Kamp noted that the proposal arose from recommendations in the Transit Development Plan (TDP) that the Commission approved. Drew Beck of Metro summarized the proposal.

• Many routes were overcrowded and had issues maintaining their schedules so that riders could make connections at transfer points. With more passengers, more people were getting on/off, further delaying things and producing a cascading effect of later buses and more lost connections at the ends of the routes.
• Related to this was feedback from current and potential riders saying that they would ride the bus (more) if it didn't take so long to get places on the bus.
• One option was to space out the bus stops a little more than they were.
• On Johnson/Gorham currently, bus stops were spaced approximately an 1/8th of a mile apart, virtually every block.
• Staff was recommending that the stops be every other block, utilizing the signalized intersections (such as Ingersoll, Paterson) and placing the stops beyond the intersection, which got the bus through the intersection and made it easier for buses to get back out into traffic by waiting for the light to change.
• Metro had met with Alder Zellers and the Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood Association, where feedback was generally positive. Even some of those who rode shorter distances thought this sounded like a good idea.

Mike Cechvala of the MPO, said that bus stop consolidation was a major recommendation of the TDP. (See Metro memo attached.) This proposal followed up on that; with the main purpose to make bus service faster, more reliable and more atttractive, and not have so many missed connections at the ends of the line.

When asked by Bergamini, Beck said that the three existing stops on E. Gorham along James Madison Park were left untouched, because the proposal was pinned to the upcoming Johnson Street reconstruction project, and they had narrowed their focus to the corridor east of Blair. These stops were not part of the coverage area for the project. Bergamini suggested that they might consider dropping one of the stops. In later discussion, Beck said the stop on Gorham and Hancock was used only by routes that bypassed the Square, and the stop on Hamilton left off Gorham was used by buses going up to the Square.

Bergamini suggested that if Metro hadn't yet done so, they might want to talk to people at Yahara House (at Livingston and Gorham), which served a lot of people with disabilities. She thought they might find they'd want to keep the Livingston stop and remove the next stop at Blount instead. Beck said that during the construction, new pads would be poured on Johnson Street (at the far side stop locations). There would be no improvements at existing stops. Gorham was part of the pilot, and if there were enough outcry, they could open one up again.

Beck said the plan "on paper" was to implement the proposal at the start of the Fall semester; but the stops wouldn't be in operation until later when construction was over and they were back on their regular routes. Existing shelters at stops (on Gorham) would remain.

Golden/Schmidt made a motion to approve the proposal. The motion passed by voice vote/other
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