TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Telly C. Whitfield, Ph.D., Assistant City Manager
FROM: Tyffany Neal, Assistant Transit Director
Randy Hume, Transit Director
DATE: August 1, 2022
RE:
Title
Transit Development Plan Update
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal 4: Desirable Place to Live, Work and Recreate
Objective 4.1: To develop and maintain public transportation investments with high quality transit and airport services
Executive Summary:
The Transit Development Plan (TDP) is the business development plan FAST will utilize over the next decade and beyond as a guide for improving services, infrastructure, technology, plans and policies. This update was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it has had on the FAST system.
Over the past year, FAST has worked with the planning consulting firm VHB to update its 2014 TDP. Throughout the yearlong process, FAST engaged the general public through listening sessions and a survey, local stakeholders through a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) and the Fayetteville Area Committee on Transit (FACT). In addition to external customers the planning process also included meetings with FAST’s frontline employees to ensure the Fayetteville community had an opportunity to be heard as the plan’s recommendations were created. The TDP recommendations are divided into 3 phases: REBUILD, IMPROVE and EXPAND. The Executive Summary attached provides the details of each phase.
Once Council has reviewed the plan, staff is requesting Council’s consensus to move the plan forward for approval action at the August 8, 2022 regular City Council meeting.
Background:
Transit planning plays a fundamental role in a state, region or community’s vision for its future. It includes a comprehensive consideration of possible strategies; an evaluation process that encompasses diverse viewpoints; the collaborative participation of relevant transit-related agencies and organizations; and open, timely and meaningful public involvement.
The current Transit Development Plan (TDP) was adopted by the City Council in May 2014 and has guided staff in implementing transit related improvements since that time. As much has changed since May 2014, the objective of this 2022 Transit Development Plan update is to delve into how recent improvements and changes in both development patterns and demographics within the City of Fayetteville affect FAST’s services. Some of those changes are:
• Transportation network companies (e.g., Uber and Lyft) began operating in Fayetteville just a couple months after the adoption of the last TDP;
• FAST’s Transit Center opened in 2017 requiring several routes to be reconfigured to converge at the new location;
• COVID-19 has shifted transportation patterns.
FAST’s plan consultant, VHB, used a cooperative and collaborative process designed to foster involvement by all users of the transit system including local businesses, community groups and the general public through a proactive public participation process. FAST and VHB worked with the Fayetteville Area Committee on Transit (FACT) and established a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) to guide the development of the plan’s recommendation. Opportunities for engaging the general public and FAST’s external customers included multiple listening sessions and a survey. The planning process also included meetings with FAST’s frontline employees.
FAST’s Transit Development Plan update shows its commitment to ensure its programs, policies and services are implemented equitably and is in line with FAST’s vision to become a transit system of choice.
Issues/Analysis:
This update included a brief review of transit opportunities for the entire Fayetteville region that includes areas beyond the Fayetteville city limits. This would include services to surrounding communities such as Hope Mills and Spring Lake. FAST’s ability to provide such services will be contingent upon FAST’s ability to secure funding from new partners and their willingness to pay a fair share of the operating and capital costs associated with regionalization.
Budget Impact:
The TDP is a planning document that will guide FAST services throughout the next 10 years. The plan itself does not commit Council to a specific budget expenditure in any year.
Options:
Review the 2022 TDP Update and direct staff to move the plan forward for approval at the August 8, 2022, Council meeting; or
Provide direction to staff for changes to the recommended TDP.
Recommended Action:
Review the 2022 TDP Update and direct staff to move the plan forward for approval at the August 8, 2022, Council meeting
Attachments:
Transit Development Plan Update 2022
Executive Summary
Council Presentation (PowerPoint