SEEING A DECLINE IN GAS RELATED SALES TAX AS CARS GET MORE FUEL EFFICIENT.
THE ONLY DOWNSIDE IS IT HURTS YOUR FUEL TAX REVENUE BECAUSE THAT'S USUALLY A FEE THAT'S FLAT PER GALLON.
AND SO THEY'VE DONE THAT AS A MEANS TO OFFSET THE DECLINING REVENUES RESULTING FROM THAT.
CALIFORNIA HAS TALKED ABOUT DOING A PILOT OF THAT, BUT I THINK THERE'S AN UNCERTAIN TIMELINE WHAT THAT PILOT WOULD START ON, WHAT THE MECHANISMS LOOK LIKE, HOW MUCH FUNDING THERE WOULD BE RESULTING FROM IT, AND HOW THAT FUNDING WOULD MAKE ITS WAY TO PETALUMA.
SO UNFORTUNATELY, MANY QUESTIONS ANSWER, BUT PUMP SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE THAT COULD ALSO BE A POTENTIAL REVENUE SOURCE IN A BIGGER SCALE BEYOND THIS.
PETALUMA, I, IF I COULD JUMP INTO THAT ONE, MR. HALL, THERE'S A LOT OF CONFUSION.
'CAUSE WE HAVE TWO ACRONYMS THAT ARE SIMILAR, BUT NOT QUITE THE SAME.
WE HAVE VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED, WHICH IS A MEASURE OF HOW MANY TRIPS WE EXPECT TO GENERATE PER HOME BASED ON THE LOCATION OF IT, WHICH IS WHAT MS. HINES HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT THUS FAR.
I IT'S PER CAPITA EVEN FOR LAND USE.
WHAT'S THAT FOR LAND USE? SO NOT NECESSARILY JUST THE HOME BUSINESS AS WELL.
WELL, IT, WELL, THE START IS PER HOME, AND THEN YOU MULTIPLY BY THE NUMBER OF HOMES YOU HAVE TO DETERMINE YOUR TOTAL IMPACT, WHICH IS WHAT THE IMPACT FEE MIGHT BE BASED ON.
BUT THEN MY POINT WAS GONNA BE, WE ALSO HAVE A VEHICLE MILEAGE TAX, WHICH IS ALSO VMT, WHICH IS REALLY CLOSER TO WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THERE, WHICH IS, RATHER THAN CHARGING A GASOLINE TAX, INSTEAD WE JUST CHARGE PEOPLE A NICKEL PER MILE, IN THEORY MAKES UP FOR IT.
SO THE, THE, THE TWO ACRONYMS ARE THE SAME, BUT THEY REALLY COVER AND THEY SORT OF OVERLAP, BUT THEY'RE REALLY NOT THE SAME.
AND ACTUALLY, PETALUMA, OR EXCUSE ME, CALIFORNIA HAS DONE A PILOT PROJECT WITH A VMT.
UH, I TOOK PART IN IT, HAD A LITTLE THING PLUGGED INTO MY CIGARETTE LIGHTER, AND EVERY MONTH THEY TOLD ME HOW MANY MILES I'D DRIVEN AND WHAT I WOULD'VE PAID IN TAX.
AND, AND JUST, I GUESS JUST TO PHILOSOPHIZE FOR A MINUTE, NOW THAT IT BROUGHT THIS UP, THE ARGUMENT HAS BEEN DO WE REPLACE THE GASOLINE TAX WITH, WITH A VEHICLE MILE TAX? AND MY RESPONSE IS ALWAYS, WE NEED BOTH VEHICLE MILE TAX SHOULD BE PAYING FOR THE STREETS AND A GASOLINE
[00:45:01]
TAX SHOULD BE PAYING FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS TO THE EXTENT YOU CAN PAY FOR THOSE.SO WE TRULY NEED BOTH IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOGICAL FUTURE.
SO I PROBABLY JUST MUDDIED THE WATER MORE THAN I HELPED IT, BUT THERE, THAT IS A, A CONSISTENT CONFUSION.
AND ACTUALLY MR. HALL, THEY'RE FOR YOU RATHER THAN MS. HINES APOLOGIES.
BUT, UM, TRAFFIC SIGNAL PRIORITY, THERE'S A GOAL HERE TO COMPLETE THAT BY 2030.
REMIND ME, WE HAVE GONE THROUGH A COUPLE DIFFERENT PHASES OF PUTTING TSP IN PLACE.
ARE WE NOT GETTING CLOSE ALREADY? OR IS THERE NEW TECHNOLOGY? WHAT'S, WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE? YEAH, SO IN THE PAST, THE CITY HAS DONE TWO PHASES OF TRANSIT SIGNAL, PRIORITY, TSP, UH, IMPLEMENTATION.
THE MAJORITY, IF NOT ALL OF THE MAJOR INTERSECTIONS ON WASHINGTON AND MCDOWELL ARE INCLUDED WITHIN THAT, I BELIEVE.
SO I THINK A LOT OF THE MAJOR INTERSECTIONS ARE ALREADY COVERED.
I THINK THE PIECE WE NEED TO DO A BIT MORE IS KIND OF ANALYZE IT, FINE TUNE IT TO SEE WHAT THE IMPACTS ARE OF IT.
I AM NOT ENTIRELY CERTAIN HOW BIG THE IMPACTS ARE BECAUSE THE IMPACTS WOULD HAVE TO COME FROM HAVING A LOT OF CONGESTION, THAT SYSTEM, ALLOWING THE BUS TO MAKE IT THROUGH AN INTERSECTION FASTER, HAVING LESS DELAY AND DWELL TIME.
AND THEN THINGS LIKE THE GREENHOUSE GAS SAVINGS THAT RESULT FROM ALL THAT.
IT, IT DAWNS ON ME THAT THIS MAY BE THE FIRST TIME WE'VE TALKED TSP WITH SOME RECENTLY APPOINTED LIKELY I THINK.
SO PERHAPS YOU WANT TO GIVE A, JUST A QUICK SUMMARY OF WHAT TSP DOES? SURE.
SO TSP, WHAT IT DOES, IT HAS INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS INSTALLED ON THE BUS.
IN OUR CASE IT WORKS WITH, UH, GPS SIGNALS AND IT'S TALKING TO INTERSECTIONS AS THE BUS APPROACHES IT.
AND BASICALLY WHAT IT DOES IS IT GIVES ASSISTANCE TO THE BUS, IT GIVES IT PRIORITIZATION.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE BUS IS COMING UP TO THE INTERSECTION AND IT WAS ABOUT TO TURN YELLOW AND THEN RED, IT'LL EXTEND THE GREEN SIGNAL FOR THE BUS.
SO IT'LL ALLOW IT TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE INTERSECTION SO IT DOESN'T HAVE SAY LIKE A TWO MINUTE DELAY BY HITTING A RED LIGHT.
UM, OR IT'LL ALSO MAKE IT CYCLE FASTER.
IF IT IS AT THE RED LIGHT, MAYBE IT GETS THROUGH 15, 30 SECONDS FASTER THAN IT WOULD'VE OTHERWISE.
GENERALLY MAKING THE BUS RUN FASTER, MORE COMPETITIVE WITH SINGLE OCCUPANT VEHICLES, MORE PEOPLE THEN GET OUT AND RIDE TRANSIT, ET CETERA.
TSP IS ONE OF THOSE KIND OF PROGRAMS, BUT WE DO HAVE A GOOD SYSTEM IN PLACE NOW FOR IT.
AND I THINK IT'S FAIR TO SAY ALSO THE SAME TSP PROGRAM IS ACCESSED BY FIRE AND POLICE.
SO WHEN ALL THE LIGHTS GO RED, THAT'S JUST THEIR, THEIR MODE OF TSP COMPARED TO THE TRANSFER MODE.
SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES, DIFFERENT RULES.
THEY GET KIND OF A HIGH PRIORITY AS SOON AS THEY GET THEIR RETURNS.
BUT YEAH, SIMILAR SYSTEMS. MY OTHER QUESTION FOR YOU IS BUS LANES.
I WAS A LITTLE SURPRISED TO SEE THAT.
BUT THAT'S, I MEAN, THE 15 MINUTE NEIGHBORHOOD FOLKS, WHICH INCLUDES ME UNFORTUNATELY, LED OFF A LOT OF OUR PRESENTATIONS BY TALKING ABOUT BUS LANES ON WASHINGTON.
AND WE ALMOST LOST THE WHOLE ARGUMENT ON 15 MINUTE NEIGHBORHOODS.
JUST ON THAT POINT ALONE, I SUPPORT IT.
BUT WHERE DO YOU THINK BUS LANES MIGHT GO AND HAVE YOU BEGUN ANY KIND OF PUBLIC OUTREACH? WE HAVEN'T YET.
I WOULD SAY THAT'S A PRETTY LARGE SHIFT, A LARGE PARADIGM SHIFT.
SEVERAL OF THE THINGS OUTLINED THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT WOULD REQUIRE THAT TYPE OF CHANGE IN THINKING.
UM, THERE HAS BEEN APPETITE AND PETALUMA FOR THINGS LIKE ROAD DIETS AS WE'VE SEEN THAT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL ON, LIKE PETALUMA BOULEVARD FOR EXAMPLE.
WE HAVE NOT YET IDENTIFIED ANY SPECIFIC CORRIDORS FOR BUS RAPID TRANSIT.
THE ONES THAT ARE MORE HEAVILY USED AND MORE CONGESTED, LIKE WASHINGTON WOULD BE THE MOST LOGICAL CANDIDATES.
BUT I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING TO LOOK AT GOING FORWARD, IS BOTH DISCUSSING THE CONCEPT MORE, FIGURING OUT WHAT CORRIDORS IT WOULD BE APPLIED TO, WHAT THE COST WOULD BE, AND THEN SEEING THAT THERE'S PUBLIC APPETITE FOR DOING THAT TYPE OF CHANGE.
BUT SIMILAR TO THAT, I WOULD SAY IT'S KIND OF A LEARNING CURVE.
IF PEOPLE AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH IT, YOU KINDA HAVE TO START THE CONVERSATION TO SAY, WHAT IS BUS RAPID TRANSIT? WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? WHY WOULD YOU WANNA SEE THAT AS A RIDER? YOU KNOW, IT'LL MAKE YOUR TRIP TIMES FASTER, ET CETERA.
SO THERE IS A LOT OF LEGWORK I WOULD SAY THAT GOES INTO DOING THAT BECAUSE IT WOULD BE KIND OF A PARADIGM SHIFT.
SO I WOULD SAY SOME DISCUSSION ON IT.
BUT AS YOU'RE SEEING NEED FOR A LOT OF EDUCATION DISCUSSION OVERALL ON THE CONCEPT, I WOULD SAY VERY MUCH AGREED ON THAT.
UH, AT THIS POINT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO TAKE PUBLIC INPUT.
I'M PRETTY SURE WE DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THAT.
SO WE WERE TALKING ABOUT GOING TO DISCUSSION NEXT, BUT I
[00:50:01]
THINK DISCUSSION'S GONNA LEAD TO COMMENT SO QUICKLY AND THEY'RE ALMOST INDECIPHERABLE.WHY DON'T WE JUST GO RIGHT INTO DISCUSSION AND COMMENTS SINCE YOU'RE NODDING AT ME, COUNCIL MEMBER POST.
WHY DON'T YOU LEAD OFF THAT? OH, MAN.
SO I SHOULD PRACTICE THIS WITH SAYING THAT MY DAD, EVEN ON HIS DEATHBED, THE LAST CONVERSATION I HAD WITH HIM SAID TO ME, YOU'RE LIVING IN THE GREEN WORLD,
I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS A LOT.
YOU KNOW, AND READING THROUGH, SORRY.
AND READING THROUGH, UH, MORE DETAILS OF THE, OF THE CARBON NEUTRALITY DOCUMENT.
UM, AND ALSO TALKING WITH PEOPLE AND, AND YOU KNOW, THIS COMES FROM A PLACE THAT OVER THE LAST YEAR, I WOULD SAY, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S A LITTLE BIT HOPE HOPELESS, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, TO, UH, TO, TO ADDRESS THIS.
THE THING I KEEP COMING BACK TO THOUGH IS TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT.
AS THAT BEING A WAY TO EDUCATE PEOPLE, ONE-ON-ONE AS WELL AS HELP THEM TO WHERE THEY WANT.
I KNOW THE CITY CAN'T AFFORD TO HAVE THESE PEOPLE.
I THINK MAYBE I COULD RECRUIT TWO DOZEN VOLUNTEERS FROM COOL PETALUMA PEOPLE THAT WERE PRIOR BLACK, BLACK LEADERS WHO WOULD BECOME LIKE, MAYBE I'VE BEEN WORKING IN HOMELESSNESS TOO LONG TOWN NOW TOO.
BECOME LIKE THE, THE, UH, HOMELESS CASE MANAGER.
WHO WOULD AGREE TO BE EDUCATED IN ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS YOU CAN DO IN TRANSPORTATION, DEMAND MANAGEMENT, AND TRY TO JUST ONE-ON-ONE, GET PEOPLE, I I I, I'D SET A GOAL OF 85% LESS MILES TRAVELED, YOU KNOW, UH, PER PERSON.
AND, UM, UH, ANYWAY, THAT'S WHERE I'M COMING FROM.
I CAN WAIT AND TAKE, YOU KNOW, SEE IF ANYBODY ELSE THINKS ANYTHING ABOUT THAT.
I FEEL LIKE THAT IS LIKE THE FIRST THING THAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MOVE, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T NEED MORE BUSES OR MORE FREQUENT BUSES UNTIL WE HAVE SOME FOLKS THAT ARE WILLING TO TAKE THE BUS.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT THOUGHT, GREAT IDEA.
AND I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH THAT.
ONE OF THE PIECES WE ARE DOING NOW TO GET THAT OFF THE GROUND IS MARIA'S ACTUALLY WORKING ON CREATING A KIND OF SENIOR TRAINER TRAINER PROGRAM WHERE WE'LL FIND SENIORS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY WHO ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE WITH TRANSIT OR INTERESTED WITH IT, TRAIN THEM A BIT MORE ABOUT THE SYSTEM, AND THEN USE THEM AS A RESOURCE TO GO THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY TO HELP TALK TO THOSE GROUPS AND SENIOR HOMES AND OTHER PEOPLE TO HELP EDUCATE THEM.
SO I THINK THAT'S A FIRST STEP IN THAT AREA, BUT OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF ROOM TO EXPAND IT AND GROW.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF GREAT GROUPS AND EFFORTS THAT ARE ENGAGED ALREADY DOING THINGS SIMILAR LIKE COOL PETALUMA, UM, AMONGST OTHERS THAT I THINK WE CAN LEVERAGE A BIT MORE TO REALLY KIND OF RAMP THAT SIDE UP.
IS THERE A SPACE? I THINK I, YOU KNOW, I WAS, I WAS, FIRST TIME I RAN FOR CITY COUNCIL, I, I WAS KIND OF, UH, RUNNING THIS IDEA BA PAST PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T GET VERY FAR, WHICH WAS TO HAVE AFFORDABLE, UH, HOUSING DEVELOPMENT WHERE, WHERE YOU WOULD HAVE FIRST CHOICE IF YOU EITHER LIVED OR WORKED IN PETALUMA, UH, OR I'M SORRY, IF YOU WORKED IN PETALUMA WOULD BE IF YOU, IF IF WE WERE TRYING TO GET YOU, YOU KNOW, LIVING.
AND, UH, BUT I, I, I NEVER REALLY GOT A GOOD ANSWER AS TO WHETHER THAT WAS PROHIBITED BY STATE LAW OR SOMETHING.
ANYBODY KNOW ABOUT THAT? YEAH, I, I THINK GETTING PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR CARS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT HAS A LOT OF TERMS THAT, THAT APPLY TO THAT, BUT, UH, IN THE END IT'S GETTING PEOPLE OUTTA THEIR CARS AND GETTING CARS OFF THE STREETS.
AND SO THERE PROBABLY ARE SOME INCENTIVES.
THE ONE ABOUT YOU GET FIRST CHOICE ON HOUSING IF YOU LIVE IN PETALUMA, DON'T HAVE TO GET IN YOUR CAR.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE ALL KNOW THE SMART TRAIN IS ALSO GONNA HELP US OUT WITH THE STATION, UH, THE, THE EXTRA STATION.
UM, I, I WAS ALSO, UM, THIS RELATES I THINK TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, THE, THE ATTENTION TO SENIORS.
UM, IT'S, I, I HEAR, UM, A LOT ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WALK, BIKE, ET CETERA.
BUT THERE ARE, UM, UH, A LOT AND THERE ARE MANY SENIORS, MANY OF US WHO ARE SENIORS WHO CAN DO THAT.
BUT, UH, MANY, MANY WHO CAN AND OTHERS, I MEAN, HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE ACCOMMODATE, UH, MAKE SURE, UM, THAT WE ARE REALLY REACHING OUT TO PEOPLE, UM, WHO, WHO, UM, WOULD USE, UM, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION MORE AND GET THEIR CARS OFF THE STREETS? BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO, FOR THEM, THEY DON'T HAVE A CAR.
SO IT'S NOT A QUESTION OF GETTING THE CAR OFF THE STREET.
BUT I ALSO WAS PLEASED TO SEE, UM, A COUPLE OF, UH, REFERENCES, UM, TO, UM, PUBLIC HEALTH AND, UM, THE, THE, UH, BENEFITS TO PUBLIC HEALTH OF PEOPLE GETTING OFF THEIR CAR, GETTING OUT OF THEIR CARS AND, AND, UH, ONTO BUSES.
AND, UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PEOPLE APPROACH IS MORE EXPENSIVE AND IT TAKES MORE TIME, BUT IT'S ULTIMATELY PEOPLE WHO WANNA CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIORS.
SO I WAS VERY ENCOURAGED TO SEE,
[00:55:01]
UM, SOME OF THAT IN, IN, IN THE DOCUMENTS THAT CAME THROUGH.I THINK THAT WE ALL AGREE THAT GETTING MORE CARS OFF THE ROAD WILL HELP, UH, INCENTIVIZE TRANSIT BY MAKING IT MORE PRODUCTIVE.
UM, AND THEN TO THAT POINT, TO KIND OF BRING IT BACK TO WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE, I NOTICED THAT THERE WASN'T REALLY, THERE'S A LOT OF ALLOWANCES MADE FOR ENCOURAGING EVS AND THAT DOESN'T TAKE CARS OFF THE ROAD.
UM, I THINK THAT'S GREAT FOR CARBON NEUTRALITY.
UM, IT REALLY KIND OF HAS HISTORICALLY ONLY AFFECTED, UM, CERTAIN TAX BRACKETS AND, UM, NOT NECESSARILY A HOLISTIC APPROACH.
UM, SO, BUT NOT TO SAY IT'S NOTHING, UM, BUT I THINK THAT IT IS COUNTERINTUITIVE TO TALKING ABOUT MODE SHIFT IF YOU'RE ALSO GOING TO ENCOURAGE AND INCENTIVIZE MORE EV CHARGING.
UM, 'CAUSE THAT'S STILL A PARKING SPOT.
UH, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I THINK IT'S ADVENT, UH, AMBITIOUS PLAN.
AND I THINK THAT IF IT'S GONNA WORK ANYWHERE, IT'S GONNA WORK HERE.
IF I COULD SORT OF ADD SOMETHING THERE ON EV VEHICLES, THEY ACTUALLY AREN'T THAT GOOD ON CARBON.
THEY'RE NEAR AS MUCH AS YOU THINK.
WELL MAKES A LOT HARDER ON THE ROAD.
WELL, WELL, IT HAS TO DO WITH, WELL, EVEN SETTING ASIDE THE ROAD IMPACTS, UM, CLEARLY HOW YOU GENERATE THE ELECTRICITY AFFECTS THE CARBON IMPACT OF AN EEB VEHICLE.
AND THEN MANUFACTURING, I MEAN, JUST EVEN IF YOU ASSUME THAT ALL YOUR ENERGY GENERATION IS GONNA BE CARBON FREE, AN EV VEHICLE HAS ABOUT HALF THE CARBON IMPACT OF GAS, WHICH IS GOOD.
I MEAN, IT, I EXPECT MY NEXT CAR TO BE EV BUT IT'S NOT NEARLY AS GOOD AS THE PERCEPTION MIGHT BE.
JUST SO GETTING AWAY FROM ANY VEHICLES, ANY CARS IS THE BEST WAY FORWARD.
I THINK EVERYONE ELSE HAS SPOKEN, SO I'M GONNA TAKE MY TURN.
UM, I, I AGREE WITH, I SPOKE WITH QUESTIONS, NOT COMMENTS.
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T GO NEXT.
COUNCIL MEMBER ABRAMS, PLEASE.
COMMISSION COMMITTEE MEMBER ABRAMS. MY APOLOGIES.
PERSON ABRAMS, UM, THIS IS A COMMENT FOR THE TRANSIT DEPARTMENT IN, BUT IN OUR GOAL OF 75% OR 85%, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THAT TRANSIT IS IMPORTANT, THINKING ABOUT THE TRIPS THAT I TAKE AND THAT I OBSERVE PEOPLE TAKING AND THINKING OF MY FOUR DECADES OF LIVING IN SAN FRANCISCO.
SO I AM A NEWCOMER HERE, SO YOU CAN JUST REGARD EVERYTHING I SAY.
UM, BUT MUCH OF THAT TIME IN THE CITY, I DID NOT HAVE A CAR.
BUT ANYWAY, THERE WAS A PERIOD OF TIME WHERE MUNI AND SAN FRANCISCO HAD SIMILAR RULES ABOUT DON'T BRING YOUR SHOPPING CART ON.
DON'T BRING YOUR, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAD A FOLDING BABY BUGGY, YOU HAD TO GET YOUR BABY OUT OF THE BUGGY AND FOLD IT UP AND GET ON.
NOW THE BUS DRIVERS WERE AHEAD OF POLICY BY SOMETIMES LETTING YOU ON.
SO SOMETIMES YOU HAD TO STAND AROUND AND WAIT FOR THE NEXT BUS DRIVER TO GET YOUR SHOPPING CART ON.
BUT UNTIL WE LET PEOPLE ACTUALLY CARRY THE THINGS WITH THEM THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO GET FROM HERE TO THERE ON OUR BUSES, YOU CAN'T RIDE THE BUS BECAUSE MOST OF THE TIME THAT WE'RE DRIVING IT ISN'T JUST GETTING THERE.
I THINK IT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
ANYWAY, IN THE CITY NOW, YOU CAN BRING ANYTHING, ALMOST YOUR LIVE CHICKENS, WHICH IS WHAT YOU SEE IN COMMUNITIES WHERE THERE'S NO TRANSIT, BUT THE, THE BUS, BUT NOT QUITE.
BUT THEN THAT DOES SPEAK TO THE ATTITUDE ABOUT MASS TRANSIT.
IT'S LIKE, WELL THEN I HAVE TO SIT ON THE BUS WITH THREE BABY BUGGIES AND FOUR SHOPPING CARTS.
ISN'T THAT ANNOYING? SO I, I REALIZE IT'S NOT JUST DO IT, BUT I STILL THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
UH, MS. HINES HEARD ME MAKE SOME OF THESE COMMENTS THE NIGHT, I'LL MAKE 'EM IN A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FORMAT TODAY.
AND I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING WE TALKED ABOUT, ABOUT THIS SHIFT HAS TO INCLUDE MULTIPLE FRONTS.
WE NEED BETTER SIDEWALKS, WE NEED BETTER BIKE LANES, WE NEED PUBLIC EDUCATION.
NOTHING IS GONNA HAPPEN EASILY.
I MEAN, 2030 I THINK WAS PROBABLY NEVER POSSIBLE AND WE'RE NOT EVEN GONNA COME CLOSE.
[01:00:01]
BUT AS THE MAYOR SAYS, OFTEN HOPE THROUGH ACTION, YOU KNOW, DO SOMETHING THAT SHOW THAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED.EVEN IF YOU AREN'T GONNA MAKE THE GOAL, JUST KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
BUT IF WE ARE, WHEN WE ARE SUCCESSFUL WITH ALL THESE CHANGES, WE NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT PETAL TRANSIT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE.
RIGHT NOW WE TALK 75% OF ALL TRIPS BEING NON-AUTO.
WE DON'T SPLIT IT BETWEEN WALKING, BIKING, TRANSIT.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE EUROPEAN CITIES THAT ARE KNOWN FOR HAVING, YOU KNOW, DOWNPLAYED CARS, SOME OF THEM ARE HEAVILY BIKE TREK BEING THE, THE POSTER CHILD.
SOME OF THEM ARE HEAVILY TRANSIT.
GIVEN THE WAY PETALUMA WAS LAID OUT, WE ARE PROBABLY GONNA BE MORE TRANSIT THAN WE ARE.
BUT THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS NOW.
SO, I MEAN, LET'S SAY CONSERVATIVELY WE NEED TO BE ABOUT A 40% MODE SPLIT FOR TRANSIT TO MEET THIS GOAL TODAY.
AND JARED, I DIDN'T RUN THIS NUMBER BY YOU, I SHOULD HAVE, BUT AS I COUNTED, WE'RE AT 0.6% MODE SHIFT FOR TRANSIT.
SO WE'RE GOING FROM 0.6 TO 40, WHICH A SEVEN TIMES MULTIPLIER.
AND YET YOU LOOK AT THE PLAN IN FRONT OF US AND OUR ACTION ITEMS BY 2030, THE TARGET DATE IS TO ELECTRIFY, HAVE FOUR ELECTRIC BUSES.
THAT IS JUST SUCH AN ENORMOUS DISCONNECT.
I JUST, I CAN'T EVEN GET MY HANDS AROUND IT.
THE ISSUES I SEE THAT NEED TO BE FOLDED INTO HERE, AND AGAIN, NOT BY 2030, AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN.
BUT IT NEEDS TO BE PART OF OUR PLAN.
WHAT DOES THE FLEET SIZE NEED TO BE? AND MY BACK OF THE ENVELOPE CALCULATIONS AT LEAST FIVE TIMES WHAT WE HAVE NOW.
AND PROBABLY MORE THAN THAT, WHERE DO WE STORE THOSE BUSES? AND WHAT LET'S, YOU KNOW, AS, AS WE START TO FILL IN OUR URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY, WE DON'T HAVE AN OBVIOUS PLACE FOR A BUS YARD TO HANDLE FIVE TIMES THE BUSES.
LET'S NOT GET TRAPPED BY THAT ABSENCE.
WHERE WILL THE BUSES GO? LET'S YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST GONNA BE INCREASING FREQUENCY ON THE ROUTES WE HAVE NOW.
WE HAVE PARTS OF TOWN THAT ARE UNDER UNDERSERVED.
WE HAVE TO COME UP WITH A PLAN, AGAIN, LONG TERM, BUT START THINKING ABOUT WHERE THOSE ROUTES ARE GONNA GO, WHAT THE FREQUENCIES ARE GONNA BE, WHAT THE SPAN'S GONNA BE, HOW EARLY THEY BE IN THE MORNING WHEN THEY SHUT DOWN THE EVENING, WHICH IS IMPORTANT ALSO FOR A LOT OF RIDERS.
AND THEN THIS IS A COMMENT I MADE THE LAST WEEK AT THE GPAC MEETING.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT 15 MINUTE NEIGHBORHOODS, WHAT SHOULD REALLY DRIVE 15 MINUTE NEIGHBORHOODS IS TRANSIT WHERE TWO LINES CROSS.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GONNA CHANGE BUSES OR WHERE THERE'S A, A STOP THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE GET OFF BECAUSE THEY LIVE THERE ORGANICALLY.
THAT IS WHERE BODEGAS, DINERS, COFFEE SHOPS, CHILDCARE, THAT'S WHERE THOSE THINGS ARE GONNA WANT TO BE.
SO WE NEED TO SORT OF ALMOST BE IN FRONT OF IT.
WE NEED TO TAKE A FIRST PASS AT WHAT TRANSIT SHOULD BE BEFORE WE START TALKING ABOUT EVEN 15 MINUTE NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND THEN TALK ABOUT ZONING MODIFICATIONS.
SO, SO WE LET THOSE KIND OF USES GROW ORGANICALLY.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE, TO ME, ONE OF THE BIGGEST ONES IS WE HAVE, WE HAVE CONNECTION POINTS WHERE MULTIPLE BUS LINES COME TOGETHER.
UH, PEOPLE GET OFF, EXPECT TO GET A DIFFERENT BUS.
THOSE NEED TO HAVE MUCH HIGHER LEVEL OF FUNCTION.
MAYBE YOU DON'T NEED, NEED TO BE AS MUCH BIGGER AS THE FLEET SIZE BECAUSE THERE'S OTHER WAYS TO MANAGE BUSES, WHETHER YOU WORK IN PULSE PULSES OR JUST HAVING ENOUGH FREQUENCY WHERE IT'S NOT IMPORTANT TO BE ON, IN, ON PULSES.
YES, I'VE BEEN READING THE
UM, BUT WE STILL NEED THOSE CONNECTION POINTS, WHICH TODAY ARE THE EAST SIDE TRANSIT CENTER AND THE TRANSIT MALL TO BE CONFIGURED FOR A DIFFERENT FUTURE.
AND IF WE DON'T HAVE A PLAN TODAY, WE'RE NOT GONNA GET THERE BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA HAVE SO MUCH OTHER DEVELOPMENT AROUND IT.
WE JUST CAN'T HA MAKE IT HAPPEN TO ME.
THE, THE PRIME EXAMPLE FOR THAT IS THE TRANSIT MALL.
NOW I KNOW THAT WAS PROBABLY LOCATED BEFORE THE SMART, UH, TRAIN WAS EVEN APPROVED, SO WE REALLY, YOU KNOW, IT JUST HAPPENED THAT WAY.
BUT I'M ALREADY GETTING QUESTIONS FROM OTHER TRANSIT PEOPLE GOING, WHY IS THAT A BLOCK AWAY FROM THE TRAIN STATION? IT DOESN'T SEEM THAT FAR, BUT IT, IT IS, IT IS A QUESTION FOR PE IT'S AN, IT'S AN AWKWARD BLOCK.
AND ODDLY ENOUGH, THIS CAME UP IN A BIG WAY WHEN THE STATIONARY AND MASTER PLAN WAS DONE.
THE TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER ON THAT, WHO IS CURRENTLY THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR MUNI IN SAN FRANCISCO SAID, THIS IS A PROBLEM.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOUR BUSES ARE GONNA WANT TO GO TO INTERACT WITH SMART.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE LONG-TERM FUTURES, I CAN'T BEGIN TO TELL YOU HOW TO LAY THIS OUT.
YOU NEED TO REACH SOME CONCLUSIONS YOURSELF AS A COMMUNITY, FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU WANT TO DO.
WE'VE SORT OF SAT THERE WITH THE OLD TRANSOM MALL SITTING WHERE IT WAS SMART BEING OVER THERE.
IF ANYTHING, WE'VE SEEN ONE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT
[01:05:01]
FOR THE LAND IN BETWEEN THE HINES DEVELOPMENT, WHICH FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW, IS NOT MS. HINES.UH, YOU'VE HEARD THAT A LOT, HAVEN'T YOU? YEAH.
UH, I, I KNOW
UM, THAT PROJECT ACTUALLY MADE THE, THAT REDUCED THE FUNCTION OF THE TRANSIT MALL.
IT, IT HAD DRIVEWAYS CUTTING THROUGH IT.
SO HERE WE ARE SAYING WE WANT TO MOVE TO A CARBON NEUTRAL FUTURE, AND WE DON'T EVEN HAVE A PLAN TO PREVENT DEVELOPMENT FROM TAKING AWAY FUNCTIONS TODAY THAT ARE, THAT ARE INADEQUATE FOR THE FUTURE.
SO WE'RE, RATHER THAN GROWING IT, WE'RE HARMING OURSELVES.
WE ARE GOING TO SEE PLANS COME FORWARD FOR THAT.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO CALL.
WE, WE AS A GROUP, AS TRANSIT DEPARTMENT, NEEDS TO HAVE A PLAN FOR WHAT THAT TRANSIT CENTER SHOULD LOOK LIKE 30 YEARS FROM NOW WHEN WE TRULY DO REACH CARBON NEUTRALITY.
SO WE DON'T LOSE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE THE TRANSIT ALL WE NEED WITH A DEVELOPMENT PLAN THAT COMES UP NEXT YEAR.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S SORT OF MY BIG PICTURE REGARDING TRANSIT.
AND I'LL JUST MAKE ONE OTHER COMMENT ON PROCESS.
WE AS A CITY, ALL CITIES DO THIS.
WE WAIT TO GET A PLAN IN PLACE BEFORE WE START DOING ANYTHING.
AND YES, WE, WE, WE'VE DONE SOME THINGS.
I'M NOT GONNA SAY WE'VE DONE NOTHING, BUT STILL WE ALL LOOK AT THAT ADOPTION DATE AS A DATE WHEN WE REALLY PUSH AHEAD, WE CAN'T DO THAT ANYMORE.
I MEAN, THE CITY COUNCIL DECLARED A CLIMATE EMERGENCY IN 2019 AND WE ARE STILL DEVELOPING LISTS OF THINGS WE SHOULD BE DOING.
WE NEED TO GET THIS ADOPTED AND THEN WE NEED TO START REVISING IT.
BUT WORKING ON THE, ON THE CURRENT PLAN, WE JUST CAN'T ALWAYS BE PLANNING AND REPLANNING.
WE NEED TO, NEED TO IMPLEMENT.
SO, OKAY, NOW I PUT MY SOAPBOX AWAY, BUT THANKS FOR LISTENING TO ME.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, COUNCILMAN OR POST? KAY.
UM, I, I, YOU KNOW, I GUESS AFTER MY LITTLE SPIEL ON, ON TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT, I THINK THAT IS ONE THING THAT CAN HELP DIRECT US AS TO HOW TO MAKE THESE MORE LONG-TERM PLANS, RIGHT? WE DON'T WANNA HAVE SPACE FOR 40 BUSES OR 80 OR A HUNDRED BUSES IF WE'RE NEVER GONNA GET THERE.
I MEAN, I THINK, AND CAN YOU LOOK AT, LOOK AT TDMC, WHAT IT MIGHT ACCOMPLISH AND SIZE ACCORDINGLY.
I MEAN THE 75% TARGET 40% BEING BUSES IS PROBABLY A GOOD, GOOD STARTING POINT.
ANYBODY ELSE? I STUCK ALL THE AIR OUTTA THE ROOM.
THEN I THINK WE ARE DONE WITH THIS AGENDA ITEM.
DID YOU GET WHAT YOU WANTED? YEAH, I MEAN THEY'RE VERY, UH, YOU GUYS ACTUALLY STAYED VERY MUCH IN YOUR LANE
UM, SO WE HAVE GOTTEN A LOT OF COMMENTS, BUT VERY GOOD, HELPFUL, YOU KNOW, FEEDBACK.
IT'S TWO THIRDS OF ALL THE WAY SIDE.
[COMMITTEE COMMENT]
WE HAVE ALSO A WINDOW FOR, UH, FOR OTHER COUNCIL COMMENTS.AND EVEN THOUGH I NORMALLY SAY THE CHAIR GOES LAST, I'M GONNA START ONE THIS ONE BECAUSE IT DOES TIE SO MUCH TO WHAT WE'VE JUST BEEN TALKING ABOUT.
ONE OF THE LEADING THEORISTS ON TRANSIT THEORY IN THE COUNTRY IS A GUY NAMED JART WALKER.
HE HAS JUST UPDATE, THERE WE GO.
HE HAS JUST UPDATED HIS BOOK, HUMAN TRANSIT, THAT IS THE BIBLE FOR MANY TRANSIT AGENCIES.
HE HAS SOME OLD TIES TO PETALUMA, WHICH I SORT OF KNEW ABOUT, BUT I WAS STILL SURPRISED.
I REACHED OUT TO HIM ASKING WHETHER HE WOULD BE WILLING TO TALK TO A KNOW BEFORE YOU GROW FORUM PART OF URBAN CHAT.
AND I I THOUGHT IT WAS ONE OF ONE OF THOSE 1% THINGS YOU MIGHT AS WELL ASK.
NEXT WEDNESDAY WE WILL BE GATHERING TO LISTEN TO HIM.
HE WON'T BE HERE IN PERSON, HE'LL BE HERE BY ZOOM.
UM, WE WILL WATCH A VIDEO OF HIM TALKING WITH THE CONGRESS FOR THE NEW URBANISM AND THEN HE WILL JOIN US LIVE FOR Q AND A REGARDING TRANSIT SPECIFIC ISSUES.
SO I THINK IT BUILDS VERY MUCH ON THIS CONVERSATION.
THE MEETING WILL BE AT THE LIVE EXPLORE REALITY OFFICE ON FOURTH STREET NEXT TO THE MUSEUM.
ONLY ROOM FOR 30 PEOPLE THERE.
I'M HOPING WE'RE GONNA BRING ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE.
SOME HAVE TO GO HOME AND WATCH ON ZOOM INSTEAD, BUT, UM, HOPEFULLY ALL THE, ALL THE TRANS COMMITTEE CAN BE THERE IN PERSON.
SO YOU SAY IT WILL BE ON ZOOM IT, IT WILL BE ON ZOOM AND WE'LL RECORD IT FOR LATER VIEWING FOR THOSE WHO NEED TO SEE IT? ABSOLUTELY.
WHAT'S THE TIME? SEVEN O'CLOCK.
AND HELEN, IF YOUR HONOR WANNA REACH OUT TO ME, I CAN FORWARD YOU THE EMAIL ANNOUNCEMENT.
[01:10:02]
ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE COMMITTEE? WHAT'S THAT? I SAID I THINK WE LEFT IT ALL OUT THERE,[STAFF COMMENT]
DONE.YEAH, NO COMMENTS FROM STAFF AT THIS TIME, MR. CHAIR.
I, BUT I'D LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THE GREAT COMMENTS AND DISCUSSION.
YOU KNOW, I THINK IT WAS A REALLY LIVELY DISCUSSION.
IT'S NOT OFTEN AS WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THESE REALLY HIGH LEVEL DISCUSSIONS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSIT AND WHAT IT PLAYS IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO I THINK IT WAS REALLY ROBUST DISCUSSION THAT'LL KIND OF IMPACT THINGS FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.
WITH THAT, THE MEETING'S ADJOURNED AT FIVE 11.