Agenda Item #13.3
For Council Meeting of: July 12, 2022
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MATT WILCOX, TRANSIT PLANNER
TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: 2022 SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PLAN AGENDA ACTION: RESOLUTION
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended by the Transportation and Public Works Department that the Council, by resolution, approve and adopt the Public Involvement Plan for the Transit Division’s Short Range Transit Plan 2022 update.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The involvement of a diverse cross section of the Santa Rosa community is integral in developing a robust Short Range Transit Plan (SRTP). This SRTP will provide the foundation for service changes and delivery over the next three years. Having feedback from the public is essential to create a plan that delivers service in a way that is most beneficial to the public. Staff have created a Public Involvement Plan to ensure the outreach campaign for the SRTP is thorough and successful.
BACKGROUND
MTC, in cooperation with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), requires public transit operators that are FTA grantees to prepare and regularly update an SRTP to help inform regional transportation planning and programming activities. On June 7, 2022, Santa Rosa CityBus staff conducted a study session with the Council. The study session gave the Council an overview of the SRTP process staff plans to undertake between June 2022 and December 2022 when the plan is due. The attached Public Involvement Plan provides a detailed roadmap for staff’s outreach during that period.
PRIOR CITY COUNCIL REVIEW
At the June 7, 2022 meeting, CityBus staff conducted a study session to review the purpose and content of a Short Range Transit Plan.
ANALYSIS
CityBus staff have had a wide range of experience with public outreach over the past five years. The Reimagining CityBus process in 2015-17 provided staff with many opportunities to determine which practices are most effective in reaching riders. For the SRTP outreach CityBus will be leveraging that knowledge as well as working with staff in other departments to learn their best practices. For the outreach staff has created five goals:
Conduct an interactive and collaborative process to engage a diverse range of riders, stakeholders, and residents.
Actively seek out and promote the involvement of groups that have been traditionally under-represented in planning processes.
Leverage existing community partnerships and develop new ones to enhance community engagement.
Ensure all parts of the public engagement process are transparent.
Maintain a two-way flow of information at all times between City staff and the public.
Staff hopes to achieve these goals by completing the task show in the timeline below.
July 2022
Create rider priorities survey
Release Rider Priorities Survey
Mobile Outreach Efforts
Update list of stakeholders
Begin stakeholder interviews
End Rider Priorities Survey
August 2022
Mobile Outreach Efforts (if more timed required)
Complete Stakeholder Interviews
October 2022
Focused outreach sessions, service concepts
November 2022
Focused outreach sessions (if more time required)
Public Hearing at Council
December 2022
City Council to Adopt Final document and service plan
In-person discussion out in the field will be the most important part of the public engagement. Staff has found time and time again that speaking with riders at stops or on the buses yields the most impactful information. While most information that staff collects in these instances is subjective it often supports or highlights more objective information from data collection. Throughout the process CityBus will also leverage technology to provide additional avenues for riders to engage with staff. Using Zoom has worked well for other departments when engaging the public and CityBus hopes that is also the case for during its outreach efforts.
The attached plan provides a more comprehensive overview of what staff will be doing to engage the public.
FISCAL IMPACT
This action does not have a fiscal impact on the General Fund or the Transit Enterprise.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378.
BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Not applicable
NOTIFICATION
Not applicable
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution / Exhibit A - Short Range Transit Plan Public Involvement Plan
CONTACT
Matthew Wilcox, Transit Planner, [email protected], 707-543-3726 2022 SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PLAN
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