WHEREAS, the City Council adopted the Seattle Transit Plan by Resolution 31141; and

WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Seattle's updated Transportation Strategic Plan by Resolution 31141, of which the Seattle Transit Plan is an important part; and

WHEREAS, the City's Seattle Transit Plan has not been updated for approximately five years and includes a number of outdated significant assumptions with respect to existing and planned transit service and transit infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, the City desires to maintain and move towards achieving the 2005 Seattle Transit Plan's goal of providing convenient, reliable transit service running every fifteen minutes or better, eighteen hours per day, seven days a week on a defined network of transit corridors; and

WHEREAS, developing a transit system that supports as well as leads the development of Seattle's urban centers and villages is an important goal of the City's Comprehensive Plan and consistent with Seattle's Neighborhood Plans; and

WHEREAS, the City Council intends to adopt a major update to the Seattle Transit Plan (to be renamed the Transit Master Plan); and

WHEREAS, in crafting the Transit Master Plan, the City expects to involve internal and external stakeholders extensively; and

WHEREAS, the City desires to be more proactive in working with its regional partners to influence future improvements to the transit system; and

WHEREAS, the City Council imposed a mid-year budget proviso through Ordinance 123325 until such time as the Council could review the proposed goals, vision statement, and planned scope of work for the Transit Master Plan; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:

Section 1. Consistent with broader transportation system goals, the Transit Master Plan will be a critical tool to accomplish the following preliminary goals:

* Make riding transit easier and more desirable in order to effect a mode shift;

* Use transit to create a transportation system responsive to the needs of vulnerable populations and those for whom transit is a necessity (e.g., transitdependent individuals, youth, seniors, people with disabilities, low income populations);

* Use transit as a tool to meet Seattle's sustainability, growth management, and economic development goals;

* Create great places at locations in neighborhoods where modes connect to facilitate seamless integration of the pedestrian, bicycle, and transit networks; and

* Balance system implementation with fiscal, operational, and policy constraints.

Section 2. The City Council concurs with the Goals and Vision statement for the Transit Master Plan attached hereto as Attachment 1.

Section 3. The City Council concurs with the approach for consultant work laid out in the Summary of Consultant Scope of Work attached hereto as Attachment 2.

Section 4. The City Council concurs with the Phasing Approach attached hereto as Attachment 3. Consistent with Council Bill 116940, it is the Council's intent to review Phase 1 prior to reviewing and authorizing expenditures related to Phase 2 of the Transit Master Plan project.

Section 5. The City will create and staff an ad hoc Transit Master Plan Advisory Committee selected and appointed by resolution of Council with the Mayor concurring to provide input on a proposed Transit Master Plan. The Transit Master Plan Advisory Committee will serve only through the development of the Transit Master Plan and should reflect the diversity of the residents of Seattle. The Transit Master Plan Advisory Committee shall meet periodically with members of an Interagency Team that will be formed to provide technical advice to the Project Manager and consultant.

Adopted by the City Council the ____ day of ____________________, 2010, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this________ day

of ______________________, 2010.

_________________________________

President ___________of the City Council

THE MAYOR CONCURRING:

_________________________________

Michael McGinn, Mayor

Filed by me this ____ day of ________________________, 2010.

____________________________________

City Clerk

(Seal)

Attachment 1: Transit Master Plan Vision and Goals

Attachment 2: Draft Summary of Consultant Scope of Work

Attachment 3: Draft Project Scope of Work

Dan Eder/JMS Transit Master Plan Resolution August 10, 2010 Version #2

Attachment 1: Transit Master Plan Vision and Goals

Attachment 1:

Transit Master Plan Vision and Goals

The City Council has adopted a resolution, with the Mayor concurring, that articulates the vision and goals for the Transit Master Plan. The work of SDOT and the Consultant will be guided by this adopted policy.

The vision for the TMP is to recommend policies, programs, and investments resulting in a high-quality transit system to make it easier and more desirable for people to take transit. Quality includes fast and reliable service that is safe, comfortable, and accessible for all users, providing the greatest degree of mobility and access possible with the appropriate technology. Consistent with broader transportation system goals, the TMP will be a critical tool to accomplish the following preliminary goals:

* Make riding transit easier and more desirable in order to affect a mode shift

* Use transit to create a transportation system responsive to the needs of vulnerable populations and those for whom transit is a necessity (e.g., transitdependent individuals, youth, seniors, people with disabilities, low income populations)

* Use transit as a tool to meet Seattle's sustainability, growth management, and economic development goals

* Create great places at locations in neighborhoods where modes connect to facilitate seamless integration of the pedestrian, bicycle, and transit networks

* Balance system implementation with fiscal, operational, and policy constraints

In order to meet this vision and goals, the City of Seattle must exert more influence over priority-setting for transit: building projects, allocating the right-of-way, influencing how service operates, and defining the types of service that shall operate on streets in the network.

Project Overview

Multiple agencies own and operate transit in Seattle using diesel buses, electric trolley buses, streetcars, light rail, commuter rail, monorail, ferries, and water taxis. The City of Seattle is one of these agencies and is also responsible for roadway design and maintenance to support complete streets that accommodate multiple travel modes, including transit. Through its first Seattle Transit Plan in 2005, the city established a goal to provide convenient, reliable transit service running every 15 minutes or better, 18 hours per day, 7 days a week on a defined network of transit corridors.

SDOT will work with a consultant team to develop a Transit Master Plan that evaluates tradeoffs in achieving various policy objectives that may flow from a potential re-allocation of City rights-of-way, a range of transit infrastructure investments, and other City actions. The Transit Master Plan will establish several potential future transit funding scenarios, and for each scenario assign transit modes and priorities to corridors, identifies capital investments, and establishes policies and regulatory actions necessary to guide transit investments. Key deliverables of the TMP will include:

* Transit service evaluation and gap analysis: Establish policy goals that transit service is intended to address and evaluate how well existing transit service meets those policy goals; evaluate the extent to which existing and planned changes to transit are expected to achieve policy goals; identify gaps in achieving policy goals

* Network plan: Assess existing transit network plans, policies, and data monitoring efforts and prepare a gap analysis, analyze existing service standards, establish network hierarchy, and propose modifications to the existing high ridership network, which is currently referred to as the Urban Village Transit Network (UVTN)

* Service and design standards: Identify appropriate operations, service, and design standards to make transit run more efficiently on Seattle streets (e.g., BRT-type treatments including signal and other priority measures) and fully serve activity centers and transit hubs; establish a comprehensive plan to use city rights-of-way---including reallocation and transit priority treatments---to address identified gaps in achieving policy goals

* Modal assignment by corridor: For each funding scenario, assign the most appropriate type of transit service---bus, bus rapid transit (BRT or Rapid Ride), electric trolley bus (including modernization and system expansion), streetcar, and light rail---to high ridership corridors; evaluate potential alignments and phasing options

* Service and capital investment priorities: Identify specific nearand long-term service and capital investment priorities based on objective criteria, including a prioritized project list and implementation strategy; identify, evaluate, and prioritize different packages of transit operations and infrastructure investments based on funding scenarios including but not necessarily limited to currently available transit funding, moderate increases in available transit funding, and significant changes in available transit funding

* Conceptual design and cost estimates: Develop projects to an early design stage, with cost estimates

* Robust public engagement plan: Engage the public broadly to confirm and create demand for the programs and projects in the TMP

Project Organization

SDOT will assign a project manager and support staff for the TMP. The SDOT project team will work with an internal executive steering committee as well as elected officials to identify members of a Transit Master Plan Advisory Committee and an inter-agency team. The consultant team will work closely with these individuals and groups throughout the development of the plan. It is assumed that the TMP will be adopted by Council resolution at the conclusion of the planning process.

In addition to participation by the agencies and individuals listed above, the project will include opportunities for additional review through existing organizations and meetings:

* Seattle Boards and Commissions (Planning Commission, Design Commission, Bicycle Advisory Board, Pedestrian Advisory Board, Freight Mobility Advisory Committee)

* Bridging the Gap Oversight Committee

* Citywide Neighborhood Council, District Councils, and other community groups

* Citywide community forums

Project Timeline and Budget

The project timeline depicted below is approximately 18 months. The project budget is estimated to be $500,000-$600,000.

Attachment 2: Draft Summary of Consultant Scope of Work

Attachment 2:

SEATTLE TRANSIT MASTER PLAN

DRAFT SUMMARY OF CONSULTANT SCOPE OF WORK

July 26, 2010

Task 1.0 Project Management and Internal Review

Working with the SDOT project manager, the consultant shall regularly report the status of the project budget, work effort progress, and schedule. Reports shall be straightforward, easy to read and understand, logically organized and structured to provide the relevant and important information, and include early identification of challenging issues and their effective resolution. The consultant shall work with the SDOT project manager to respond to input from the policy and technical reviewers (i.e., city and agency inter-departmental team) as well as the public advisory committee (i.e., Transit Master Plan Advisory Committee) assembled to help guide the project to completion. All work products should be produced to facilitate development of the Transit Master Plan as a web-based document.

Deliverables: project scope and work plan, progress reports, schedule and budget updates, camera-ready copies of color maps and exhibits, production of presentation materials

City Responsibilities: assemble policy/technical teams and public advisory committee, schedule meetings, prepare meeting summaries, collect and summarize all written and verbal comments from project teams

Task 2.0 Analyze Existing and Future Conditions: Transit in Seattle Today and Into the Future

The consultant will produce a high-level snapshot of the state of the Seattle transit environment report (included in Briefing Book). The purpose of the report will be to describe the current and future conditions of Seattle's transit system, identifying both positive elements as well as areas of concern (gap analysis). The report will identify core policy and performance principles; examine national and international best practices with special emphasis on the user perspective and suggest strategies for Seattle; identify accomplishments of the 2005 Seattle Transit Plan; summarize governance and funding issues; and provide a foundation for the items that the Transit Master Plan will address.

Deliverables: State of the Seattle Transit Environment report

City Responsibilities: aerial photos, demographic and land use data, travel demand modeling data, roadway network, traffic volumes, and levels of service (where possible)

Task 3.0 Conduct Modal and Corridor Analysis

The consultant will develop evaluation criteria (including in-depth market assessment) and related methods and apply these criteria to define high priority service improvements and assign the most appropriate and environmentally sustainable transit mode by corridor and alignment. Included in this work will be the following analyses: 1) an assessment of roadway, signal system and other rights-of-way improvements that could be made to improve existing service levels; 2) evaluation of higher capacity and/or more sustainable transit modes such as bus rapid transit (BRT), streetcar, light rail, and electric trolley; and 3) identification of potential fiscal, operational and policy constraints associated with particular modal assignments.

Potential future transit modes will be compared to existing or planned service types (for example, in the Ballard to West Seattle corridors, a comparison of Rapid Ride with other BRT typologies and rail alternatives). Where appropriate, a phased approach to final modal choice will be indicated. Also anticipated as part of this analysis is a definition and establishment of up to three levels of hierarchy within the existing network of high ridership corridors based on both transportation and land use characteristics.

Deliverables: mode definition and application technical report, literature review of previous corridor studies to determine the range of ridership potential and capacity requirements for corridors, evaluation criteria and methodology, modal and corridor assignment maps and descriptions for each of the high ridership corridors, corridor and alignment options maps/graphics, conceptual cost estimates

City Responsibilities: ongoing review of products

Task 4.0 Develop 2030 Transit System Plan

The consultant will explicitly define and describe the elements of a 2030 integrated transit system plan focusing upon the high ridership transit network and system infrastructure and service expansion. The system plan will incorporate the analysis from Task 3 and include technologies, vehicle characteristics, new lines of service, electric trolley expansion, capital projects, and operational and roadway design/engineering improvements.

This task will identify ways to improve the current transit system to be more efficient, effective, and customer friendly. The consultant will identify ways to address the challenges of changing travel patterns, increasing costs, and operational and physical constraints that affect on-time performance. The breadth of this task will be defined with the consultant but may include the following activities: updating transit routes and service levels as needed to match current travel patterns; developing project sheets for routes; identifying specific actions to improve nonmotorized access to stops and stations, including transit nodes and transfer points, and improve streetscape and urban design; and prioritizing investments for a variety of funding scenarios.

Deliverables: prioritization methodology, project lists, project sheets (including conceptual design and cost estimates), draft and final plans

City Responsibilities: ongoing review of products

Task 5.0 Identify Implementation Strategy

Develop a clear implementation plan for policy and programmatic actions to support the growth and environmental sustainability of transit service in Seattle. The implementation strategy will assign roles and responsibilities and will include a range of funding scenarios and performance goals (e.g., transit vehicle GHG reductions).

Deliverables: implementation strategy (in draft and final plans)

City Responsibilities: ongoing review of products

Task 6.0 Public Outreach and Engagement

Implement a comprehensive public engagement strategy that will result in meaningful input on transit in Seattle from a range of stakeholders including residents, businesses, major institutions, agencies, policy makers, transit agency employees, and others. Special attention will be required to enlist the participation of "under-represented" communities such as immigrants and non-native English speakers. The consultant must present analytical methods and technical findings in ways that can be clearly understood by the general public.

Deliverables: public outreach strategy, outreach and presentation materials, participation in public meetings, meeting summaries, summary of all written and verbal comments

City Responsibilities: FAQs, mailing lists, advertising, meeting locations and logistics, translation and interpretation services, website development and maintenance

1

Attachment 3: Draft Project Scope of Work

Attachment #3:

DRAFT PROJECT SCOPE OF WORK

July 22, 2010

Phase 1 --September 2010 to January 2011 $300,000

Project Management (Task 1)

* Project scope and work plan

* Team meetings

* Council and Mayoral briefings * Formation of public advisory committee, executive and inter-agency teams

* Stakeholder roundtables and interviews

* Development of project website and communications materials

Phase 2 --January 2011 to July 2011 $300,000

Project Management (Task 1)

* Progress reports

* Team meetings

* Council and Mayoral briefings

Modal and Corridor Analysis (Task 3)

* Multi-criteria analysis for high priority corridors (includes capacity needs, costs, ROW opportunities, system connectivity)

* Modal assignment (bus, bus rapid transit, electric trolley, street car, light rail)

* Improvement packages (both major corridor investments and ROW management)

Implementation and Design (Tasks 4 and 5)

* Implementation matrix

* Concept design for high priority corridors, including design priorities for pedestrian/bicycle linkages

* Funding strategies

* Draft integrated system plan

Public Outreach and Engagement (Task 6)

* Council and Mayoral briefings

* Public advisory committee and inter-agency team meetings

* Draft plan review and outreach