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TRANSPORTATION THINK TANK NOTES FROM FEBRUARY 16, 1999
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** NEXT MEETING: Tuesday March 2, 5 pm at CAFE BRASIL, **
** 1410 Mission Street in Santa Cruz. All are invited. **
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NOTES FROM TRANSPORTATION THINK TANK'S THIRD (Feb 16) MEETING...
Ten people attended: Peter Beckmann, Debbie Bulger, Kim Chin,
Josh Hart, Peter Littman, Emily Reilly, Celia Scott, Peter Scott,
Richard Stover and Mark Taylor.
Peter Beckmann facilitated the meeting. We again thanked Joao Luis
Frota, the owner of Cafe Brasil, for donating the space for our meeting.
Josh Hart announced that a presentation will be made by People Power:
WHAT: a film, lecture and discussion about the history and future of
modern TRANSPORTATION in America and Santa Cruz County.
WHEN: TUESDAY, February 23 at 6:30 pm.
WHERE: Patagonia, 415 River Street.
The evening will include a showing of "Taken for a Ride", a
documentary film about General Motors' conspiracy to destroy over
100 urban American trolley systems, to be followed by a presentation
by local historian Ross Gibson, and concluding with a discussion about
the Major Transportation Investment Study (MTIS) and the future of
transportation in Santa Cruz County.
Peter Scott noted that the MTIS Oversight Committee will meet next on
Thursday morning 2/18/99 starting at 8:30 am in the SCRTC conference
room at 1523 Pacific Avenue. These meetings are open to the public.
We approved the minutes (meeting notes) of 1/26/99.
We discussed the question of whether to continue meeting on Tuesdays,
given that both the Santa Cruz City Council and the County Board of
Supervisors meet on Tuesdays, so that our Tuesday would imply a serious
conflict for those needing to attend those meetings. After discussion,
we agreed to meet at least once more on Tuesday (TUESDAY,
MARCH 2---see above), with Peter Scott agreeing to conduct a POLL of
interested individuals for whom this might prove a conflict.
Other potential meeting days are Wednesdays or Thursdays.
Mark Taylor noted that he is, at the moment, restricted to Tuesdays.
We discussed the draft of the Mission Statement, and agreed to modify
it slightly to change two words: "impact" --> "use", and "mental" -->
"psychological". The FINAL MISSION STATEMENT therefore reads:
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** To improve the quality of life by reducing the use of automobiles:
** by educating ourselves and the public;
** by generating ideas for more effective transportation;
** by crossing traditional political, geographical and
psychological boundaries.
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There was discussion regarding the MARKETING of public transportation,
with Kim Chin noting the need to sell public transit at an emotional
level. He also noted that advertisements on bus backs cost about $300
for 6 to 8 weeks of display.
Celia Scott suggested an ad for the Highway 17 Express bus:
"If you were on this bus you could be sleeping now".
Mark Taylor noted that new large retailers rumored to be eyeing Santa
Cruz County, like Home Depot, Whole Foods and Borders are regional
traffic generators, and as such present a threat to a policy relating
to reduction of the use of automobiles.
Emily Reilly noted that such situations provide an opportunity for
local control: Demand of such major potential traffic generators:
"Show us how we are going to get to your store or business".
We continued, to discuss our list of goals, re-produced here from a
list distributed earlier:
+++++++++++++++++++++++
(Suggested Specific Goals):
* To educate ourselves and the public regarding the true costs
of single occupancy motor vehicle travel including provision
of parking, air quality, and quality of life.
* Develop baseline date regarding transportation in Santa Cruz County.
* Identify barriers and recommend actions to achieving an
integrated transportation system for moving people and goods.
* Compare General Plans of jurisdictions to determine where
transportation policies overlap or diverge from our mission
and from each other.
* Document funding for various forms of transportation for
jurisdictions within Santa Cruz County.
* Explore possibility of extending Highway 17 bus service to
weekends and to Aptos.
* Inform ourselves and communities about how land use policies
affect transportation issues.
* Brainstorm ways to increase interconnectivity between various
modes of transportation.
* Generate ideas on how to make public and personal non-
motorized transportation more attractive and convenient, i.e.
get people out of cars.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Celia Scott asked about the Major Transportation Investment Study (MTIS)
process.
Kim Chin noted that it might be useful to become familiar with both
the MTIS and the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), and to find out
what other groups are doing or have done regarding issues relating to
these documents.
The MTIS Oversight Committee meets once per month, usually on the
third Thursday morning of each month. Those wishing to be notified of
agenda material for these meetings should contact the SCRTC office at
(831) 460-3200.
Several comments arose in the ensuing effort to pick a single goal for
us to pursue, including
* Our goals are of varying types, some more process-oriented, some
more strategic, some longer-term, some shorter-term.
* Emily Reilly noted that it is important for us to provide in our
meetings a safe forum for "unreasonable" ideas (see quote appended
to these notes).
* Celia Scott noted that "position papers" can provide a useful
service to decision-makers, and that public opinion surveys such as
that undertaken a few years ago by the Environmental Council
regarding Open Space desires are essential precursors to proposed
ballot measures.
* Richard Stover offered a key question for a poll: "What would it
take to get you out of your car?"
* Debbie Bulger wondered if the SCRTC might help to fund a public
opinion survey.
* Emily Reilly expressed a willingness to create a library of useful
materials in the loft above her bakery.
* Peter Scott noted that the SCRTC office has also an extensive
library of documents.
* Debbie Bulger expressed an interest in pursuing the topic of
employer incentives.
We eventually zeroed in on and approved the proposed goal of working to
improve the Highway 17 Express bus service, by working to see if the
service could be extended to weekends, and to serve areas south of the
Dominican Hospital (Aptos) as well as downtown Santa Cruz.
Peter Littman agreed to gather materials relevant to the Highway 17
Express bus service, so we can determine where we stand regarding this
issue.
We also reaffirmed our desire to obtain copies of General Plan
Circulation elements from the relevant agencies in Santa Cruz County,
including those from Capitola, Watsonville and Scotts Valley, so as to
educate ourselves regarding them.
We meet next Tuesday, March 2, at 5 pm at Cafe Brasil. Everyone is
invited.
-- Peter Scott, note-taker.
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the
unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world
to himself. Therefore, all progress depends upon the
unreasonable man."
-- George Bernard Shaw