University Assembly Transportation Advisory Committee

Transportation Advisory Committee
Minutes from Monday, February 27, 2006
11:30 AM � 12:45 PM, 316 Day Hall (Day Hall Boardroom)

Attendance

Present: Jim Gibbs, Sara Gomez-Ibanez, Peter Hoyt, Marisa LaFalce, Yael Levitte, Tim McConnochie Ex-Officio Present: John Durbin, Judy Eckard, Jonathan Feldman, David Lieb, Helen Steh Others Present: Frank Perry Excused: Arnim Meyburg and Paul Streeter

J. Feldman convened the meeting and asked people to introduce themselves. TAC welcomed Peter Hoyt, new Employee representative.

Thurston Avenue Bridge Project

Frank Perry did a power point presentation. He is from Utilities and is working with the City of Ithaca to coordinate the bridge project (this project is a city/state project). Prep work starts March 6, 2006. Bridge is reduced to one-lane south bound on March 20, 2006. This project continues through August 2007.

• The driving lanes will be enlarged by three feet on each side to accommodate bike lanes.
• Two feet will be added to each sidewalk.
• Railing is four feet and seven inches high and curves inward.
• New turning lane will be constructed on University Avenue to East Avenue with a pedestrian island.

Most of the time, traffic will be:

• One-lane south with one sidewalk open.
• Open for two-way traffic during Commencement, Reunion and Fall Opening.
• Two week period in August 2006 the bridge will be 100% closed.
• Bridge will be closed 100% from March 2007 until August 2007.
• Forest Home Drive will be closed from East Avenue to MVR.
• University Avenue by Rand Hall will be closed just to build the new intersection; once open it will be one-way traffic for the duration of the project.
• East Avenue north of Tower Road will be local traffic only.
• Bus timing for north bound detour will be 3 � 5 additional minutes. Detour: Stewart Avenue bridge to Thurston Avenue to Wait Avenue.
• Communication roll-out will be March 8th and March 9th in the form of an email to everyone and media coverage.

P. Hoyt asked if Transportation was going to try to entice people on southeast side of Ithaca to stay out of Forest Home (A lot parkers). H. Steh said that we are not offering free permits in any other location. There is no way to accommodate that many people. Transportation staff have met with the Human Resource Council and asked that supervisors, when able, be flexible during construction; allow staff to use RideShare, OmniRide and continue A lot parking. She said that Mary Opperman agreed with that strategy.

Other Summer Projects

J. Durbin provided a brief description of other construction projects:

• Life Sciences
• Lynah Rink Expansion
• Physical Science
• Hoy Garage
• ECRF
• Bailey Hall
• West Campus
• Plant Science Loading Dock
• Myron Taylor Stone replacement
• TBK Area Projects
• Rhodes Hall Roof Replacement
• Road Maintenance Projects

t-GEIS Update

D. Lieb noted that the Town of Ithaca as lead agency has passed the project scope. The consultant is now in the data collection phase: gather data from faculty/staff and students. The student referendum (from the University Avenue Parking Lot Agreement) will be folded into the t-GEIS surveys.

Representatives from the Assemblies held a meeting on February 25, 2006 to brainstorm questions to be included. There will be three versions:

• A significant sampling (25%) of faculty and staff.
• A significant sampling (25%) of undergrads.
• 100% of the graduate/professional students.

J. Feldman said that the consultant asked that TAC review the draft surveys and gives their input. He distributed a document which summarized the February 25, 2006 meeting. He noted that the timeframe for turnaround is tight. Everything needs to be done by March 17, 2006, before it goes to the University Committee on Human Subjects for approval. These surveys will be processed by Survey Research Institute.

J. Feldman asked if everyone could attend a special TAC meeting on March 7, 2006 to review the surveys. He will see if the time can be moved from 5:00 PM to 3:00 PM.

T. McConnochie said that the purpose of the surveys is to collect information about attitudes, the way the Cornell population currently uses the transportation system, and to determine, democratically, a campus vision with regard to transportation-related issues and trade-offs.

J. Eckard noted that the Commuter and Parking Services (C&PS) customer satisfaction survey will use a statistically significant sample and will not be put out until Fall 2006.

Car Sharing Summit

D. Lieb reported that as a result of the Car Sharing Summit members of the community (Cornell, Ithaca College, Eco Village, City of Ithaca, and Tompkins County and other interested parties) are looking into the possibility of developing a program in Tompkins County. D. Lieb is on a sub-committee that will be putting forth ideas on how to do this.

Other Business

T. McConnochie reported that someone said it is impossible to find TCAT bus schedules and maps. S. Gomez-Ibanez asked if a map could be put on the inside wall of buses. J. Eckard said she would pass the information on to TCAT. She will also see if Cornell�s representatives on the TCAT Board, as well as the general manager, can attend our March or April meeting. Cornell�s board members are Hank Dullea, Rich McDaniel and Bill Wendt.

P. Hoyt asked if the committee met in the summer. J. Feldman said, even though most students aren�t here in the summer, we can discuss that possibility later on.

The next scheduled TAC meetings are Monday, March 27, 2006 and Monday, April 24, 2006 from 11:30 AM until 12:45 PM and will be held in 316 Day Hall Boardroom.

Adjournment

This meeting was adjourned at 12:45 PM.