[NFBSea] Transit Advisory Board information

Wed Aug 22 18:56:28 UTC 2018

Hi everyone,

I am sending this out to the list and to individuals because I don’t know if everyone has subscribed to the list yet. For those who are not on the list yet I am copying my list post from a few days ago below. Additional information follows.

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Hi everyone,

Great discussion today at the chapter meeting about our transit issues! ! As noted at the meeting it would be great to have some members speak during the Public Comment period at the Seattle Transit Advisory Board meeting this Wednesday, August 22. This meeting takes place from 6 pm-7:30 pm at Seattle City Hall in room L280 (the Boards and Commissions room) located on floor L2. The address is 600 4th Ave. but you can also enter from 5th Ave. 

There is only 5 minutes on the agenda for public comment, primarily because people seldom show up to comment. The comment period can be extended if several people want to speak. There is a sign-up sheet so the co-chairs know how many people wish to speak. You can get sign-up assistance from Ben Smith, the City staff liaison to the board. I would recommend keeping individual comments to 1 minute each. For this board I think it would be good to emphasize needed service improvements/additions to bus service in Seattle. This board has oversight and recommendation responsibilities for the $45 million a year that the city uses to buy more service from Metro Transit. A lot of new service and additional routes and runs have been added over the last few years but much more is needed. Some examples people have mentioned include more service during off-peak hours to Ballard and later night service to many areas. The City money can be used to improve routes which have 65% of their stops within City limits. 

I am one of 12 Transit advisory Board members. This is a pro-transit board. We don’t have jurisdiction over day-to-day Metro operations. Below are some links if you want to dive deeper into this program. At the bottom of this email is a link to the transit Board webpage where you can keep up with what is going on and sign up for our email list. I have not tested that link so please let me know if there are accessibility issues.

The doors to City Hall are locked at 6 pm so it is best to show up a little earlier. If you arrive after 6 pm there are security staff who can still let you in. They work on the 5th Ave. side of the building.

I am really glad to have other blind people there to help advocate for needed service. Contact me if you have any questions.

Marci Carpenter
206-604-5507
mjc59 at comcast.net <mailto:mjc59 at comcast.net>

https://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/constantine/news/release/2018/July/25-metro-service-amazon-seattle.aspx <https://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/constantine/news/release/2018/July/25-metro-service-amazon-seattle.aspx>

https://seattle.curbed.com/2018/7/30/17631238/seattle-bus-service-expansion-amazon <https://seattle.curbed.com/2018/7/30/17631238/seattle-bus-service-expansion-amazon>

http://council.seattle.gov/2018/06/26/changes-to-the-seattle-transportation-benefit-district-and-what-it-means-for-your-commute/ <http://council.seattle.gov/2018/06/26/changes-to-the-seattle-transportation-benefit-district-and-what-it-means-for-your-commute/>

https://www.seattle.gov/transit-advisory-board <https://www.seattle.gov/transit-advisory-board>

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Additional information:
Due to the smokey skies I will not be at the meeting tonight though I may be participating via telephone. 

I would recommend each person choosing one or two things to cover. As I said this board does not have jurisdiction over day-to-day Metro operations so I would emphasize the need for more service/later night service/more weekend service on specific routes you ride. I do think it would also be helpful for a couple of people to mention the chronic customer service issues; lack of consistency of inside and outside bus and stop announcements, buses passing you by at stops with multiple buses serving them, etc. Try to only give one example of your topics due to the limited time. Remember that you can always come back to another meeting to cover more topics. 

Here are some directions to the meeting room. There are not a lot of people around that time of day so I thought these might be helpful. You can get to floor L2 from either the 4th Ave. or  5th Ave. entrance to City Hall. From the 4th Ave lobby walk all the way across the echoy lobby to the elevators and press the “Up” elevator button. From the 5th Ave. lobby walk ahead and to the right and press the “Down” button.To get to L280 from the 4th Ave. elevator walk straight ahead then turn right at the first hallway. L280 is a ways down on the right. From the 5th Ave. elevators walks straight ahead and L280 will be down a ways on the right.

The Seattle Transit Advisory Board is made up of 12 citizens and is an official City of Seattle board. Members are appointed by the Mayor and City Council. Terms expire and sometimes people leave for other reasons. Anyone is welcome to apply when there are vacancies announced. See the board webpage above for details.

I am really glad we are doing this. Being involved in these activities will help us to grow the chapter as people learn that we are doing these things and it is important for local government officials to hear from us.

Thanks,

Marci

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