Meeting Summary of the

Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization

CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 3:30 p.m.
Mayor’s Conference Room
Honolulu Hale, Room 301
530 South King Street, Honolulu, Hawaii

Members Present:

NB #34 Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale	Michael Golojuch, Vice Chair
American Society of Civil Engineers	Tiffany Hamada
Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii	Ray Kunishige
Citizens for a Fair ADA Ride	Ronald Pike
Committee for Balanced Transportation	Joseph Magaldi
Eye of the Pacific	Twila Lai
Hawaii Bicycling League	Janice Marsters
Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers, Local 996	Michael Costa
Hui Kupuna VIP	Louise Horio
Institute of Transportation Engineers	Steven Yoshida
Interagency COORDINATION Councils	CC Curry
League of Women Voters	Piilani Kaopuiki
Leeward Oahu Transportation Management Association	Debbie Luning
NB #01 Hawaii Kai	Greg Knudsen
NB #02 Kuliouou-Kalani Iki	Linda Starr
NB #03 Waialae-Kahala	Lester Fukuda
NB #05 Diamond Head-Kapahulu-Saint Louis Heights	Bert Narita
NB #08 McCully-Moiliili	Ron Lockwood
NB #10 Makiki-Lower Punchbowl-Tantalus	Charles Carole
NB #12 Nuuanu-Punchbowl	James Marn
NB #13 Downtown	Tom Smyth
NB #18 Aliamanu-Salt Lake-Foster Village	Lorene Godfrey
NB #20 Aiea	Jane Sugimura
NB #21 Pearl City	Cruz J. Vina, Jr.
NB #22 Waipahu	Robert Kakalia
NB #25 Mililani-Waipio-Melemanu	David Aki
NB #26 Wahiawa	Joseph Francher
NB #29 Kahaluu	Ken LeVasseur
NB #30 Kaneohe	Wendell Lum
NB #35 Mililani Mauka-Launani Valley	Pamela Young
North Shore Chamber of Commerce	Gil Riviere
Tax Foundation of Hawaii	Randall Hiu
Waikiki Residents Association	Daisy Murai

Members Absent (Reps):

AARP	Mary Protheroe
American Planning Association Hawaii	John Valera
American Society of Landscape Architects	Chris Dacus
Charley’s Taxi	Dale Evans
E Noa Corporation	Tom Dinell
Federal Rental Assisted Tenants Agency	David Yaw
Hawaii Highway Users Alliance	Darcianne Evans
Hawaii Transportation Association	Gareth Sakakida
Honolulu Community Action Program	Val Tavai
Land Use Research Foundation	David Arakawa, Chair
NB #09 Waikiki	Robert Finley
NB #14 Liliha-Alewa-Puunui-Kamehameha Heights	Dale White
NB #15 Kalihi-Palama	Shane Yaw
NB #23 Ewa	R. Scott Belford
NB #24 Waianae Coast	David Brown
NB #27 North Shore	Antya Miller
Pacific Resource Partnership	Mike Kido
Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter	Julie Shioshita
Waianae Coast Transportation Concerns Group	Dick Boddy

Guests Present:

Christine Absher	Citizens for a Fair ADA Ride
Morris Nakamura	Citizens for a Fair ADA Ride
John Gollner	Councilmember Duke Bainum
Don Hamada	Department of Transportation Services
Rich Hargrave	Ewa Resident
Mark Romoser	Hawaii Center for Independent Living
Tammy Lee	Hawaii Department of Transportation
Benson Chow	HDOT
Rose Pou	Hui Kupuna VIP
Robert Nehmad	Institute of Transportation Engineers
Rich Hargrave	Ewa Resident
Ruth Limtiaco	Limtiaco Company
Frank Genadio	Makakilo Resident
Arvid Youngquist	Mestizo Association
Tom Heinrich	NB #7 Manoa
Dick Poirier	NB #25 Mililani-Waipio-Melemanu
Harvey Heaton	Telvent Farradyne

OahuMPO Staff Present: Gordon Lum and Marian Yasuda

Gordon Lum called the meeting to order at 3:37 p.m. Mr. Lum announced that both the Chair and the Vice Chair were absent. Joe Magaldi was elected Chair Pro Tempore by acclamation.

1. New Business

“Freeway Service Patrol”

Handout: “Freeway Service Patrol - Fact Sheet”

Chair Pro Tempore Magaldi introduced Harvey Heaton, Freeway Service Patrol Project (FSP) Manager, Telvent Farradyne. Mr. Heaton introduced Benson Chow, Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT), Highways Division, Traffic Branch. Mr. Heaton then presented an overview of the FSP pilot project and its current status. The primary purpose of the FSP is to provide some congestion relief and improve motorists’ safety.

Mr. Heaton said that the pilot project is anticipated to begin in the summer of 2009. The FSP will be available from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for holidays. The FSP will service 15 miles of freeway on the H-1 Freeway and the Moanalua Freeway utilizing seven trucks, one of which will serve as reserve to allow for maintenance and repairs.

Vice Chair Mike Golojuch arrived and took over duties of the Chair.

Discussion Highlights:

[Note: Unless otherwise noted, all questions were answered by Mr. Heaton.]

In response to a question by Tom Smyth: The drivers of the tow trucks are not law enforcement officers. If the drivers encounter an impaired driver, they will provide that information to the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) dispatch. In the event of a crash, the drivers will not move the vehicles involved until HPD has arrived on the scene.
In response to a question by Arvid Youngquist: Customer satisfaction comes from seeing tax dollars at work, not just from receiving assistance personally. In cities where similar programs have been implemented, customer feedback cites appreciation for feeling safe when receiving assistance.
In response to a question by Linda Starr: Drivers will receive basic first aid, cardio pulmonary resuscitation, and automatic defibrillator training. Upon responding to a crash, the drivers’ first duty will be to stabilize the incident scene in order to prevent a secondary crash and to notify HPD dispatch.
In response to a follow-up question by Ms. Starr: The cars will be towed to a neutral site only to avoid any conflict or appearance of impropriety with businesses.
In response to a question by Joseph Francher: HDOT will provide monitoring of the project through monthly reports and links to the global positioning system tracking of the trucks. This project will assist HDOT in their consideration of an expanded project in the future based on benchmarks such as the number of assists per hour and the average response time.
In response to a question by Louise Horio: Six tow trucks will be roaming at all times along a 10.4-mile section of the H-1 Freeway and a 4.8-mile section of the Moanalua Freeway.
In response to a question by Gil Riviere: In the San Francisco Bay area, the American Automobile Association saw a decrease in membership that coincided with the implementation of their FSP. Some states operate their own FSP and some contract out the service, such as HDOT has done.
In response to a question by Greg Knudsen: Mr. Chow said that the scope of service on the H-1 Freeway will go from the Waiawa Interchange to the Likelike Highway. That segment was determined with input from HPD. If this is successful, expansion is possible.
In response to a question by James Marn: The FSP will be notified of a motorist needing assistance either by their own dispatch, other motorists, or other FSP drivers. The average response time is 7.5 minutes in other states.
In response to two questions by Twila Lai: The evaluation of the pilot project will determine if the program will be expanded and, if so, by how much.
In response to a question by Tom Heinrich: Shifts for the drivers will be seven hours each; and there will be only one driver per truck.
In response to a question by Lorene Godfrey: The contract for this demonstration project is for two years, with an option for extending to third and fourth years.
In response to a question by Daisy Murai: This project is similar to the project on the Nimitz Viaduct, but different in that these trucks will be roaming as opposed to stationary. There seems to be a correlation between speed of travel and the number of crashes occurring. Inattention while driving has become a significant factor in crashes.
In response to a question by Mr. Smyth: Because these vehicles will be roaming, both directions of travel, in and out of downtown Honolulu, will benefit from FSP. Both the zipper lane and high-occupancy lanes will be covered under the contract. Drivers will patrol in the right lane, but will be able to assist vehicles in any lane.
In response to a question by Robert Kakalia: Operational damage caused by towing the vehicles will be paid by the contractor. If a vehicle is modified in such a way that towing will cause damage, the driver will call for a private zone tow.
In response to a question by Wendell Lum: Collected data from this demonstration will help determine the expansion of this project. The project evaluation frequency is undetermined at this time.

2. Approval of the February 18, 2009 Meeting Minutes

Hearing no corrections, the February 18, 2009 minutes were approved by unanimous consent.

3. Other Business

Chair Golojuch introduced the Chair of the CAC Subcommittee on the FYs 2011-2014 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), Charles Carole.

Mr. Carole presented the report produced by the subcommittee, which contains a list of recommended projects for the implementing agencies to consider during the development of their draft listing of projects. Mr. Carole asked that the CAC approve the subcommittee’s report and recommended that it be forwarded to the Policy Committee for their action.

Rich Hargrave suggested that two additional projects be added to the report:

· Geiger Road, Widening, Ft. Weaver Road through Kalaeloa to Kamokila Boulevard

· Renton Road, Widening, Ft. Weaver Road through Verona Village to Roosevelt Boulevard

Mr. Magaldi moved and Ms. Starr seconded that the CAC Subcommittee Report on the FYs 2011-2014 Transportation Improvement Program be approved with the two suggested projects incorporated. The motion passed unanimously, with one abstention by Pamela Young.

4. OahuMPO Meeting Highlights - Policy Committee & Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)

Ms. Yasuda announced the following:

The Policy Committee and the Technical Advisory Committee both held one meeting each since the CAC last met on February 18, 2009.

· The Policy Committee met on February 19, 2009. At that meeting they:

o Approved Revision #10 to the FYs 2008-2011 TIP (economic stimulus funded projects); and

o Heard the CAC Chair’s Report.

· No upcoming Policy Committee meeting is scheduled.

· The Technical Advisory Committee met on February 18, 2009. At that meeting they:

o Made a recommendation to the Policy Committee on draft Revision #10 to the FYs 2008-2011 TIP.

· The next Technical Advisory Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 11 a.m. in the Department of Transportation 5^th floor conference room.

5. Announcements

Marian Yasuda announced the following:

· Public review of the draft FY 2010 Overall Work Program (OWP) is underway. A copy was mailed or emailed to each representative and alternate for member organizations of the CAC. Comments on the draft OWP may be mailed, emailed, or faxed to the OahuMPO no later than Friday, May 1, 2009.

· In July, 2008, the CAC formed a subcommittee to develop a list of recommended transportation-related studies as a part of the CAC’s early input to the FY 2010 OWP. That list of recommended studies was forwarded to the agencies for their consideration. One of the studies in the subcommittee’s list of recommendations, Honolulu Urban Core Parking Master Plan, is included in the draft FY 2010 OWP.

Mr. Lum provided information about the status of the Federal Stimulus funds:

· Approximately $126 million of the surface formula stimulus funds for transportation will be available to the State. The Governor recently identified the projects that will use those funds. The clock started on March 2, 2009 for the 120-day window in which the State must obligate approximately $40 million. If the State is unable to obligate the $40 million, the unused funds will be returned and the State will lose the opportunity to receive additional monies. Within one year, 100% of the $126 million must be obligated. If the State is unable to obligate these funds, the unused funds will be returned and the State will lose the opportunity to receive additional monies. Within three years, the construction of those projects must be finished and the project must be completely closed.

The $126 million of surface transportation funds pertains to highways projects which are Title 23 eligible, with the priority being on projects that will create jobs. In addition to those funds, there are approximately $44 million in transit funds to be used on transit projects.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m.