HomeMy WebLinkAbout062316 Nussbaum, Fred - Post-docket Testimony on
2016 Port Townsend Comprehensive Plan Amendments
By Fred Nussbaum
My professional background is in transportation planning, specifically public
transportation, so I am focusing on the public transit components of the plan starting.
Before I go there, I do have two general comments:
• Planning staff is to be commended for doing a great job of managing this large,
complex planning document with limited staff and funding resources. My prior
experience with documents of this nature was "in the big city," Portland, where
dozens of people would be involved.
• 1 understand the need to work with a markup format for this document, given that it is
an amendment to an existing plan. However, it would have been nice to also have
had a "finalized" version without the inserts and deletes showing to get a better
sense of what the final document will look like, how it flows, etc. Perhaps just
providing an MS Word version, where markups could be turned on and off would
have been a simple solution for all involved.
Public Transportation Topics
1) p. 6-5: The first sentence under Transit Access and Availability is inaccurate:
Since JTA is a rural service provider for the entire county, they currently have
limited bus routes and route frequency within Port Townsend.
Consider replacing this first sentence with the following to be more accurate:
JTA is simultaneously a rural, intercity and urhan transit service provider with its
own financial constraints. Improved service frequency and coverage in PT would
he desirable as a way to reduce auto travel and improve the quality of service for
transit-dependents.
2) p. 6-5: Change the last sentence under Transit Access and Availability:
The City can look for opportunities to work with Jefferson Transit to encourage
enhanced transit service from Jefferson Transit through investment in transit
supportive r,,, es ways to help residents, employees and visitors access and use
transit.
Rationale for this change:
Transit amenities usually mean bus pull-outs, curb extensions, passenger shelters, etc.,
which tend to help transit operations or improve the transit experience, but don't actually
increase the level of service. Hourly service, with or without a passenger shelter, is still
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hourly service. That level of service is still not competitive with driving a car. As is noted
further down in these comments, the City has a number ways that it can be directly
involved in improving the level of service.
3) 6-30: reword sentence:
Since the City is not a provider of transit, it must work closely with Jefferson
Transit to help improve transit
service in the community. Opportunities for the City to meet this vision include:
a. Joint funding of operations within PT
h. Supplementary City funded service
c. Facilitating affordable alt. transit service (e.g. subsidized taxi, jitney)
d. EncouMing JTA to explore other than fixed route service
e. Ensuring development patterns, street network and site desiYns that are
transit supportive (e.g. Infill, street grid, pedestrian friendly site desi gin)
f. Transit amenities to improve transit experience
Rationale for this change:
The level of transit service is primarily a decision of JTA, unless it receives additional
resources from other entities. For instance, JTA could go to the voters to seek more
revenue. Also, limited resources should not be confused with limited service levels.
There may be more efficient ways of providing service that JTA could try, which would
improve the level of service. In any case, the City should enter discussions with JTA by
asking what it wants. Let JTA express its own limitations.
4) p. 6-34: Beware of what you ask for. A direct PT - SEA ferry, especially a vehicle
ferry would encourage commuting, which would make Port Townsend more of a
bedroom community with commuters being less able or inclined to be actively involved
in this community. However, passenger-only ferry with 4-6 round trips per day not at
prime commute hours could serve PT residents and tourists, while discouraging use for
commuting.
3) 6-40: The concept of Public Transit minimum Level of Service is great. Usually that
notion is only applied to roads.
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