Okaloosa County BOCC — August 16, 2016 — Access EC Rider TDP - August Draft Report — reading text

Blvd; stops at Mary Esther Library, Santa Rosa Mall, Fort 26 60 mins 6:46 PM Walton High School Fort Walton Beach – connects NW Florida State College to White-Wilson 60–180 6:30 AM– 3 Medical Center, Walmart, Santa Rosa Mall; stops at Pier 1, Walgreen’s, 41 mins 7:42 PM YMCA, Green Acres Fort Walton Beach – connects Walmart transfer station to Uptown 6:50 AM– 4 44 70 mins Station; stops at Florida Dept. of Health and Sun Plaza 7:28 PM Fort Walton Beach – runs primarily along SR 85, connects Santa Rosa Mall 7:50 AM– 5 to Walmart transfer station, YMCA, White-Wilson Medical Center, 13 4 hrs 4:55 PM CHOICE High School and Technical Center 14 Connects Crestview City Hall to Uptown Station; limited stops at NW 6:20 AM– WAVE Florida State College (Niceville), Niceville City Hall, VA Clinic, and Shalimar 11 4 hrs 5:55 PM Express Court House Annex Okaloosa Island – runs along Santa Rosa Blvd, US 98, Eglin Parkway; stops Summer– at Uptown Station, Fort Walton Beach Landing, area hotels, Gulfarium, 30 mins Not 20 33 Tourist Development Council Visitor’s Center, Emerald Coast Convention Winter– Available Center, Shoppes at Paradise Point 60 mins Destin/South Walton – runs primarily along US 98/Miracle Strip Parkway, Summer– connects Wayside Park to Destin Community Center; stops at Destin 30 mins Not 30 15 Library, Holiday Surf and Racquet Club, Waterview Towers, East Pass Winter– Available Towers, Lucky Snapper 60 mins Destin – runs along US 98 and Emerald Coast Parkways, connects 98 Summer– Palms Plaza to Wingate by Wyndham; stops at Sunsation Plaza, several 30 mins Not 32 25 hotels, Destin Commons, Shoppes at Paradise Key, Marshall’s, Winter– Available Fuddruckers, Track, Big Kahunas 60 mins East Destin – circular loop along US 98 and Emerald Coast Parkway; stops Not 33 at Destin Commons, Shoppes at Paradise Key, Crystal Beach Plaza, 8 60 mins Available Holiday Inn Express, James Lee Park, Silver Sands Premium Outlet ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan 35 Section 3 – Existing Transit Services The Uptown Station plaza is the hub of public transit through Fort Walton Beach and through Okaloosa County, as it is a major transfer point for many EC Rider routes. Transfers between EC Rider routes are provided free of charge, with the exception of Wave Express, for which transfers are not accepted. The Emerald Coast Rider has 11 transfer locations as part of its service:  Uptown Station  Walmart Supercenter (Fort Walton Beach)  OWC/UWF (Fort Walton Beach )  White-Wilson Medical Center (Fort Walton Beach)  Santa Rosa Mall  Boardwalk/Wayside Park  98 Palms Shopping Center  Crystal Beach Plaza  Holiday Inn Express  Destin Commons  Shoppes at Paradise Key Park-and-ride facilities are provided at the following locations (additional parking requirements at some of these lots):  Uptown Station, Fort Walton Beach  Boardwalk, Okaloosa Island  Destin Commons  All other public parking lots unless otherwise noted The EC Rider fixed-route network is illustrated in Map 3-1. Also included on the map are the ¼- and ¾-mile buffer service areas. The ¼-mile buffer represents the maximum distance riders typically are willing to walk to get to the bus. The ¾-mile buffer indicates the service area in which complementary ADA paratransit service must be provided. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan 36 Section 3 – Existing Transit Services Map 3-1: Existing Transit Service Area ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan 37 Section 3 – Existing Transit Services Ridership Trends Ridership on the EC Rider routes (shown in Figure 3-2) increased considerably between 2005 and 2008 and, although ridership decreased some in 2009 and 2010, there has been overall growth since 2010. Ridership peaked in 2008 with 211,330 riders, when many transit agencies throughout Florida and the U.S. saw a peak in ridership due to high gas prices and the Great Recession. Seasonally, ridership tends to peak during the summer, especially during August with the peak in tourism. In examining ridership data from December 2014 to November 2015, Route 1 had the highest annual ridership, followed by Routes 20 and 30, respectively (see Table 3-2). Figure 3-2: Emerald Coast Rider Passenger Trips, 2008–2013 250,000 211,330 200,000 169,389 172,122 175,595 179,921 182,584 162,820 Ridership 150,000 108,404 100,000 71,193 50,000 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Fiscal Year Source: Florida Transit Information System (FTIS) and Okaloosa County TDP Major Update September 2011 Table 3-2: EC Rider Annual Ridership by Route Route Annual Ridership 1 27,406 2 14,045 3 5,962 4 17,598 5 1,870 14 9,044 20 21,449 30 17,678 32 13,362 33 9,322 Source: Emerald Coast Rider Automatic Passenger Count Data; data 12/14–11/15 ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan 38 Section 3 – Existing Transit Services Future Passenger Rail A report for the Southern Rail Commission (SRC), “Potential Gulf Coast Service Restoration Options” (December 2015), evaluated scenarios for restoring passenger rail services along the Gulf Coast, including the Florida Panhandle. From 1993 through 2005, Amtrak also operated an extension of the Sunset Limited Train through the region as part of a transcontinental Los Angeles–Florida run, but struggled with on-time performance for various reasons including route length and carrier operating conditions. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Sunset Limited was suspended east of New Orleans. Rail service options for the Gulf Coast west of New Orleans include:  Alternatives A and A1 – Extend Amtrak’s City of New Orleans passenger train service from New Orleans to Orlando, with (Alternative A) or without (Alternative A1) a single daily State-supported train. Alternative A provides the highest total ridership of any analyzed alternative. Alternative A1 provides the second highest ridership but the lowest level of identified operating need.  Alternatives B and B1 – Two daily State-supported round trips between New Orleans and Mobile, priced and funded by state partners without (Alternative B) or with (Alternative B1) a thruway bus connection from Mobile to Amtrak service at Jacksonville.  Alternative C – One daily long-distance round-trip between New Orleans and Orlando. Alternatives A and A1 yield superior ridership demand and cost efficiency over Alternatives B, B1, and C. Other Transportation Service Providers Other private and public agencies also offer transportation services for specific client groups. Table 3-3 lists other privately-operated/contracted transportation providers that serve the general public. All private transportation providers listed were contacted for general information about their services; the information provided is summarized in the table. Social service providers that offer transportation services to older adults or persons with disabilities were contacted for specific information about their services. Table 3-4 lists various social service provider contact and the information provided. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan 39  Section 3 – Existing Transit Services Table 3-3: Privately-Operated/Contracted Service Providers Coordinate County Service Service Vehicle Type Seating Daily Wheelchair Organization Address Phone Type with EC