SUMMARY MINUTES OF WORKSHOP DINNER MEETING

Monday, June 12, 2023 Conference Room 303 - Shoreline City Hall

5:45 p.m. 17500 Midvale Avenue North

PRESENT: Mayor Keith Scully, Deputy Mayor Betsy Robertson, and Councilmembers John Ramsdell, Laura Mork, Doris McConnell, Eben Pobee and Chris Roberts

ABSENT: None

STAFF: Bristol Ellington, City Manager

John Norris, Assistant City Manager

Jim Hammond, Intergovernmental Program Manager

Nytasha Walters, Transportation Services Manager

Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk

GUESTS: Julie Timm, Sound Transit CEO

Erik Ashlie-Vinke, Sound Transit Government & Community Relations Director

Michelle Allison, King County Metro General Manager

Amanda Pleasant-Brown, King County Metro Government Relations Administrator

At 5:52 p.m., the meeting was called to order by Mayor Scully and introductions were made around the room.

King County Metro General Manager, Michelle Allison shared that Metro is currently focused on employee recruitment, staff training and retention, and reimaging Metro as a career employer. She said Metro’s bus service profile is not currently where they want it to be, and they are working on how to add and grow routes to become an all-day network. She updated Council on Phase 3 of the Lynnwood Link Extension Connections restructure plan; plans for the 192^nd Park and Ride; and the work being done to bring people back to riding transit, with reliability and safety being their top two focuses. Ms. Allison noted Metro is currently piloting a program to provide behavioral health services at certain transit centers, and bathrooms will soon be added to certain locations. She was proud to announce Metro is the first transit agency in the world to commit to the goal of electrification by 2035.

Sound Transit CEO, Julie Timm reported construction has been in full swing and there are a lot of station openings planned between now and 2028. She talked about the Eastside “Starter Line” and explained the rationale for opening stations that are completed now instead of waiting another two years. She shared the main feedback received from riders is safety and cleanliness concerns; lack of communication when services change; and inequity in who is paying for fare and how it is being monitored. Ms. Timm stated Sound Transit is increasing its number of Fare Ambassadors and has brought in third party contractors to improve the cleanliness of stations. She spoke about the challenges of keeping elevators and escalators operational at stations; and announced a new communications system that will provide information on train arrivals and security alerts. She warned that all these efforts have a price tag associated with them and Sound Transit will need to control costs so they don’t adversely affect the agency’s ability to deliver more projects later.

Shoreline City Councilmembers asked about:

· ability to combine train and bus information on reader boards;

· opening of STRIDE before 2028;

· agencies’ ideas to increase ridership with people working from home;

· impacts ST1, 2, and 3 have on global warming;

· Metro’s service changes funneling riders to the Northgate Station instead of the 148^th Station;

· overall strategy for bathrooms and safety; and

· feasibility of changing the Sound Transit fare system.

Ms. Allison and Ms. Timm spoke about how the agencies collaborate to integrate technology but acknowledged there are limitations since they run different software systems.

Ms. Timm provided an update on STRIDE, stating there is no way to accelerate construction on 145^th Street so they need to focus on the projects that are on schedule and have a dedicated lane ready to use.

Ms. Timm explained that Sound Transit plans to increase ridership by activating open spaces at stations and encouraging people to ride light rail for non-work-related activities. Light rail is already back to pre-covid ridership levels, and it should only increase as new stations come online. On the other hand, it will be challenging to keep the Sounder going due to its reliability, safety, and schedule given it shares a track with freight and has a route more susceptible to delays. Ms. Timm said light rail is running on green electric and she can provide numbers on emission reductions.

In response to the question on Metro’s service changes, Ms. Allison said they used ridership data to make decisions on routes. The routes being suspended have very few passengers and there was an alternative option to get riders to where they need to go. Metro staff will take the 148^th Station into consideration when they are ready to reinvest in the system.

Ms. Timm spoke about Sound Transit’s analysis on where to put bathrooms, as well as how to pay for construction and ongoing maintenance. The Sound Transit Board will soon make a budget decision on whether to move forward with them. The Board will also revisit the topic of Parking Management in the near future. In response to the question on their fare system, she said the fare enforcement policy was a decision made a while ago and it would be expensive to change course.

Deputy Mayor Robertson stated the Farmers Market loves their location at the 192nd Park and Ride and have indicated a desire to stay there. She asked that this be considered while planning for redevelopment of this site.

Ms. Allison and Ms. Timm acknowledged Shoreline staff for effectively communicating the City’s vision and goals, and providing Metro and Sound Transit a clear roadmap of how to build the community’s desired transportation system. Mayor Scully thanked Ms. Allison and Ms. Timm for the conversation and their agency’s good work.

At 6:45 p.m., Mayor Scully declared the meeting adjourned.

/s/ Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk