| Members present: Judy Watford, Chair Access Committee Diane Bomar, Vice Chair Access Committee, Member STS Subcommittee Mary Ward, Secretary, Chair STS Subcommittee Jane Lansaw, Chair Fixed Route Subcommittee Malcolm Graham, STS Subcommittee Will Brown, Member STS Subcommittee Josè Loera, Member Fixed Route Subcommittee Amy Litzinger, Member STS Subcommittee Members Absent: David Patterson, Fixed Route Subcommittee (Excused), Cathie Schumacher, STS Subcommittee Capital Metro Staff Present: Meredith Highsmith, Planning John Ancira, Field Supervisor, STS Inez Evans, Director STS Nancy Crowther, Staff Liaison | Rafael Villarreal, Assistant Director STS Betty Craven, STS Field Supervisor Kirk Talbott, Chief Information Officer Andrew Murphy, Maintenance Kim Peterson, HR Guest Present: Carlos Aleman, Proxy for David Patterson Pam Scott Cathy Jackson Linda Litzinger Pat Bartel Sandra Seekamp Joe Hickey Scott Meyer Mike Squillace Michael Zitz-Evancih Jarrid Gist |
Call to Order:The meeting was called to order by Chair Watford at 5:30 p.m. with 7 members present and one proxy.
Announcements:There will be a public hearing for citizens’ input on the proposed changes called by the Capital Metro Board at CCRC at 4800 North Lamar on April 15 at 6:00. This meeting should be announced on the STS hold line by tomorrow, April 3, at noon. It will also be announced at the Cap Metro web site. For the record, Chair Watford reiterated that the Access Committee gives input to Capital Metro on policies and procedures.
Approval of Minutes: Diane Bomar moved and Malcolm Graham seconded that the March minutes be approved. The motion passed unanimously.
Staff Updates
STS Vans: Mr. Murphy gave a brief overview of the smaller of the STS vans. He said that staff recommended changes to the vans based on Committee and other public recommendations, including improvements for users of service animals and better loading of wheel chairs. It was decided that all seats would face forward. The staff and manufacturer came up with a design that met all the specifications requested by people with disabilities. The vans will be able to accommodate up to three wheel chairs and four to six ambulatory passengers, depending on the number of passengers using wheel chairs. The Committee thanked Mr. Murphy for accommodating these requests.
Public Hearing: The Board will listen to public concerns at the April 15 meeting at CCRC. Inez Evans expressed Capital Metro’s desire for as many citizens as possible to speak.
Legal Issues: There is a federal court hearing that will take place on May 19 concerning the changes to the taxi voucher program. The plaintiffs are three citizens who are not on the Access Committee. City Council Member Martinez has agreed to sit down with the STS Subcommittee and Cap Metro Staff and has offered to serve as mediator. The changes will not be negotiated until after the public hearing because of concerns that this would not be fair to the public. Furthermore, Inez Evans stated that none of the proposed changes would take place until after the new technology was in place. After the public hearing, Chair Watford recommended that the STS Subcommittee meet in private session to discuss the changes and possible solutions before meeting with Mr. Martinez and the Capital Metro staff.
PTS: Some Committee members asked about the role of PTS, which Mr. Villarreal had implemented as the answer to an urgent need. If this program is to remain permanent, Ms. Evans states that the drivers and vehicles will be required to meet the same standards as other drivers.
Intelligent Transit Service: Kirk Talbot gave this report. The first vehicles to have this system will be the Paratransit, followed by Fixed Route and finally Rail. The system will behave differently because of the differences in purpose and scheduling of the vehicle types. The system will allow real time scheduling, with Dispatch seeing where all the vehicles are. This should lead to greater efficiency and flexibility for Paratransit. Recordings were discussed. Currently, the recording device is only triggered with a G-force event, such as a crash. The camera records for 20 seconds, 10 before and 10 after the event. In fixed route vehicles, the driver can trigger the recording.
IVR:: Kirk Talbott. Mr. Talbott acknowledged that there are many problems with the IVR, including voice recognition. He will accept suggestions at kirk.talbott@capmetro.org or at 369-6207.
Subcommittee Reports
FRS: The Fixed Route Subcommittee will be looking at potential new buses on April 12 at 2910 East Fifth Street. April 26 is a back-up date, and some members asked to be able to view the buses on that date. The placement of Braille signage will be discussed at that time. The Subcommittee will report on the results at the April 23 Subcommittee meeting. Even after the move of the 11th street stop, there will still be buses going up and down Congress Avenue. The city hopes to make parts of Brazos Street Accessible. Capital Metro is leasing the site in front of the Capital, and the lease is running out and will not be renewed. Denise Guerrero will talk about Intelligent Transit Service on March 31.
STS: Much of the STS subcommittee meeting was taken up with the proposed changes. The Subcommittee and members of the public viewed the pilot of the new vans and made suggestions for improvements in the loading of wheel chairs as well as better placement of service animals.
New Business: Malcolm Graham moved that the SBS Subcommittee conduct a closed session to prepare for the negotiations with Capital Metro staff and Councilman Martinez. Vice Chair Bomar offered a friendly amendment that the Subcommittee have at least one work session before bringing its recommendations to the entire Access Committee at the May meeting. This meeting would occur after the April 15 public hearing. Malcolm Graham accepted this amendment. The motion was seconded by Diane Bomar. The STS Subcommittee will have at least one work session before negotiation and one or two with Capital Metro Staff and Councilman Martinez. This motion passed unanimously.
Malcolm Graham moved that, due to the dire economic situation with many people with disabilities being in danger of losing their employment, that there be a freeze on the cancellation of subscriptions. The motion was seconded by Jane Lansaw. Diane Bomar offered another friendly amendment that this pertains to persons who need flexible work schedules. Diane Bomar moved to table this motion until May. Will Brown seconded. The motion to table this motion was passed.
Citizens’ Communication:
Speakers were Kathy Jackson, Joe Hickey, Pat Bartel, Sandra Seekamp, Scott Meyer, Linda Litzinger.
Adjournment
Malcolm Graham moved and Diane Bomar seconded that the meeting be adjourned. The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted Mary Ward Access Secretary
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
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