Go directly to our accessible website.HomeContactSitemapEspañolVietnameseMandarin Chinese
Capital Metro Riding Capital Metro News and Information Jobs Business Center MetroRail AllSystemsGo
Trip Planner Schedules and Maps Detours and Busstop Closures Explore Austin Fares How to Ride Commute Options Purchase Tickets On-Line Accessible Services
Newsroom About Capital Metro Public Meetings Projects and Publications
Working at Capital Metro Current Openings
Doing Business with Capital Metro Vendor Registration Procurement Opportunities Procurement Staff Disadvantage Business Enterprise Transit Advertising Program

Access meetings Minutes

Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
ACCESS Advisory Committee Minutes
 May 5, 2004

Members. Present: Shelly Brisbin, Randall L. Glock, Jerry Doran, Juan Munoz and Robert Raines. Members Absent: Scott Meyer.

Capital Metro Staff. Present: Nancy Crowther, Jan Johnson, John Ancira, Pauline Walton, Patricia Guajardo, King Kaul, and Robert Okamoro.

Guests. Present: Julie Maloukis, Susie Angel, Crystal Garza, Tom Garza, Christine Guevara, Jena Hollingsworth, Bill Johnson, Mike Marshall, Bryson McCall Smith, and Michael Zitz-Evancih

All decisions are voted upon and all votes are unanimous unless stated otherwise.

Chairperson Shelly Brisbin called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. The April 7, 2004 meeting minutes were approved with corrections.

Capital Metro Staff provided an update on facility design and construction:

  • North Park & Ride presentation by Robert Okamoto. The facility will be located near Parmer Lane and North IH 35 on 33 acres. It will house 500 parking spaces, a Kiss & Ride drive, and 10 bus bays. Sidewalk access will be provided to nearby shopping (2 blocks). Routes #1 and #101 will travel to the facility. There was discussion about the need for a shuttle to take riders to the rapidly expanding shopping complex on both sides of IH 35. Construction is expected to begin in January 2005 and completion is anticipated in Fall 2005.
  • Leander Park & Ride presentation by King Kaul. The facility will be located on Highway 183, about ½ mile north of FM 2243 on 13.55 acres. Phase I will house 638 parking spaces, a Kiss & Ride drive, 7 bus bays, a terminal building with restrooms, and a 36' clock tower. An adjacent park, complete with a bike path and a pond, will also be constructed and sidewalk access to the terminal will be provided. Phase II will provide 100+ additional parking spaces and perhaps a parking garage. There was some discussion about the need for this facility. Current ridership is about 100 people but area growth is rapidly expanding. Construction is expected to begin fall 2004 and completion is anticipated in July 2005.

Subcommittee Reports.

  • STS Subcommittee Report by Juan Munoz, Chair. The subcommittee met on April 28, 2004. Jan Schroter gave a demonstration of the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system which will allow callers to make, schedule and cancel STS rides using voice or touch tone in either English or Spanish. Jan Johnson gave a brief report on current STS operations and will do so at future meetings as well. Members are currently developing goals. The next meeting will be on May 26, 2004 at 5:00 p.m.
  • Fixed Route Subcommittee Report by Randall L. Glock, Chair. The subcommittee met on April 28, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. There was considerable discussion about proposed schedule changes, primarily Route 242 and Route 252. There was also some discussion about repetitive service along Route 320, 325 and 383. Questions were raised about the new Swipe & Ride fare boxes and there was a request for a demonstration. In addition, there was concern about the format and wording of the brochure outlining the proposed scheduled changes and discussion about the need to modify it to make it user friendly. The next meeting will be on May 26, 2004 at 6:00 p.m.

Fixed Route Subcommittee Action Items:

  • Route 242: Motion: (by Glock) To endorse the Capital Metro Planning Staff recommendation to reinstate the #242 routing to include access onto the ACC property. Raines seconded. Motion passed 5-0.

    There is a need to reinstate service back into the ACC Northridge Campus. Current service drops off/picks up riders on the street where there is no accessible entry into the parking lot. Health, safety and disabled access are problems currently.

  • Route 252: Motion: (by Glock) To work with CMTA Planning Staff to increase service to Aikins High School through deletion of the #252 and expansion of the #10 and to add weekend service for students taking Saturday classes. Raines seconded. Motion passed 5-0.

    Past service cuts along with the proposed cuts to this route have impaired service to Akins High School. There was a suggestion to extend service to Akins both north and southbound via Routes 10 and 110 and eliminate service on Route 252.

  • Presentation of Proposed Schedule Changes. Motion: (by Glock) To ask CMTA Planning Staff to modify the format and wording of the brochure outlining the proposed scheduled changes to make it user friendly. Raines seconded. Motion passed 5-0.

    There was a concern about the way in which proposed bus schedule changes are presented to the public. A request was made for a more reader friendly format, with "bullet entry points" that would be easy for all to understand and would address one route at a time.

Citizen Communication:

There was discussion about the rules for Citizen Communication. The Citizen Communications item will be moved to the front of the agenda for each meeting. Citizens will sign up to speak at the beginning of the meeting and list their topic. Communication will be limited to 3 minutes, uninterrupted. The number of citizens speaking will be 6 per meeting, at the discretion of the chair. Nancy Crowther will have a sign up sheet available at the beginning of each meeting to facilitate the communication structure.

  • Tom Garza spoke about the need to add directional signs to the Bus Route signs to help with cognitive issues. For example, he requests that a designation for "North" be added to northbound routes, "South" to southbound route signs, etc. to alert people to the direction of the bus. He also requested that a bench be provided on Manchaca Rd. at Monarch, a transfer point near the intersection of Manchaca Rd. and Slaughter Lane.
  • Michael Zitz-Evanich spoke about the number of citizens who spoke at the Capital Metro Board of Directors meeting. He also announced the Mayor's Committee Job Fair on May 6, 2004 at the Crockett Center.

Announcements:

    • The next Subcommittee Meetings will be held on Wednesday, May 26, 2004.
    • The next ACCESS Committee Meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 2, 2004.

    Chairperson Shelly Brisbin adjourned the meeting at 6:22 p.m.

    Respectfully submitted by Julie Maloukis, ACCESS backup (volunteer) secretary.


    line seperatorCapital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
    2910 East 5th Street | Austin, Texas 78702 | (512) 389-7400
    Specific Route Information | (512) 474-1200 | (800) 474-1201