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

include:  Santa Rosa Mall  Publix at Sun Plaza  Wal-Mart Super Center  FWB Medical Center One driver noted that Route 5 has long waits at the Okaloosa County Court House in Fort Walton Beach that effect on-time performance. According to another Route 5 operator, the CHOICE high school and Technical Center (Vo-Tech) stop experiences nearly average zero passenger activity per day and may be eliminated. The time saved by eliminating the stop can be used for achieving consistent on-time performance during AM and PM peak hours. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-15 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Figure D-6: EC Rider Route 5 ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-16 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Map D-5: Route 5 Profile ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-17 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Route 14 Route 14, shown in Figure D-7, is the express service offering direct connection between Fort Walton Beach and Crestview. It provides three round trips during the AM Peak, Mid-Day, and PM peak time periods. As shown in Map D-6, high employment density and/or medium-to-very high transit orientation areas can be found in Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, and Crestview. According to the ridecheck effort and discussions with the operator, stops experiencing high boarding and alighting activities include:  Uptown Station  VA Clinic  Niceville City Hall  Northwest Florida State College (Niceville)  Crestview City Hall Since Route 14 is not providing access to the neighborhoods along its alignment, ADA-eligible passengers are allowed to make a phone appointment in 2-hour advance for the route deviation. However, similar to Route 3, too many route deviations negatively impact the on-time performance of Route 14, considering some of the ADA non-eligible passengers abuse the route deviation advantage exclusively to ADA-eligible passengers. Another operating issue is the timely transfer at 7:30 AM at Uptown Station between Route 14 and Route 33 early morning trip. According to the Route 14 operator, VA clinic stop requires vehicle getting off the main road and entering the VA clinic access road, which may take an extra 3 to 5 minutes. However, there is normally no passenger at VA clinic stop for the early morning trip of Route 14. Consequently, if the extra 3 to 5 minutes could be saved by bypassing the VA clinic stop for the morning trip, the operator would not need to operate the vehicle over the speed limit to make the timely transfer happen. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-18 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Figure D-7: EC Rider Route 14 ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-19 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Map D-6: Route 14 Profile ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-20 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Route 20 Route 20, shown in Figure D-8, is one of the most productive routes in ECR fixed-route system. This route links the Uptown Station with Okaloosa Island via Eglin Parkway SE, Miracle Strip Parkway SE, and Santa Rosa Boulevard. The route primarily serves hotels, condominiums, and multifamily dwelling units along the Santa Rosa Boulevard segment. Map D-7 shows the Route 20 profile. The majority of the route serves minimum-to-very high employment density area or minimum dwelling unit density areas. According to the ridecheck effort and discussions with the Route 20 operator, stops with high passenger boarding and/or alighting activities include:  Uptown Station  Boardwalk Wayside park (Transfer to Route 30)  Old Bay Steamer  Shoppes at Paradise Point  Sheraton According to the bus operator, the lack of marketing and branding prevents the bus from attracting more potential users, especially the marketing strategy targeting seniors. Route 20 does not enter the hotel plazas along Santa Rosa Boulevard currently, which requires the tourists to walk to the main road sidewalk to wait for the bus. Entering the hotel plazas for reduction of passenger walking distance may be another incentive for potential passengers to use the transit service. In addition, a more detailed time schedule with specific timetable by stop would also help the passengers to be more informed when taking the bus. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-21 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Figure D-8: EC Rider Route 20 ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-22 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Map D-7: Route 20 Profile ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-23 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Route 30 Route 30, illustrated in Figure D-9, is also one of the productive routes in ECR fixed-route system. This route provides service along Highway 98 and Gulf Shore Drive, with transferring opportunity to Routes 20 and 32. The majority of the land uses along the route are single-family houses, medium-rise condominiums, and hotels. Map D-8 illustrates the Route 30 route profile. The ridecheck effort and discussions with the Route 30 operators indicate that following stops experience high passenger boarding and/or alighting activities:  Boardwalk Wayside Park  Harbor Walk/Lucky Snapper (During evening trips)  98 Palms Plaza (Transfer to Route 32) The segment along Gulf Shore Drive from Sandpiper Cove South to East Pass Towers in Destin Point is unproductive compared with the rest of route, with 4 to 5 passengers per day in winter time. One driver suggested that the route could instead loop around the commercial area near Main Street/Legion Drive/ and Beach Drive and that the redundancy on Silbert Avenues should be eliminated while still serving the Destin Community Center. A further examination of this segment is necessary to find out the ways to improve the productivity in winter time. Another top comment received from passengers indicates there is a need to implement a daily pass for passengers who need to use the transit service multiple times over the course of a day. The existing transfer ticket is only valid for 2-hour window to make a connection, which is not useful for passengers who make multiple trips a day. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-24 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Figure D-9: EC Rider Route 30 ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-25 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Map D-8: Route 30 Profile ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-26 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Route 32 Route 32, illustrated in Figure D-10, runs along Highway 98 between 98 Palms Plaza and Destin Commons, providing transfer opportunity to Route 30 and Route 33, respectively. The majority of the land uses along this route are hotels, condominiums, and commercial plazas. As shown in Map D-9, minimum-to-very high employment density areas and high to very-high dwelling unit density areas can be found west of Goldsby Road. The route segment west of Scenic Gulf Drive serves areas that show a prevalence of elderly population and household below poverty level. Based on the ridecheck effort and discussions with the Route 32 operator, the following bus stops experience high passenger boarding and alighting activities:  98 Palms  Sundestin Beach Resort  Crystal Beach Plaza  The Shoppes at Paradise Key  Wal-Mart Super Center Some stops that experience zero to one passengers per day may be considered for removal, including:  Sunsations Plaza  Fudpuckers Some stops may need consideration of relocation, including:  Pelican Beach Resort – it is recommended to move the bus stop to the right turn lane on Highway 98.  Big Kahuna’s – This bus stop is located in the parking lot, close to the main gate for visitor access. In the summer the parking lot is congested with vehicles and visitors, making it unsafe and with long delays to travel through the parking lot. It is recommended to relocate the bus stop along Highway 98 in order to keep consistent on-time performance and avoid potential safety issues. Two hotspots were identified by the operator for potential addition of bus stop/sign, which include:  Grand Mariner Condominium  Commons Dr. W & Diamond Cove (Doctor’s office Plaza) In summer time, Highway 98 is very congested with vehicles moving bumper-to-bumper. Under this circumstance, it is nearly impossible for Route 32 to stay on time with the published schedule. Marketing and branding are also issues as visitors are seldom aware of the existence of the public transportation available for them to use. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-27 Appendix D: Fixed‐Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Figure D‐10: EC Rider Route 32 ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10‐Year Transit Development Plan D‐28 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Map D-9: Route 32 Profile ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-29 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Route 33 Route 33, illustrated in Figure D-11, provides a looping service along Hutchinson Street, Scenic Highway 98, Emerald Coast Parkway, and Poinciana Boulevard. It is the least productive route in the ECR fixed-route system. Map D-10 shows the Route 33 route profile. Passengers for this route are mainly visitors and employees of the commercial establishments along the route. Based on the ridecheck effort and discussions with the Route 33 operator, stops experiencing high boarding and alighting activities include:  Holiday Inn Express  Silver Sands Premium Outlets  Low’s According to the bus operator, the major issue of this route is the lack of awareness of public transportation by the general public. An awareness of public transit could especially service; for example, one adult takes the family car for an activity during a summer vacation, but the other adult would like to use the car for shopping. Transit could help provide transportation for both parties in this scenario. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-30 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Figure D-11: EC Rider Route 33 ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-31 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Map D-10: Route 33 Profile ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa