Minutes of the
Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Thursday, January 19, 2006, 1:30 p.m.
Federal Highway Administration Conference Room, room 3-306
300 Ala Moana Boulevard , Honolulu, Hawaii

Members Present:

Toru Hamayasu, Chair	DTS	Randolph Hara		DPP
Eugene X. Tian (Alternate)	DBEDT	James Burke	DTS
Dick Poirier	DBEDT-OP	Elizabeth Fischer (ex officio)	FHWA
Ron Tsuzuki (Alternate)	DOT	A. Ricardo Archilla (ex officio)	UH
Dean Nakagawa	DOT

Members Absent : Kathy Sokugawa (DPP), Steven Wong (FAA, ex officio), Gareth Sakakida (HTA, ex officio)

Guests Present:

Patrick Tom	DOT	Charles Carole	NB #10 (CAC)
Phyllis Kurio	DTS	Rich Kane	Pacific Resource Partnership
Alan Suwa	Castle & Cooke Hawaii (CAC)		(CAC)
Gladys Quinto	LURF (CAC)	Dick Kaku	Kaku Associates

Staff Present : Gordon Lum, Shevaun Low, Laureen Brennan, and Lori Arakaki

The meeting was called to order at 1:33 p.m. by Chair Toru Hamayasu. A quorum was present.

MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 15, 2005 MEETING

James Burke moved and Dean Nakagawa seconded that the minutes of the December 15, 2005 meeting be approved as circulated. The minutes were unanimously approved.

Item II on the original agenda was deferred until the end of the meeting.

OAHU REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN (ORTP)

Identification of Task Force Members to Investigate the ORTP Island-Wide Community Meeting

• Gordon Lum said that OMPO will be holding an island-wide community meeting to present the Draft ORTP 2030 to the public on February 15, 2006. If no further action is taken by TAC, no more than two TAC members may attend this meeting, as specified by the Sunshine Law (Chapter 92 HRS).
  
• To comply with the Sunshine Law and to allow for the possibility of having more than two TAC members, but less than a quorum, in attendance at the island-wide meeting, TAC must designate members to serve on a task force to investigate the island-wide meeting. Five voting members, with at least two State and two City members, constitutes a quorum.
  
• The Task Force members will be responsible for observing the meeting, answering questions when appropriate, and reporting their findings back to TAC.
  
• If there is a possibility of having more than two State and two City TAC members in attendance at the island-wide meeting, a joint TAC/island-wide community meeting will be scheduled for the same date, time, and location as the island-wide meeting. This TAC meeting will only be held if a quorum is present.  

Dick Poirier moved and Mr. Burke seconded that the task force be established. The motion passed unanimously.

The following members were appointed to the Task Force: James Burke, Dick Poirier, Dean Nakagawa, and Glenn Yasui.  

Discussion on the Proposed Timing of ORTP Projects Using Two Time Bins (Bin #1: 2006-2015; and Bin #2: 2016-2030)

Handouts:
2030 Oahu Regional Transportation Plan Draft Constrained Plan List Sorted by Time Bins
2030 Oahu Regional Transportation Plan Projects not in Time Bins 1 or 2: Illustrative Projects – Proposed Illustrative Project Criteria for 2030 ORTP

• Mr. Lum said that the Draft ORTP 2030 will provide an indication of a project’s phasing through its placement in one of two “time bins” – Bin #1: 2006-2015; and Bin #2: 2016-2030. He introduced Dick Kaku, ORTP Project Director, to describe the time bins.

• Mr. Kaku said that the ORTP projects have been divided into various categories (i.e., island-wide, safety, congestion relief, second access, and transit). They have then been further divided by phasing years. This allows the plan to be constrained by funding category.

• The following criteria were used to place a project into the 2006-2015 time bin:

  - The project is in the FYs 2006-2008 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP);
  - The project is in the Ewa Master Plan, in the first phase of development, expects to be developer-funded;
  - The project is programmatic in nature, meaning that it is ongoing throughout the life of the ORTP; these types of projects are funded proportionately;
  - The project is a safety improvement.

• These criteria allowed all of the functional categories and all areas of the island to be included in the first time bin (2006-2015), with the remainder of projects included in the second time bin (2016-2030).
  
• Elizabeth Fischer asked what conversations the consultant had had with the agencies regarding what appears to be a mid-range plan contained in the ORTP. Mr. Kaku said that the consultant had received feedback from the agencies but had grouped the projects independently of the TAC agencies.
  
• Ms. Fischer suggested reconsideration of the term “time bin” as it might be confusing to the public. She proposed a “mid-range plan component” (2006-2015) and a “long-range plan” (2016-2030).
  
• Mr. Tsuzuki pointed out that, in past ORTP’s, the time bins had been even finer. Mr. Lum responded that the purposes of establishing the a mid-range plan and a long-range plan are twofold: (1) to identify regionally significant projects for the TIP; and (2) to provide the public with what might realistically be programmed in the near future.
  
• Mr. Poirier suggested moving project numbers 147 (Interstate Route H-2 Widening, Waipio Interchange) and 179 (Interstate Routes H-1 & H-2 Operational Improvements, Waiawa Interchange) to the mid-range plan since they will support an increase of 24,000 households in Central Oahu.
  
• Toru Hamayasu asked if moving a project from the mid-range plan to the long-range plan, and vice versa, will affect the financial constraint of the overall ORTP. Mr. Kaku said that the time bins had also been constrained by available revenue.
  
• Ms. Fischer asked if the ORTP had looked at the new SAFETEA-LU legislation – specifically, the designation of safety and security as separate categories as well as the separate designation for bicycles and pedestrians.
  
• Mr. Nakagawa asked about the funding of long-range plan projects. Mr. Kaku said that many of the projects can be completed within ten years; however, some, like the transit project, will take longer. For those projects, revenue over time was considered. Mr. Kaku said he would look at the list of projects to see if there were more examples of projects that had been split into both time bins and give the list to Mr. Lum.
  
• Mr. Hamayasu asked whether the list reflected the year of obligation of a project’s funding, or its cash flow. Mr. Kaku responded that the cash flow was used rather than the year the project’s funding is obligated. Mr. Hamayasu suggested that the transit project (#431B, 440) be entirely in the mid-range plan since the money will be obligated in this time period.
  
• Mr. Kaku said that transit funds considered in this analysis could generally be used only for transit purposes. A bigger issue is that some of the other non-transit funding sources could be used by a number of projects.
  
• Mr. Lum pointed out that the ORTP analysis for 2030 assumed that all the transportation projects would be constructed and operational in 2030 even though the funding for some of the projects may be available during that year or the year(s) just prior to its construction.
  
• Mr. Lum said that, in an issue related to this concept, there are projects that are not included in either the mid-range plan or the long-range plan – the illustrative category. These are projects that are wanted, but for which funding is not available. He asked the members if there were any projects that had been considered earlier in this process that were needed but did not have a firmly established funding source. He said that one project that would be considered for this category is the Pearl Harbor Corridor Project – either a tunnel or a bridge. No other suggestions from TAC members were made at this time.
  
• Mr. Tsuzuki asked the consultant to review the descriptions for the following projects: 60,61 (Farrington Highway, Safety Improvements, Makua Valley to Aliinui Drive), 326 (Puuloa Road, Widening, Pukuloa Road to Nimitz Highway), 275 (Leeward Community College, Second Access, Waipio Point Access Road to LCC), and 357 (Waianae Mauka Road, Second Access, Waianae to Kapolei).
  

BRIEFING ON THE SAFE, ACCOUNTABLE, FLEXIBLE, EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION EQUITY ACT: A LEGACY FOR USERS (SAFETEA-LU

Handout:
- Printout of PowerPoint Presentation: Planning for SAFETEA-LU- OMPO

Ms. Fischer gave a brief overview of the new planning regulations that had been included in the SAFETEA-LU legislation. She said that the planning cycles for the TIP had changed, and that all plans adopted, amended, or revised after July 1, 2007 had to comply with the SAFETEA-LU planning provisions.

Other changes in the legislation were:

• Investments in pedestrian walkways and bicycle transportation facilities need to be included in the TIP annual listing of projects.
• The planning factors had been expanded to make security a separate factor.
• The planning factor relating to the environment had been expanded to promote consistency between transportation improvements and state/city planned growth and economic development.
• Regarding safety, the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) includes policies, priorities, and strategies to improve the safety of the transportation system.
• States are required to develop the SHSP after consultation with stakeholders, including the MPO. The goals and objectives of the SHSP must be reflected in the STIP and TIP.
• ORTPs and Statewide long-range plans must include “discussion” of potential environmental mitigation, but does not require discussion of environmental mitigation of individual projects.
• There is a new emphasis on coordinating public transit with human services. FTA is requiring that a coordination plan be developed in order to qualify for funding under three FTA programs. Representatives of public, private, non-profit transportation and human service providers, and the public should be involved in the development of the coordination plan.  
• Mr. Burke said that, regarding this last item, the City would like to prevent having social services dump all their clients on Handi-Van. The City is presently transporting a number of these clients and is not receiving any compensation from the social service agencies.  
• Mr. Hamayasu asked if Ms. Fischer could verify her earlier statements regarding SAFTEA-LU and the environmental and NEPA regulations. Ms. Fischer said she would follow up on this. Patrick Tom asked about the timing requirements of the TIP/STIP. Ms. Fischer said she would verify this.
  

There being no other business, Mr. Nakagawa moved and Mr. Burke seconded that the meeting be adjourned. The meeting was adjourned at 3:03 p.m.