Metro Magazine, June 2017

toric in that there were about 49 transit related funding initiatives on ballots coast to coast and approximately 70 percent of those passed with 170 billion in funding for systems I think thats an exciting part of the story While a lot of transit systems got their start through federal funding and the major Capital Investment Grants program and New Starts and Small Starts funding its exciting to see it take off at the local level and have state and local ballots pass indicating that people see a value in transit I think that sends a message to the federal government about the importance of investment in transit And it goes beyond simple mobility and accessibility but also includes a broad range of perceived benefits in these jurisdictions with respect to quality of life accessibility to jobs economic development and enabling different lifestyle choices While funding is always a difficult question I see greater support for public transportation than ever when you look at the total big picture IS THERE A SOLUTION CONSULTANTS CAN SHARE WITH TRANSIT AGENCIES TO HELP BRIDGE THE FUNDING GAP Partnerships are critical and thats not only public private partnerships but partnerships across agencies through looking for efficiencies and making decisions that move the needle on the total transportation system not just individual projects or modes Taking that regional perspective and looking at the performance of the transportation system across a broad range of metrics regionally can really help agencies prioritize projects and get the biggest return on investment When we pick good projects in the context of an overall network and develop and successfully implement them we build trust and confidence with the public customers and investors so success really follows the success The things that hold projects up controversy disagreement on the scope of the project can be overcome by partnering to manage expectations and iron our agreements early When communities get delivery of transit projects on time and on budget they are more willing to make additional investments in the transit system SEVERAL REPORTS SHOW YOUNGER PEOPLE ARE DRIVING LESS WHAT ARE SOME WAYS TO GET THAT GENERATION ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND OR KEEP THEM RIDING I think it is all about quality of service and convenience as well as attention to what customer expectations are and then making sure your product i e the services you deliver meet those expectations The whole autonomous vehicle and ridesharing evolution thats happening really can be a boon for public transportation systems because it expands their reach in an affordable way and makes them more accessible to a broader range of people It is about product design you see the quality of vehicles and the level of amenities improving Real time information in concert with predictability and reliability are always going to be core to success Agencies are more vigilant than ever about safety and offering safe efficient and reliable options makes for a more satisfied customer which will keep them coming back for more service Don Sepulveda VP Rail and Transit Practice Lead West Region Michael Baker International HOW ARE RAIL PROJECTS EVOLVING ON THE WEST COAST PARTICULARLY IN L A AND SEATTLE WHY DO YOU THINK THESE PROJECTS ARE FINDING SUCCESS I think the tax initiatives have been done smartly They have been well defined and provided benefits to all the communities Speaking of LA Metro as a prime example what they have done is reached out to all the sub communities and sub regions in L A County and got feedback from them regarding the types of projects they would like to have In addition to transit projects there are other transportation projects that actually provide benefits to the local communities that they are looking at and that is the key in providing benefits to the local communities to getting these things passed which is one of the challenges that some of the other large projects have had in California When you compare the large projects to these tax initiatives you can see a considerable difference between the two WHAT CAN BE DONE TO SPIN THE GROWING NEGATIVITY TOWARD HIGH SPEED RAIL IN CALIFORNIA I think that what is getting lost in the shuffle with high speed rail is the benefits it can provide to local communities The old days of building the railroad are long gone Back in the transcontinental railroad days they came in and said were from the railroad and were here to help That is gone You have to come in now and work with the communities and this is why transit agencies have been so successful because they have been working with communities in developing these transit projects High speed rail has started in recent years to work with the communities but previously they really werent as strong with community outreach as they could have been They have now recognized that so what they have done is gone a long way to try to fix that problem But there is a lot of impact with high speed rail because of the nature of design so you are going to have a lot of pushback because of those impacts What needs to happen is some sort of outreach that discusses the benefits of high speed rail to the local communities and they are doing that more and more but there are still some communities that feel they are getting all of the impacts without any of the benefits So it is a bit of a different challenge for them compared to other transit agencies 14 mETRO mAGAZINE JUNE 2017 metro magazine com CONSULTANT ROUNDTABLE When we pick good projects in the context of an overall network and develop and successfully implement responsive projects we build trust and confidence with the public customers and investors Diana Mendes