DEPARTMENT: Transportation & Capital Improvements
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Razi Hosseini, P.E., R.P.L.S.
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT: Transportation Advisory Board
SUMMARY: A briefing and possible action on the Transportation Advisory Board, including an overview of the current structure and recommendations to become more multimodal.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) was created on January 12, 1984 by Ordinance No. 58134. The function of the TAB is to review staff recommendations, conduct hearings, recommend guidelines, and make recommendations to City Council on the licensing and regulatory review process for transportation services licensed by the City. These services include taxicabs, limousines, tow trucks, tour/sightseeing operations, and horse carriages. Since its creation, the TAB no longer makes recommendations for tow trucks and has added pedicabs and group cycles to the vehicle for hire industries, but are not represented by TAB members. The San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) has been responsible for oversight of the TAB. The 1984 ordinance was amended in 1991 by Ordinance No. 74977, in 2004 by Ordinance No. 100199, and most recently in 2009 by Ordinance No. 2009-05-21-0433. The current TAB membership as follows:
Membership Composition Voting Member Non-Voting Member
Transportation Consumers 3*
Large Taxicab (> 20 Vehicles) 1
Small Taxicab (< 20 Vehicles) 1
Taxicab Cooperative 1*
Tour, Charter, and Shuttle 1
Horse Carriage and Limousine 1
San Antonio Airport Advisory Commission 1
San Antonio Convention and Visitors Commission 1*
(Visit San Antonio Board of Directors)
San Antonio Hotel and Lodging Association 1
CoSA Public Works (TCI) 1
CoSA Aviation 1
CoSA CCDO 1*
CoSA CVB (Visit San Antonio) 1*
VIA Metropolitan Transit 1*
*One position vacant
Currently, the TAB only focuses private, for-hire transportation and there is no single City advisory committee focused on multimodal transportation, to include micromobility, pedestrian, vehicular, freight, and transit. Councilmembers Shirley Gonzales and Ana Sandoval requested Transportation & Capital Improvements (TCI) develop recommendations to create a more multimodal transportation focused TAB. TCI reviewed similar boards in several cities to get a better understanding on best practices. Some cities have a singular oversight committee and others have multiple committees focused on specific areas of oversight.
• New Braunfels, Transportation & Traffic Advisory Board - Serves in an advisory capacity on matters relating vehicles for hire, emergency warning systems and evacuation routes and procedures, stop signs, school zones, no parking zones and other traffic control devices, street and bridge improvements, and any other transportation related matters referred by City Council.
• Austin, Urban Transportation Commission - Serves in an advisory capacity on matters relating to transportation energy conservation matters grant applications, streets and highways, bus and rail service, pedestrian and bikeway programs and projects, safety related programs and projects, provision for the needs of the mobility impaired, transportation franchise requests.
• Denver, Multimodal Advisory Committee - New committee formed in 2018 to serve in an advisory capacity on matters relating to policies, programs, projects, priorities, financing, and community engagement. Membership includes various interests, perspectives, and stakeholder groups, including bicycle riders, pedestrians, transit riders, vehicle drivers, people with disabilities and other mobility-system users.
• San Jose, Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee - Provides guidance and advice to help better accommodate the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians throughout San José.
• Portland, Bicycle Advisory Committee - Serves in an advisory capacity on all matters relating to the use of the bicycle as a means of transportation and recreation. The responsibilities of the committee include but, are not limited to matters of bicycle policy, project and program implementation, and education, and enforcement. The Portland Bureau of Transportation also has a Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Freight Advisory Committee, Budget Advisory Committee and several other topic and time specific committees such as a Private for Hire Committee, Parking, etc.
• Phoenix, Citizens Transportation Commission - Oversees the implementation of the Phoenix Transportation 2050 Plan. The committee addresses street and transit needs, provides oversight on the expenditure of funds, and makes recommendations on plan elements and other means of generating revenue for the plan going forward.
In September 2019, TCI provided a briefing to the City Council Transportation and Mobility Committee (TMC) on the current structure of the TAB and potential opportunities to broaden its focus to become more multimodal. Per TMC direction, TCI met with internal and external stakeholders in October 2019 and November 2019 to discuss the TAB membership composition and number of members.
On January 9, 2020, based on the stakeholder input as well as the structure of the two other recently created advisory committees, TCI briefed TMC and recommended the TAB be comprised of 11 voting, at-large Technical & Community Members appointed by the Mayor and City Council, with input from the City Manager, TCI, SAPD, and Office of Equity. The 11 voting members would be selected from 12 defined categories with no more than two people per category. In addition to the 11 voting members, TCI recommended non-voting Agency Members to consist of City departments and external agencies for technical input. The TMC recommended TCI brief the Governance Committee.
On January 27, 2020, TCI presented the proposed new TAB member composition and focus at the Transportation Advisory Board Meeting. The current TAB requested the following items be added to the proposed new structure:
• Expand overall voting membership from 11 to 15;
• Expand the Vehicle for Hire Industry membership category to include 5 members: Large Taxi; Small Taxi; Large Limousine; Small Limousine; and Other; and
• Add two new, at-large categories: Small Business and Large Business
ISSUE:
Currently, the TAB only focuses private, for-hire transportation and there is no single city advisory committee focused on multimodal transportation, to include micromobility, pedestrian, vehicular, freight, and transit. A more dynamic and diverse TAB composition, focused on multimodal transportation, could serve in an advisory role, while also helping foster public involvement related to City policies and vision. Given the diversity of committee members and potential transportation topics, different subcommittees could be formed for specific issues that require detailed analysis.
• While the decisions of the TAB will not be binding, the intent is to provide detailed community input to help shape project and policy recommendations.
• The TAB will act as a diverse group of advisors for high profile projects, policies, and initiatives, and will provide important feedback to City staff prior to taking an item to the appropriate City Council Committee.
• TAB member composition will be a mix of industry professionals, community advocates, and City staff. TAB will be comprised of 15 at-large, voting members appointed by the Mayor and City Council, with input from the City Manager, TCI, SAPD, and Office of Equity. The following list of categories was developed based on stakeholder input and will serve as a guide to ensure membership selections are made in a manner that is best representative of City Council priorities at the time of appointment.
No more than one person per the following categories:
• Large Taxicab (> 20 Vehicles)
• Small Taxicab (< 20 Vehicles)
• Large Limousine (> 20 Vehicles)
• Small Limousine (< 20 Vehicles)
• Other (Tour Operations, Pedicab, Horse Carriage, and Group Cycle)
No more than two people per the following categories:
• Transport of Goods / Freight Industry
• Transportation Professional (Engineer, Architect, Planner)
• Active Transportation User (Bike, Pedestrian)
• Public Transportation User
• Transportation Dependent (Disabled, Elderly)
• Transportation Justice and Racial Equity
• Environmental / Sustainability
• Development / Real Estate Professional
• Innovation / Technology Professional
• Health Professional
• Community Champion (Non-expert, passionate about transportation)
• Large Business (> 100 employees)
• Small Business (< 10 employees)
Definitions of the categories are as follows:
• Transport of Goods / Freight Industry - An individual who is an owner or employee of a company transporting goods and freight.
• Transportation Professional - An individual in the transportation profession who will provide technical input related to projects, programs, and policies (i.e. engineer, architect, planner).
• Active Transportation User - An individual who walks, skateboards, roller-skates, scoots, or bikes as their primary mode of transportation.
• Public Transportation User - An individual who uses public transportation (i.e. bus service) as their primary mode of transportation.
• Transportation Dependent - An individual who depends on transportation as a service, such as a person with a disability or a person advanced in age that is unable to operate a vehicle.
• Transportation Justice and Racial Equity - An individual who advocates for the elimination of transportation inequities and injustices experienced by marginalized communities, including communities of color.
• Environmental / Sustainability - An individual in the environmental or sustainability profession as it relates to transportation.
• Development / Real Estate - An individual in the development or real estate profession (i.e. developer, real estate attorney).
• Innovation / Technology - An individual in the innovation or technology profession.
• Health - An individual in the health profession as it relates to supporting a healthy lifestyle through physical activity by using a safe, multimodal transportation system.
• Community Champion - An individual who is a non-expert in the transportation industry, but is passionate about transportation mobility and accessibility.
In addition to the 15 at-large voting members, there will be non-voting Agency Members consisting of City departments and external agencies represented for technical input.
Non-Voting Members: Agency Members
• CoSA Transportation & Capital Improvements
• CoSA San Antonio Police Department
• CoSA Center City Development & Operations Department
• CoSA Planning
• CoSA Office of Equity
• CoSA Office of Innovation
• CoSA Office of Sustainability
• VIA Metropolitan Transit
• Joint Base San Antonio
Along with new member composition and focus on multimodal transportation, City department oversight of the TAB will transition from SAPD to TCI.
ALTERNATIVES:
The City Council Governance Committee could choose not to sunset the Transportation Advisory Board and not establish a new Transportation Advisory Board focused on multimodal transportation to include new member composition and City department oversight. However, the current TAB focus on private, for-hire transportation would remain and the City would not have a diverse advisory board composition focused on multimodal transportation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this briefing.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends forwarding this item for full City Council consideration.