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November 12, 2015

Central City Line

Steering Committee

Meeting #1

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Spokane Intermodal Center

Great Northern Room, #310

221 W. First Ave. Spokane, WA

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Agenda• Welcome, Introductions and Agenda Review

• Review of Steering Committee Charge

• Election of a Chair

• Public Expressions

• Administrative Taskso Adoption of Interim Rules of Procedure

o Election of Vice-Chair

o Establish Regular Meeting Schedule

• Defining Success of the Project Development Phase

• Project Development Scope Review

• Downtown Alignment Alternatives

• Overlay Plan

• Next Meeting Target

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Steering Committee Charge

• Provide policy and strategic guidance for the

project development phase of the Central City Line

• Provide project-related recommendations and

input to the STA Board of Directors and the Spokane

City Council

• Provide connection to the community through

participation on this committee

• Further the vision of the STA Moving Forward Plan

through successful collaboration during the project

development phase of the Central City Line

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Steering Committee MembersAvista Corporation Steve Trabun Browne’s Addition Kathy Fritchie

Cheney Free Press(Interests W. of Spokane)

Harlan Shellabarger Chief Garry Park Colleen Gardner

City of Spokane Scott Simmons City of Spokane Amber Waldref

DCI Engineers(Downtown Business)

Mark AdenDowntown Spokane Partnership

Mark Richard

Gonzaga University John Sklut Greater Spokane Inc. Anne Marie Axworthy

Logan Neighborhood

Karen ByrdPeople First(Org. Advocating People w/Disabilities)

John Lemus

Riverside Neighborhood

Gary PollardSpokane CommunityCollege

Ryan Carstens

Spokane Public Facilities District

Kevin TwohigSpokane Transit Authority

E. Susan Meyer

University District Mark Mansfield Visit Spokane Cheryl Kilday

Washington State University

Lisa BrownEast Spokane/Valley Representative

Unfilled

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Election of a Chair

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Public Expressions

At this time, the Steering Committee will give the

public an opportunity to express comments or

opinions pertaining to the project

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Approval of Interim Rules of Procedure

• Pursuant to the creation of the Steering Committee,

Rules of Procedure must be adopted

• “Interim” rules have been provided for

consideration and action

• Rules can be amended and finalized after further

input at a later date

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Election of a Vice Chair

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Over-Arching Goal

Develop CCL project definition and environmental

documentation to support a competitive Small Starts

Grant Application, and build stakeholder and

community support for the project

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PD Phase Key Objectives

1. Engage Steering Committee to provide input

2. Finalize mode selection

3. Develop NEPA environmental documentation

4. Engage key stakeholders and public

5. Determine station and stop designs

6. Identify policies that advance transit-supportive

development

7. Identify potential cost saving and sharing solutions

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Defining Success of the PD Phase

• Selection of a downtown alignment

• Identification of conceptual station and stop

locations

• Development of preferred vehicle specifications

• Development of traction power infrastructure

specifications

• Identification of land use and economic

development opportunities in the corridor

• Approval by FTA of a Small Starts Grant Agreement

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Project Development Scope Review

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Project Development Scope Review

• The project was approved by FTA in June 2015 for

entry into Small Starts Project Development

• CH2M (prime consultant) has been working on the

CCL project since the initial Alternatives Analysis in

2010; the team includes:

• IBI Group, Inc. (Small Starts/Ridership/Planning)

• Desautel Hege (Public Outreach)

• HDR Engineering, Inc. (Traffic Modeling)

• Coffman Engineers, Inc. (Surveying/Mapping)

• LTK Consulting Services (Traction Power)

• Leon Skiles & Associates (Small Starts/NEPA)

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Project Development Scope ReviewSmall Starts Grant Submittal

• Small Starts Grant application process requires a substantial amount of information

• Over the next 10+ months, the project team will be working to:

o Define the downtown alignment

o Identify station and stop locations

o Determine preliminary vehicle and power specifications

o Complete ridership forecasting

o Complete traffic modeling

o Prepare a financing plan

o Identify economic development opportunities

o Complete NEPA environmental process

o Complete surveying and mapping

o Identify Major Right-of-Way Improvements

o Develop preliminary design and cost estimates

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Central City Line Project Timeline

CCLPublic Hearing onLPA Amendment

(July 2014)

LPA Amendment

(July 2014)

State FundingFor Project

Development (May 2015)

Approval STA Moving Forward

Plan(December 2014)

Request to Enter Project

Development(September 2014)

Approval to Enter into Project

Development(June 2015)

Authorization to Begin PE

(Sept. 2015)

Complete PE (30%)

(December 2016)*

Open for Service

(2020)

Begin Construction

(Mid 2018)

Finish Design & Engineering/Begin

Procurement(Early 2018)

Small Starts Grant

Agreement(FY 2018)

Recommend for Federal Funding

(February 2017)

Submit Small Starts Request

Packet(July 2016)

Federal Funding Decision by

Congress(2017)

Complete 60% Engineering

(Mid 2017)Decisions/Actions by STA

Decisions/Actions by FTA/Congress

Other Milestones

Washington State Legislative Actions

Environmental Approvals

(Summer 2016)

State FundingMatch For

Construction(July 2015)

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Project Development Scope ReviewProject Schedule

2015 2016

Today

Aug Oct Dec 2016 Apr Jun Aug

Authorization to begin Project Development

September 2015

Refine Station and Stop Locations

March 2016

STA Decision Vehicle and Power

March 2016

STA/City Decision on Downtown Alignment

March 2016

Conceptual Design Complete

March 2016

Section 106 Agency Concurrence

June 2016

July 2016

FTA NEPA Determination

July 2016

FTA Small Starts Grant Agreement Application

Submitted

August 2016

STA SEPA Determination

September 2016

Planning and Conceptual Design

Preliminary Engineering

FTA Small Starts Grant Agreement Application

NEPA Documentation

Strategic Overlay Plan

Preliminary Engineering Design and Estimates

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• Determine downtown alignment

• Finalize vehicle type and power characteristics

• Refine station and stop locations

• Identify infrastructure investments strategy

• Finalize Small Starts grant and financial strategy

• Complete the NEPA process

• Complete preliminary engineering

Project Development Scope ReviewDecision Drivers/Milestones

The Steering Committee will be integral to

these decisions

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Downtown Alignment Alternatives

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Alignment Evaluation Criteria Discussion

• Review Draft Criteria

• Changes/Additions

• Seek General Consensus

• Decision Making Process

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Alignment Alternatives Worksheet

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Initial Criteria for DiscussionNumber

Evaluation Criterion

Description Performance Measures Notes

1Directness and quality of station area access

Does the alignment allow for siting of stations that provide direct pedestrian access to the “front door” to major destinations in downtown, including the STA Plaza and connecting transit routes?

Number and nature of issues and opportunities

2Transit travel time reliability

Does the alignment avoid service delays that would impact reliability of the CCL (e.g. congested segments and intersections, required left turns)

Number and severity of Identified Issues

3Vehicular travel time

Does the alignment impact existing or future traffic congestion?Comparative delay based

on traffic modeling

4

Supportive of established downtown vision and plans

Is this alignment consistent with the goals and opportunities identified in plans for the downtown core? (Including development aspirations and bicycle and pedestrian accommodation)

Qualitative based on consistency with established plans

5 Parking impactsTo what extent is downtown on-street parking impacted by this alignment?

Number of spaces impacted

6Bicycle system benefits and impacts

To what extent are existing or planned bicycle projects impacted or supported

Qualitative based on consistency with existing

and planned bicycle network

7Pedestrian benefits and impacts

To what extent will the CCL improve pedestrian conditions (sidewalk width/condition, safe crossings, ADA improvements, etc.)

Extent and quality of pedestrian

improvements that accompany CCL

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Initial Criteria for DiscussionNumber

Evaluation Criterion

Description Performance Measures Notes

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Infrastructure and planning coordination opportunities

Does the alignment alternative present opportunities to align infrastructure, urban design and development initiatives?

Qualitative based on number and nature of

opportunities

9Compatibility with adjacent land uses

Are the alignment and station locations compatible with adjacent land uses with minimal safety and access conflicts (e.g. driveway curb cuts)?

Number and severity of identified issues

10Catalyze Redevelopment

Extent to which the CCL provides access to undeveloped or underdeveloped parcels with potential to redevelop

Number of undeveloped or underutilized parcels

adjacent to station locations

11 Construction CostWhat are the relative order-of-magnitude construction costs of each alignment?

Preliminary order of magnitude cost estimate

based on major alignment elements

(signals, moving curbs, street reconstruction,

etc)

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Downtown Alignment Alternatives

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Central City Line Strategic Overlay Plan

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Central City Strategic Overlay Plan

Economic and

Land Use Impacts

Report (2014)

Preliminary

Engineering

Strategic Overlay

Plan

ST

EE

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G C

OM

MIT

TE

E R

EV

IEW

AN

D R

EC

OM

ME

ND

AT

ION

Small Starts

Grant

Application

Successful Project

Implementation of

the Product

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Central City Line Strategic Overlay Plan

• Objective - examine a range of potential

policy changes to:

o Maximize economic opportunity and

community benefits

o Increase ridership

o Catalyze transit-supportive

development

o Increase the project’s competitiveness

for Small Starts funding

• Gather public input on opportunities and

strategies

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• Final Product - A plan containing policy recommendations in key focus

areas:

Central City Strategic Overlay Plan

Pedestrian Facilities

ParkingAffordable Housing

Zoning Design Standards

Incentives

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Strategic Overlay Timeline

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Opportunity Focus Areas

Focus Areas

Browne’s Addition / West

DowntownEast

Downtown

University District

Chief Garry Park

Workshop

Tonight @ 6 PMStevens

Elementary

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Next Meeting Target

Next Steering Committee meeting

tentatively held in January 2016