2021.09.28 WS Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 NEW 3BRIGHTON 1 Council Worksession September 28, 2021 5:00 pm Present: Mayor Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas Councilmember Abdullahi Abdulle Councilmember Graeme Allen Councilmember Emily Dunsworth Councilmember Pam Axberg (arrived at 5:23 p.m.) Absent: Staff in Attendance: Devin Massopust, Craig Schlichting Guests in Attendance: Victoria Dan and Cyndi Harper with Metro Transit, Peter Lindstrom and Peter Grafstrom with Met Council New Briehton Transit Service Discussion Massopust stated representatives from Metro Transit had a presentation for the Council this evening. Cyndi Harper, Senior Manager of Route Planning with Metro Transit, introduced herself to the Council. She encouraged the Council to ask questions throughout the presentation and discussed how transit has changed over the past 18 months. Victoria Dan, Transit Planner for Metro Transit, introduced herself to the Council and provided the Council with an overview of the transit conditions in New Brighton. She provided the Council with an overview on the transit system and commented how the Metro Transit has responded to COVID. Ridership charts from 2020 and 2021 were reviewed with the Council. She commented ridership has been resilient for local routes. It was noted Metro Transit wants to be stronger and better for its customers. The service changes proposed for the system were then discussed, along with how Metro Transit was working to design a responsive network. She explained that operator and support staffing levels were currently below service needs and do not support service expansion, which meant Metro Transit would be focused on hiring. Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas requested further information on how Metro Transit was working to address equity. Ms. Harper explained a report on this topic was available on Metro Transits website and stated she would provide the Council with a link to this report. Ms. Dan discussed the five demand levels and noted bus routes were based on population, density, employment density, intersection density and auto availability. She commented on the service level and routes that were operating in New Brighton both pre-COVID and post-COVID. It was noted ridership was already down 15% prior to COVID. She indicated the decrease in ridership could be due to the increase in tele- commuting. Councilmember Allen requested further information on how Metro Transit communicates bus stop changes. Ms. Dan discussed how Metro Transit communicates this to the property owner, riders and the general the public.