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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977 11-16 HRRMC MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA AND THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN REGULAR SESSION NOVEMBER 16, 1977 CITY HALL Call to Order The Brooklyn Center Human Rights Commission met in regular session and was called to order by Chairman Al Weyrauch at 7:34 p.m. Roll Call Chairman Al Weyrauch, Commissioners Joyce Tolve, Michael Miller, Forrest Castle,and Edith Johnson. Also present were Councilman Gene 'Lhotka, Director of Finance Paul Hoimlund, Planning Commission Chairman Cecelia Scott and Administrative Assistant Ronald Warren. Chairman Weyrauch reported that Commissioners Campion and Bradway had informed him that they would be unable to attend this evenings meeting and were, therefore, excused. • Correspondence Chairman Weyrauch reported that other than weekly reviews from the Metropolitan Council there was no other correspondence received since the last Commission meeting. Chairman Weyrauch reported that the main item of business for this evenings meeting was a presentation from mem- bers of the Metropolitan Transit Commission. He suggested that prior to the presentation the Commission consider other items of business that they wish to disy- cuss so that the majority of the meeting can be reserved for the M.T.C. presentation and any questions or comments that wish to be made. R Minnesota State Council Commissioner Tolve reported that the Minnesota State for the Handicapped Council for the Handicapped has developed an informa- tional flyer that can be placed on the windshields of cars that are improperly parked in dedicated handicapped parking spaces. She explained that the flyer informs drivers that they are improperly parked in a space reserved for handicapped persons. She added that she would attempt to get a number of these flyers and dis- tribute them among members of the Commission. A brief discussion ensued relative to handicapped parking signs with Commissioner Castle commenting on the number of abuses of handicapped parking in certain areas of the City. Chairman Weyrauch concurred with Com -1- 11-16-77 missioner Castle but added that the situation seems to be getting better and that fewer people violate the handicapped parking signs than in the past. J Commissioner Tolve also reported that the Minnesota-State y Council for the Handicapped has closed nominations for various handicapped awards. She noted that the Commission in the past has discussed the possibility of submitting nominations for these handicapped awards and that possibly the Commission could be involved in such an undertaking in the future. The Secretary reported that he had contacted Commissioner Updating Accessibility Campion regarding an article that was to be prepared informing Booklet the public that the Human Rights Commission will be updating its accessibility booklet. He explained that Commissioner Campion was unable to prepare the article and that hopefully it would be ready for the next Commission meeting for the Commission's review. He added that although the article is not ready for the Commission's review there are a number of areas in which the Commission can be preparing to update the accessibility booklet. He explained that there are items such as who will do the printing of the booklet, the questions to be used in the questionnaire, the size, color and pictures to be utilized in the booklet. He pointed out that these are all areas in which the Commission must make decisions prior to the final updating of the booklet. • Chairman Weyrauch commented that he has almost been assured that the printing of the booklet can be done without charge to the City. He added that there are some arrangements that must yet be made and that hopefully within the near future more information can be provided. The Secretary stated that another area of major concern in up- dating the accessibility booklet is the leg work that should be done in order to check the validity of the responses to the questionnaire. The Secretary stated that arrangements have been made for . Metropolitan Transit members of the Metropolitan Transit Commission (M.T.C.) to Commission Presentation make a presentation to the Human Rights Commission relating to such items as Project Mobility, bus shelter location policy and establishing, extending or modifying bus routes. He introduced Commissioner Ruth Franklin of District G and staff members Tony Kouneski, Assistant General Manager, Bob Shiff, Director of Operations, and Aaron Isaac, Senior Planner for the M.T.C. Chairman Weyrauch recognized Commissioner Ruth Franklin who expressed her appreciation to the Commission for the invitation to make a presentation at this evening's meeting. 11-16-77 -2- t She stated that she was appointed to the M . T . C . in January of this year and that she has not had many cpportunities to meet with all of the concerned groups within her district. She stated that the M.T.C. is made up of eight members appointed by the Metropolitan Council and a Chairman who is appointed by the Governor. She added that each Commission member appoints five advisory commission members to assist the Commissioner in policy matters relating to trans-, portation. She explained that Paul Holmlund, the City's Finance Director, is a member of her advisory commission. Commissioner Franklin stated that the goal of the Metro- politan Transit Commission is to provide better public transportation to the area. She explained that originally bus transportation had been operated by private trans- portation lines which had generally been unsuccessful. She added that the State Legislature had recogn;zed the importance of mass transportation systems in the metro- politan area which has approximately half of the State's total population. She reported that for this reason the Legislature had decided to subsidize bus transportation in the area and make it a public facility. She noted that because of the energy problems in recent years, mass transportation has become even more important to the citizenry. • She further stated that the M . T . C . is presently in a difficult position of meeting requests for more bus services because of recent route reviews and the re- sulting directive that there be some cutbacks. She noted that the Human Rights Commission has indicated that they have an interest in learning more about Project Mobility, bus shelters and establishing, extending or modifying bus routes. She stated that for this reason staff members of the M.T.C. are present to discuss with the Commission M .T . C . policies regarding these areas. Tony Kouneski, Assistant General Manager of M.T.C. , reviewed the policy for determining how bus routes are established. He pointed out that currently the M.T.C. is in a contracting stage and that they have eliminated over one million miles of service within the last six months. He explained that although they are in a contracting period the M.T.C. generally follows two guidelines for determining route locations. He stated that one of these guidelines is the utilization of route ridership projects which were completed in 1975 that gave long range projections regarding the need for bus service in the metropolitan area. He added that the other guidelines used for establishing routes is by taking requests from communities or individuals, gen- -3- 11-16-77 erally by petition, and then studying the feasibility of adding, establishing or modifying various bus routes. He reiterated that because of current funding levels determined by the State Legislature it is very difficult for the M.T.C. to establish new service routes. Aaron Isaac, Senior Planner for M.T.C. responded to an in- quiry by Chairman Weyrauch regarding the locations for bus stops. He stated that generally they discuss with the City's Engineer the need for bus stops and potential problems of having bus stops at certain locations prior to making determinations as to where these will be. Mr. Isaac stated that most of Brooklyn Center is served by M.T.C. buses at the present time and that generally the M.T.C. has certain policies or plans for this portion of the metropolitan area. He stated that there are four major areas of concern with respect to bus routes in this area that are as follows; 1. M.T.C. is attempting to expand and to shift routes to get into every area or every neighborhood especially in the area south of 85th Avenue North in Brooklyn Park. 2. M.T.C. is also attempting to speed up express service into downtown Minneapolis from this area. He pointed out that many of the plans revolve around the completion of I-94. 3. In terms of off-peak service the focus is on Brookdale Shopping Center which is the largest traffic generator in this area. He pointed out that service to the Brook- dale Shopping Center is a central concern for service in the entire northwest metropolitan area. He added that they are also concerned with direct access into and out of the Brookdale Shopping area. 4. M.T.C. is concerned about service to areas other than Brookdale and downtown Minneapolis, He added that hopefully a crosstown service such as one along County Road 10 and cross river service to Fridley and Columbia Heights area can be developed in the future. Mr. Isaac also referred to recent budget constraints and stated that presently the M.T.C. is tied into a no-growth situation. 0 0 Councilman Lhotka inquired if it was possible to have service between the Civic Center area in Brooklyn Center and the area north of Interstate 94. Mr. Isaac responded that presently this service is limited but that hopefully with the completion of the over- pass over 1-94 at Shingle Creek Parkway more and better service could be provided. He also commented on service to the Shingle 11-16-77 -4- Creeks Towers area and noted that this service was ' developed because of the request for such a service by senior citizens living at the apartment. 0 • Councilman Lhotka inquired as to why M . T . C . does not seem to be making more use of smaller buses. Mr. Kouneski responded that labor costs are one of M.T.C.'s biggest expenses and the size of the bus would not have a great effect on this expense. He noted that changing to a smaller bus would not provide much, if any, cost saving in the long run and that smaller buses are primarily used on short runs such as at the Nicollet Mall. He explained that the Q.T. service which is utilized on the Nicollet Mall costs aboutas much as providing that same service with a larger bus. Commissioner Castle inquired as to the status of handi- capped buses. Bob Shiff, Director of Operations for M.T.C., stated that M.T.C. has had a demonstration project known as Project Mobility on a one year trial basis. He explained that Project Mobility is designed to provide curb to curb service for handicapped indiv- iduals and has been utilized in a target area which includes portions of north Minneapolis and Robbinsdale. He pointed out that a consultant's report has been developed on Project Mobility which indicates that the test project has been successful. He added that the consultant's report is not yet complete but should be within the next few weeks. A brief discussion ensued relative to bus schedules on Shingle Creek Parkway. Mr. Isaac explained that there are two buses on Shingle Creek Parkway in the morning and two in the early afternoon. He stated that it was possible that these times could be rescheduled but that it would be difficult at this time to add more stops or more buses to the route. He indicated that it was possible for M.T.C. to conduct an interview of riders utilizing this route and possibly reschedule if it is necessary. With respect to bus shelter locations, Mr. Isaac stated that -generally the M . T . C . requires at least . forty riders a day prior to building a shelter at a certain location. He noted that this is the general requirement but that the M .T . C . is inclined to provide a bus shelter if at least twenty five persons-ride a bus from a particular location per day. He added that if there are less than this number and a bus shelter is requested the municipality or some other source would he needed to provide funding for the construction of such a bus -5- 11-1s-77 shelter. He stated that generally it costs approximately $ 5 , 000 to erect a bus shelter. Chairman Weyrauch recognized Cecelia Scott who presented a petition to M.T.C. members regarding the construction of a bus shelter by the Shingle Creek Towers high rise apartment. She stated that the petition was signed by sixty-nine persons and that the Brooklyn Center Lions Club and Jaycees have indicated support for construction of such a shelter. Mr. Kouneski stated that they would review the petition for a shelter in this area. Councilman Lhotka inquired about the possibility of having a local Brooklyn Center bus to service the needs of people utilizing the Civic Center. Mr. Isaac responded that there had been a local bus in Brooklyn Center which was operated in approximately 1971 and 1972. He stated that this local bus had a low rider- ship and that in all likelihood such an experiment would not be repeated. Paul Hoimlund pointed out that there was an approxi- mate $21,000 loss in operating the bus service for the thirteen months of service it was in operation and that the M . T . C . had subsidized the bus route at the rate of approximately 55%. He added that the local bus service was not successful. Chairman Weyrauch commented that it is important to look at the economics of the situation to determine whether or not is is feasible to operate such a bus in Brooklyn Center. Commissioner Tolve commented that the M.T.C. receives federal subsidies and that according to the United Handicapped Federation (U.H.F.) there was a decision in May of 1977 requiring the M.T.C. to purchase transbuses which are accessible to the handicapped. Mr. Shiff responded that the M.T.C. is under a directive to utilize transbuses in the future. He noted that presently the M.T.C. is hampered by federal regulations from the Department of Transportation that has been studying the problem of handi- capped transportation. He explained that according to recent reg- ulations the M.T.C. is mandated, effective September 30, 1977 to purchase transbuses that have a handicapped ramp. He added that one of the problems with the mandate is that is is, in all likelihood, not possible to get delivery on these buses until 1981 or 1982. He also reviewed the costs associated with purchasing a transbus and stated that in 1971 the costs for a transbus was approximately $34,000, ,while in 1976 the cost was $66,000 and that today it would cost the M.T.C. approximately $85,000 to purchase one transbus without a handicapped lift ramp and that it would cost '$130,000 for the purchase of such a bus with this equipment. He stated that the costs for this service are quite high and that another • problem is that these type buses are not yet being manufactured. 11-16-77 -6- 0 Mr. Kouneski stated that the M.T.C. Is projecting a modest growth of approximately forty buses per year from now until 1983 and that with the growth in population and the concern for energy conservation they expect more bus ridership in the future. Bob Shiff, Director of Operations, reported further on Project Mobility. He stated that it is a one year demonstration project that will expire on November 26th of this year. He stated that the results of the studies done indicate that the ridership of Project Mobility has been very good. He explained that Project Mobility is utilized at the rate of 3.7 passengers per hour during- the rush hours and 2.7 passengers per hour during other times. He added that the experience of Project Mobility leads us to believe that door to door transportation for handicapped persons is more desirable than utilizing the normal bus routes at least by the people that have utilized Project Mobility. He pointed out that this does not mean that the majority of handicapped people in the metropolitan area favor Project Mobility over totally accessible buses. He pointed out that a number of handicapped people want to utilize regular bus service that is accessible to them. • Mr. Shiff further reported that is is anticipated that the future of public transportation for handicapped will be made up of a mixture of door to door service such as Project Mobility and accessible buses on normal bus routes. He added that it will take some time to meet the directives mandated by the Secretary of Transportation to make all buses accessible but that the M.T.C. will move in this direction. Mr. Shiff further stated that presently the cost per passenger for utilizing Project Mobility is approximately $10.00 and that this cost is not expected to decrease in the near future. Mr. Isaac added that presently County agencies are providing a similar service but that it is costing them approximately $25.00 to $50.00 per passenger and they are considering pooling or utilizing M.T.C. facilities. In response to an inquiry, Mr. Shiff stated that it would cost approximately $10,000,000 a year to extend Project Mobility throughout the entire metropolitan area. He reiterated that in all likelihood a combination of Project Mobility services and accessible buses will be • utilized in the future. In response to another inquiry, Mr. Shiff commented on a lawsuit brought against M.T.C. by the United Handicapped Federation. He stated that originally a -7- 11-16-77 a Judge in St. Paul had ruled that the M.T.C. was in compliancy with federal regulations. He noted that this decision was appealed to the 8th Circuit Court in St. Louis at a time in-which new federal guidelines were being developed by the Secretary of Transportation. He added that the $th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that these new federal guide- lines had a bearing on the case and the case was sent back to judge Alsop in St. Paul for further review. He added that presently the judge has called for further comments from, both sides prior to making his decision which should be available within the near future. He stated that M.T.C. has not been found guilty of violating federal regulations but rather the case is in limbo" Further discussion ensued relative to providing bus stops at certain locations. Mr. Kouneski stated that the M.T.C. attempts to address problems put forth to it by citizens con- cerned about bus service. He added that although they are in a period of contracting services, persons wishing to express opinions or to request new services, extended services, or modified services should contact the Metropolitan Transit Commission. Commissioner Franklin thanked the Human Rights Commission for the opportunity to make this presentation and added that the M.T.G. is concerned about providing the best bus service possible and that if persons have any problems or concerns . they should contact the'M.T.C. Commissioner Tolve briefly commented that she had attended Child and Adolescent a workshop on child and adolescent abuse and that this is Abuse Workshop becoming a severe problem. She stated that basically persons . experiencing this problem have no where to go or no one to talk to. She noted that there is an agency in St. Paul called Face to Face which will help children and adolescents deal with this problem. A brief discussion ensued relative to child and adolescent abuse with members of the Commission ex- pressing their concern. Chairman Weyrauch suggested that more information be provided by Commissioner Tolve on this subject and that possibly the Commission can review and discuss it at anupcoming Commission meeting. Motion' by Commissioner Tolve and seconded by Chairman Adjournment Weyrauch to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unani- mously. The Brooklyn Center Human Rights Commission adjourned at 9:30 p.m. • Chairman 11-16-77 -8-