* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. WELCOME TO FOCUS [00:00:01] ON ABILITIES, A PROGRAM [Focus on Abilities (#197): "Tim Mills - Director of Universal Accessibility, METRO"] ABOUT ISSUES AFFECTING THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. I'M LEX FREE. I'LL BE YOUR HOST FOR TODAY. I'M PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER, AND I DIRECT THE ILRU PROGRAM AT TIER MEMORIAL HERMAN, THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US TODAY. WE'VE GOT A VERY INTERESTING PROGRAM AHEAD, UH, BEFORE WE TAKE A BREAK AND THEN WE'RE GONNA COME BACK, I WANT TO ASK YOU THIS QUESTION, AND MAYBE YOU CAN FIGURE IT OUT DURING THE BREAK, BUT I DOUBT IT. HOW MANY BUS STOPS ARE THERE IN THE HOUSTON METRO AREA? HOW MANY BUS STOPS? UH, MAYBE THERE'S ONE NEAR YOU, BUT IT'S ONLY ONE. HOW MANY TOTAL ARE THERE? WE'LL GET THE ANSWER TO THAT BEFORE THE END OF TODAY'S PROGRAM. STAY TUNED. WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH FOCUS ON ABILITIES. THE FOLLOWING PROGRAM IS SPONSORED BY ILRU SOUTHWEST, A DA CENTER PROMOTING COMPLIANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT. YOU ARE WATCHING FOCUS ON ABILITIES. I'M LEX FRIEDEN, AND OUR GUEST TODAY IS TIM MILLS FROM THE HOUSTON METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY. UM, TIM, WELCOME TO FOCUS ON ABILITIES. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. UH, TIM, YOU, YOU WORK AT METRO, BUT BEFORE YOU EVER WORKED AT METRO, UH, YOU WERE A YOUNG PERSON. UH, DID YOU HAVE A DESIRE TO WORK FOR A TRANSIT AGENCY? AS I WORKED MY WAY THROUGH SCHOOL, I, I DID. SO BENCH ROW WAS MY FIRST JOB COMING OUT OF SCHOOL. WOW. UM, SO I'VE BEEN THERE FOR 20 YEARS NOW. SO WHEN YOU WERE A LITTLE KID, DID YOU HAVE LITTLE TOY BUSES THAT YOU PUSHED AROUND IN A SANDBOX? I'M SURE I DID, BUT IT WAS MORE SO THE OLDER I GOT, UM, GOING TO DIFFERENT CITIES, RIDING TRANSIT AROUND DIFFERENT CITIES, KIND OF OPENED MY EYES TO, YOU KNOW, AN AREA THAT I THOUGHT HOUSTON COULD, YOU KNOW, STAND A LITTLE NEED TO CATCH UP IN. AND, AND SO I WANTED TO COME. AND SO WHEN YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT THAT, AND THEN YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WHERE CAN I MATRICULATE, GO TO SCHOOL IN ORDER TO BE QUALIFIED TO DO SOMETHING, WHAT PROCESS DID YOU GO THROUGH? UM, I STARTED OFF AS A PHYSICS MAJOR AND ENDED UP AS A CIVIL ENGINEER. AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL, I THINK THE, THE DEEPER I GOT INTO SCHOOL, UM, OF, OF TRYING TO GET INTO THE, THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SIDE OF THINGS. WHERE, WHERE'D YOU STUDY CIVIL ENGINEERING? UH, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS? YEAH. DID IS THAT YOUR HOME, ST. LOUIS? NO, I GREW UP IN GALVESTON. SO YOU WENT FROM GALVESTON TO, UH, WASH U? YEP. . THAT'S GOOD. UH, THEY HAVE A TRANSIT SYSTEM IN, UH, IN ST. LOUIS. MM-HMM . I HAVEN'T BEEN PARTICULARLY IMPRESSED BY IT. YEAH. I WAS STILL RELATIVELY NEW WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL THERE. I KNOW THEY'VE DONE, UH, SOME EXPANSION SINCE I'VE, I'VE LEFT TOWN. SO WHEN YOU FINISHED SCHOOL, YOU RIGHT AWAY APPLIED TO METRO AND GOT A JOB? I INTERNED BETWEEN, UH, MY SENIOR YEAR AND WHEN I WENT BACK TO, TO GRAD SCHOOL AND AT METRO. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN I GRADUATED, I GOT HIRED INTO THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT AT, AT METRO. SO TIM, YOU, YOU AT METRO, YOU ARE NOW IN THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT. WHAT'S YOUR, YOUR TITLE EXACTLY? I'M THE DIRECTOR OF UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY. UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY. NOW. YES, SIR. THERE'S A, THERE'S A THOUGHT. UM, IS THAT THE JOB YOU TOOK WHEN YOU FIRST JOINED? NO, I STARTED OFF, I BELIEVE, AS AN ENGINEERING SPECIALIST, WORKED UP TO A PROJECT ENGINEER, PROJECT MANAGER, PROGRAM MANAGER, UH, CHIEF ENGINEER, AND THEN MOVED INTO THE UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY ROLE. SO WHAT WERE YOU DOING WITH THOSE OTHER ENGINEERING JOBS? UM, WORKED ON SEVERAL, YOU KNOW, IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROJECTS, WORKED ON THE, THE RAIL EXPANSION, UM, BUILD PARKING RIDES AND TRANSIT CENTERS. WORKED ON SOME BUS STOPS, UM, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING. DID YOU ACTUALLY DESIGN THE TRANSIT CENTERS AND THE, AND THE RAILWAY OR MANAGE A CONTRACTOR? WHAT WAS YOUR ROLE SPECIFICALLY? SO TYPICALLY FOR, YOU KNOW, IN DESIGNING A TRANSIT CENTER, WE WILL, WE WILL, YOU KNOW, CONTRACT THAT OUT AND THEN WE WILL OVERSEE THE, THE DESIGNERS AND THE, THE DESIGN OF THE TRANSIT [00:05:01] CENTER AND THEN OVERSEE THE CONTRACTORS, UH, YOU KNOW, DURING CONSTRUCTION. SO WE'VE DONE SOME GREAT NEW TRANSIT CENTERS. UM, WHAT'S THE, THE, I THINK THE ONE I'M THINKING ABOUT IS OUT NEAR, UH, I 10 AND SIX 10. YEAH. NORTHWEST TRANSIT CENTER. YEAH. I WAS THE, THE PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE DESIGN ON THAT ONE. OH, THAT'S BEAUTIFUL. YES. THAT, THAT INCLUDES PEOPLE. I, IT REALLY, PEOPLE OUGHT TO GO AND LOOK AT THAT, PARTICULARLY IF THEY'RE INTERESTED IN DISABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY, AND THAT IS THE BEST EXAMPLE OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN. I MEAN, YOU DON'T ACTUALLY GO, AS I RECALL, THERE'S NOT REALLY ANY RAMPS. YOU, YOU ACTUALLY SORT OF FLOW FROM THE PARKING LOT THROUGH TO THE, UH, THE BUS AREA. YEAH. AND THAT WHEN WE FIRST STARTED THAT DESIGN, THAT WAS RIGHT WHEN METRO WAS SHIFTING ITS FOCUS TOWARDS YOU, YOU KNOW, HAVING AN EMPHASIS ON ACCESSIBILITY. AND SO IT WAS DESIGNED, UM, YOU KNOW, AS YOU SAID, WITH WITH MINIMAL RAMPS THAT IF YOU GET DROPPED OFF IN THE PASSENGER DROP OFF AREA, YOU'RE ONE LEVEL ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE DRIVEWAY ONTO THE PLATFORMS, BETWEEN PLATFORMS, EVERYTHING IS, IS ONE LEVEL AND THE FACILITIES THAT ARE THERE ARE ALL TOTALLY ACCESSIBLE. THAT'S A, IT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE. THE, UM, BUT I DO KNOW THAT, UH, METRO'S MAKING CHANGES IN SOME OF THE TICKETING KIOSKS. ARE THOSE GONNA CHANGE THERE? UM, I DO NOT HAVE THE ANSWER TO THAT ONE. I GUESS MAYBE THE, UH, WE'RE GONNA START TAKING ALL KINDS OF FARES, SO THAT COULD, I SUPPOSE, AFFECT THE, UH, MACHINES THAT ARE BEING USED. UH, BUT I'M SURE THAT'LL BE DONE STATE OF THE ART, LIKE THAT TRANSIT CENTER. ANY OTHER TRANSIT CENTERS THAT ARE GOOD RECENT EXAMPLES? UM, THAT ONE IS PROBABLY THE, THE NEWEST ONE WE'VE BUILT FROM SCRATCH, OR NO, THAT WAS A, A, A REMODEL AS WELL. BUT, UH, ALSO WE DID THE DOWNTOWN TRANSIT CENTER. WE DID SOME IMPROVEMENTS THERE THAT YEAH. INCLUDED SOME ACCESSIBILITY COMPONENTS, AND THEN ALSO, UH, MAGNOLIA TRANSIT CENTER OUT ON THE EAST END. VERY NICE. SO YOU, YOU MANAGED THOSE PROJECTS AND THEN WHAT WITH THE RAIL? UH, SO WHEN I MOVED OUT TO THE RAIL, I STARTED ON THE NORTH LINE ON THE, THE RED LINE EXTENSION, AND THEN I, UH, JUMPED OVER TO THE GREEN LINE AND, UH, WAS A PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE S AND I BUILDING, UM, OUT THERE, UH, OFF OF HARRISBURG. AND THEN, UH, THEY BROUGHT ME BACK IN DOWNTOWN. AND NOW THE, THE GREEN LINE GOES ALMOST ALL THE WAY TO NFAS, UH, CORRECT. IT RUNS DOWN HARRISBURG. SO YOU'RE A COUPLE BLOCKS YEAH. SOUTH OF THERE. SO WHY DIDN'T WE RUN IT ALL THE WAY TO NFAS? THAT WILL BE A QUESTION FOR MY FRIENDS IN, UH, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, , AND, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE TO EXTEND THAT LINE. AND I THINK I'VE SEEN SOME PLANS THAT COULD EXTEND THAT LINE ALL THE WAY TO A HOBBY AREA DOWN TO HOBBY. CORRECT. THAT WAS PART OF THE METRO NEXT PLAN. WOW. I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT. UM, SO NOW YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR UNIVERSAL DESIGN, AND THAT INVOLVES MOSTLY BUS STOPS, RIGHT? CORRECT. SO BACK IN 2017, UM, WE AS AN AGENCY PUT A FOCUS ON ACCESSIBILITY. AND, AND ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THAT WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, BUILDING A PROGRAM THAT WOULD BRING ALL OF OUR BUS STOPS UP TO AT LEAST A DA COMPLIANCE. BUT AS PART OF THE UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY PORTION OF THAT, WE'RE SHOOTING FOR ABOVE AND BEYOND. SO WE'LL BE ACCESSIBLE FOR, YOU KNOW, ALL USERS. SO I I, WE OUGHT TO DRILL DOWN TO THAT, UH, IN A MINUTE. RIGHT NOW WE'RE GONNA TAKE A BREAK AND, AND, UH, PEOPLE PLEASE STAY TUNED. THIS IS A GREAT, UH, DISCUSSION WITH TIM MILLS. WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO FOCUS ON ABILITIES. THE INFLUX OF SO MANY PEOPLE ARRIVING HERE IN HOUSTON FROM AROUND THE WORLD IS VERY IMPACTFUL ON MY PALETTE AS WELL AS MY CANVAS AS AN ARTIST. ALL THE ART I WAS IN HOUSTON PROBABLY GOT ME SERIOUS ABOUT MAKING MY OWN GREASE AND WIPES CLOG PIPES. IN FACT, CLOGS FROM THESE ITEMS ARE THE MAIN CAUSE OF SEWER OVERFLOWS IN HOUSTON. LEARN MORE@PROTECTOURPIPES.ORG. THROUGHOUT THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC METRO HAS BEEN THERE FOR YOU GETTING MEDICAL CENTER EMPLOYEES AND OTHER ESSENTIAL WORKERS TO THEIR JOBS DURING LOCKDOWN. WE'RE ALSO IMPROVING YOUR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE FOR MORE FREQUENT CLEANINGS TO SECURITY MONITORS ON VEHICLES, WE'VE LAUNCHED FREE WIFI AND INSTALLED OVER 3000 NEW ACCESSIBLE BUS STOPS ALL TO MAKE YOUR RIDE BETTER. [00:10:01] VISIT RIDE METRO.ORG TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN DRIVE LESS AND DO MORE. THE KENNEDY BAKERY BUILDING IS SAID TO BE ONE OF THE OLDEST HAUNTS IN HOUSTON. ST. ARNOLD TEXAS'S OLDEST CRAFT BREWERY SHIPPED THEIR FIRST KEG OF BEER IN 1994. THIS IS FOCUS ON ABILITIES ON HTV. UH, TIM MILLS IS OUR GUEST, TIM. THE, UH, THE, THE, THE ROLE OF ENGINEERING IN DESIGN IS A UNIQUE ROLE THAT MOST PEOPLE, I DON'T THINK FULLY APPRECIATE OR UNDERSTAND. UM, WHEN YOU WENT TO SCHOOL, THEY DIDN'T TEACH YOU HOW TO DESIGN A BUS STOP, BUT THEY TAUGHT YOU HOW TO ENGINEER ONE, BASICALLY HOW, WHAT, WHAT IS THE, THE DISTINCT KNOWLEDGE THAT ENGINEERS HAVE THAT ORDINARY PEOPLE DON'T? UM, I, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE, THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF THE ENGINEERING, YOU KNOW, THE, THE MATERIAL PROPERTIES, YOU KNOW, THINGS OF THAT NATURE THAT GO, YOU KNOW, FEED INTO THE DESIGN. AND THEN THERE'S THE KIND OF REGULATE REGULATORY AND, AND CODE COMPLIANCE PIECE AS WELL THAT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THEN MELD INTO A, A DESIGN. SO CIVIL ENGINEERING, THAT'S YOUR CORRECT, YOUR FIELD , YOU HAD TO LEARN TO DESIGN BRIDGES AND FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH CONCRETE IT TOOK TO MAKE A BRIDGE AND HOW MUCH CONCRETE IT TOOK TO HOLD IT UP, AND HOW MUCH STEEL YES. THAT THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT YOU STUDIED IN SCHOOL. YES, SIR. AND, AND WITH THAT BASIC KNOWLEDGE, THEN, UH, YOU COULD APPLY THAT TO BUILDING AND I, I GOTTA SAY, WE TALKING ABOUT, UH, BUS STOPS YOU MUST HAVE DESIGNED FOR THE FEW THOUSAND THAT YOU'VE DONE. EVERY ONE OF THEM WAS ALMOST DIFFERENT. YEAH. SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GOT GOING WITH THE ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAM, WE DID WORK WITH THE CITY TO GET OUR A BUS STOP STANDARD INCLUDED IN THEIR DESIGN MANUAL, WHICH THEN ALLOWED, YOU KNOW, IF A THIRD PARTY DEVELOPER WAS DOING SOMETHING, THEY HAD SOMETHING TO POINT TO THEM THAT THIS IS WHAT A BUS STOP IS. BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, EARLY ON WE WOULD SEE A LOT OF THINGS WHERE SOMEONE WOULD DEVELOP A, A PROPERTY AND THEY JUST, THERE'D BE A BUS STOP THERE AND THEY WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING WITH IT. AND WE'D HAVE TO COME IN AND, AND TEAR UP, YOU KNOW, BRAND NEW SIDEWALK TO PUT IN A, A BUS STOP. SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S ANOTHER THING THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH OVER THE YEARS TO, YOU KNOW, HELP US BRING US, YOU KNOW, CLOSER TO COMPLIANCE THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM IS, IS GETTING OUR, YOU KNOW, THIRD PARTY, YOU KNOW, PARTNERS TO, YOU KNOW, HEY, IF YOU'RE DEVELOPING THE PROPERTY, PUT OUR OUR BUS STOP IN THERE TOO. SO IT IS, THE ISSUE OF COMPLIANCE IS ONE THAT'S INTERESTING TO ME. AND I THINK TO A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT THERE ARE, THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HAS STANDARDS ASSOCIATED WITH IT THAT DESCRIBE, UH, AND YOU TALKED ABOUT THE CITY'S DESIGN MANUAL, THAT A DA HAS A SIMILAR KIND OF STANDARDS THAT, UH, TELL, UM, BUILDERS AND, AND DESIGNERS WHAT THE MINIMUM, UH, OR WHAT THE MAXIMUM RAMP, UH, MIGHT BE AND, UH, WHAT THE MINIMUM DOORWAY, UH, CAN BE AND SO ON. AND I FIND IT, UH, INTERESTING THAT ALL TOO OFTEN ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGNERS WILL DESIGN ACCORDING TO THOSE STANDARDS WITHOUT RECOGNIZING THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO BEYOND THE STANDARDS. AND THAT'S WHAT I GUESS DISTINGUISHES UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY FROM STRICT COMPLIANCE. RIGHT. AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE, WE'VE PUT A, A, A FOCUS ON HERE AT THE AGENCY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS OF NOT JUST CHECKING THE BOX OF, YES, I HAVE THE MINIMUM, YOU KNOW, CLEARANCE, I HAVE THE MINIMUM SLOPE OF WHAT'S GONNA WORK BEST FOR EVERYONE. YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH SPACE THAT WE DON'T JUST HAVE A MINIMUM CLEARANCE OR A MINIMUM, YOU KNOW, SLOPE OR A, A MINIMUM RAMP WIDTH, THAT IF WE HAVE THE SPACE, IF WE HAVE THE THE ROOM TO DO IT, LET'S MAKE IT, YOU KNOW, USABLE FOR EVERYBODY. AND THAT'S, WELL, YEAH, IT'S INTERESTING TOO BECAUSE I MEAN, IF, IF I'M GOING THROUGH A, UH, A SPACE, LET'S SAY AT A BUS STOP AND I'VE GOT SOMETHING IN MY LAP THAT EXTENDS BEYOND THE WIDTH OF THE WHEELCHAIR, AND THAT THAT SHELTER IS RIGHT UP AGAINST AS CLOSE AS IT CAN GET TO THE EDGE OF THE, OF THE STOP WITHIN, YOU KNOW, THE 30 INCHES [00:15:01] THAT'S REQUIRED, UM, YET I'M EXTENDED MORE THAN THAT BECAUSE I'VE GOT SOMETHING IN MY LAP I CAN'T GET, GET AROUND THE CORNER, RIGHT? AND SO WE TRIED TO BUILD THAT IN TO OUR STANDARD DESIGN AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE WORK WITH ALL OUR DESIGNERS OF, YOU KNOW, HEY, IF YOU HAVE MORE SPACE IN THAT, YOU, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE MORE SPACE, THE BETTER. IT'S GONNA MAKE IT EASIER FOR, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE A CROWDED BUS STOP AND YOU GOT LOTS OF PEOPLE THERE. IT'S EASIER TO, TO MANEUVER AROUND FOR EVERYBODY. ONE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE SEE IN THE NEW STOPS IS ALSO IS UNDER THE SHELTER, THERE'S A SPACE SO THAT A WHEELCHAIR CAN GET UNDER THERE. UM, I RECALL IN A RAINSTORM, UH, ON A BUS ONE TIME PASSING BY PEOPLE WHO WERE WAITING ON THE NEXT BUS AND IT WAS RAINING AND THEY COULDN'T GET BACK IN THE SHELTER BECAUSE THE, THE BENCH WENT TO FULL EXTENT. MM-HMM . WE'VE FIXED ALL THAT NOW. CORRECT. UH, THAT'S, UH, OTHER IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE IN THOSE SHELTERS, UH, BUT THERE WILL BE A NEW GENERATION COMING SOON. CORRECT. SO AS WE'VE, YOU KNOW, PUT OUT 5,000 IMPROVEMENTS, UH, OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF PADS OUT THERE THAT CAN ACCOMMODATE A SHELTER. AND SO WE'VE, UH, BROUGHT ON A NEW SHELTER FABRICATOR, AND THEY'VE RECENTLY STARTED, UH, TURNING OUT NEW SHELTERS. AND SO THE, THE GOAL IS TO KIND OF BACKFILL SOME OF THOSE NEW PADS AND GET MORE AMENITIES OUT THERE. WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO, TIM, AFTER ALL THE BUS STOPS ARE, ARE UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE IN ALL THIS? ALL THE SHELTERS ARE INSTALLED. WELL, YOU KNOW, THE, THE LONGER THE PROGRAM GOES ON, YOU KNOW, THINGS ARE CONSTANTLY CHANGING IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT AWAY. EVENTUALLY WE'RE GONNA GET TO A SPOT WHERE IT'S LESS ABOUT LARGE SCALE PRODUCTION AND MORE ABOUT MAINTENANCE. BUT, YOU KNOW, IN A FEW YEARS WE'LL BE UP TO 10 YEARS AND WHO KNOWS WHAT CHANGED IT. A STAFF WE BUILT IN 20 18, 20 19, YOU KNOW, UTILITY COULD HAVE GONE IN, UM, YOU KNOW, COULD HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED BEHIND IT. AND THEY, THEY TORE IT UP. WE DIDN'T, YOU KNOW, KNOW ABOUT IT. AND SO IT'S AN EVER EVOLVING THING. I DON'T KNOW THAT WE WILL EVER GET TO 100% ON A SPECIFIC DAY, BUT EVENTUALLY I THINK IT'LL SCALE DOWN INTO A MORE OF A MAINTENANCE TYPE THING WHERE WE DO A SURVEY ONCE A YEAR. AND WE, WE'VE ALSO TALKED ABOUT AMENITIES THAT CAN BE ADDED TO THE SHELTERS, UM, COOLING SYSTEMS, UH, ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS. MM-HMM . SYSTEMS LIKE WE HAVE IN THE RAIL STATIONS, UM, POSSIBLY WHEELCHAIR CHARGING SPACES, ANY NUMBER OF THINGS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE. YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S, I KNOW WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT, LIKE YOU SAID, SOME, YOU KNOW, FANS IN, IN SHELTERS GET A LITTLE AIR CIRCULATION IN THERE. AND SAME THING WITH DIGITAL SIGNAGE. WE'VE, WE'VE STARTED TO GET A FEW OF THOSE OUT THERE AS WELL. SO. ALL RIGHT, WELL, WE'LL TALK MORE, UH, RIGHT AFTER THIS BREAK FROM FOCUS ON ABILITIES. STAY TUNED. I'M HERE WITH TIM MILLS. THIS IS FOCUS. WE ARE A CITY OF COLLABORATORS WHO BUILD ON ONE ANOTHER'S INSPIRATION, STRENGTHS, AND CULTURES TO SHAPE A FUTURE WE ALL CAN SHARE. TOGETHER, WE ARE MORE THAN 7 MILLION INGREDIENTS THAT MAKE SOMETHING THAT CANNOT BE DISCOVERED, TASTED, OR INVENTED ANYWHERE ELSE. COME ON, A MOVEMENT, A MOMENT, A FUTURE. COME ON. WE CANNOT WAIT TO MAKE TOMORROW TOGETHER. MOMENTS SHARED WITH LOVED ONES ARE PRECIOUS JOY ENCHANTMENT CONNECTION. IT'S WHY WE TRAVEL AT HOUSTON AIRPORTS. WE KNOW THE MAGIC OF FLIGHT BEGINS THE MOMENT YOU SECURE YOUR PARKING SPOT AND EMBARK ON YOUR JOURNEY. THAT'S WHY WE WORK SO HARD TO BRING YOU THE MOST CONVENIENT PARKING SOLUTIONS THAT ARE THE BEST FIT FOR YOUR TRIP. IF YOU'RE TRAVELING FOR BUSINESS OR LEISURE, WHETHER YOUR VOYAGE STARTS FROM BUSH INTERCONTINENTAL OR WILLIAM P. HOBBY AIRPORT, OUR PARKING TEAM AT VALET PARKING ECOPARK ECO PARK TWO OR TERMINAL PARKING IS HERE TO GIVE YOU A FIRST CLASS EXPERIENCE WITH A BIG TEXAS SMILE. WE ARE HERE FOR YOU TO ENSURE THIS MOMENT AND EVERY MOMENT IN BETWEEN WILL BE FILLED WITH GREAT MEMORIES THAT WILL LAST A LIFETIME. SO TRAVEL SMARTER, PARK SMARTER, AND GET MORE OF THE MOMENTS THAT MATTER. WE COULD START BY TELLING YOU HOW SLEEK IT IS, [00:20:01] HOW IT'S AT THE EDGE OF INNOVATION IN ITS INDUSTRY, THAT IT MAKES CONNECTIONS FASTER AND MORE CONVENIENT. WE COULD PROMOTE THE FACT THAT EVEN TRAFFIC SIGNALS GIVE IT THE GREEN LIGHT AND THAT IT MOVES SO QUICKLY. WE HAD TO GIVE IT ITS OWN LANE. OR YOU COULD JUST RIDE, DISCOVER WHERE THIS RAIL LIKE RIDE IS GOING NEXT. VISIT RIDE METRO.ORG/METRO. NEXT DUSK IS THE BEST TIME TO WATCH THE BATS TAKE FLIGHT FROM THEIR W BRIDGE HOME. WELCOME BACK. TIM MILLS IS HERE FROM METRO. UH, TIM, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THESE, UH, BUS STOPS AT THE TOP OF THE SHOW. WE ASKED HOW MANY BUS STOPS WERE THERE IN THE METRO SYSTEM. HOW MANY ARE THERE ROUND NUMBERS? THERE'S APPROXIMATELY 9,000 BUS STOPS IN THE ENTIRE METRO NETWORK. 9,000. YES, SIR. SO ANYBODY THAT CALLED UP 9,000 BEFORE WE ANSWERED THE QUESTION, I DON'T HAVE ANY PRIZES TO GIVE AWAY, BUT YOU CAN SHAKE YOUR HEAD AND PAT YOURSELF ON THE SHOULDER. THAT'S, THAT'S A LOT OF BUS STOPS. IT IS. AND THAT COVERS HOW MANY SQUARE MILES, I GUESS. HUNDRED SQUARE MILES. YEAH. SO I THINK 365 IS THE LAST NUMBER THAT I HEARD THAT IT'S A HUGE AREA AND WE HAVE BUSES, UH, BACK AND FORTH THROUGH THE COMMUNITY. AND THE TRICK FOR PEOPLE WHO WANNA RIDE THE BUS IS TO GET TO THE STOP AND BE ABLE TO USE IT. AND WE FIND THAT A LARGE PORTION OF THE PUBLIC THAT USES METRO ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENTS, OR THEY MIGHT BE PARENTS WITH, UH, UH, KITTIES IN A, IN A, UH, STROLLER. UH, THEY MIGHT BE WHEELCHAIR USERS, SCOOTER USERS, UM, PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIFFICULTY WALKING, MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF ISSUES THAT, UH, USERS HAVE THAT WE NEED TO ACCOMMODATE. SO, UH, BACK IN 2017, METRO IT, WELL, WE POINTED IT OUT, I GUESS, THAT THE A DA COMPLIANCE WAS LACKING ON MANY OF THESE BUS STOPS. THEY, THEY WEREN'T, YOU COULD NOT GET A WHEELCHAIR INTO THE BUS STOP AND THEN GET INTO THE BUS, NOT JUST BECAUSE THE BUS, IT WASN'T THE BUS, IT WAS THE STOP. I MEAN, YOU FOUND A LOT OF THOSE, I SUPPOSE. YEAH. SO WHEN WE, WE KINDA KICKED OFF THE ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAM BACK IN 2017. WE WENT OUT AND DID AN INVENTORY OF ALL OUR STOPS. AND, YOU KNOW, BACK THEN WE FOUND THAT 25% MET OR EXCEEDED THE, THE 88 STANDARDS AND THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, 75% OF THE SYSTEM WASN'T COMPLIANT. YEAH. AND, AND BY THAT, CAN YOU MAKE SOME DESCRIPTION OF THE NON-COMPLIANCE? UH, NON-COMPLIANCE CAN COME FROM A, A NUMBER OF THINGS. IT COULD BE THAT THERE'S NO CONNECTION TO THE SIDEWALK. YOU HAVE A, YOU A LANDSCAPE, YOU KNOW, GRASS BUFFER AND THEN SIDEWALK. THERE'S NO CONNECTION TO THE SIDEWALK. IT COULD BE THAT YOU HAVE A CONNECTION TO THE SIDEWALK, BUT YOU KNOW, A SLOPE IS WRONG. IT COULD BE THAT THERE'S NO SIDEWALK AT ALL IN THE AREA. YOU KNOW, THERE'S A MANY DIFFERENT THINGS THAT CAN AFFECT IT. YEAH. TWO THINGS THAT USED TO BUG ME. THERE WAS A TRASH CAN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SIDEWALK BEFORE YOU GOT TO THE BUS STOP. UM, SEEMS LIKE KIND OF A NO BRAINER, BUT IT HAPPENS. UH, THERE WERE BUS STOPS BUILT SO CLOSE TO THE CURB THAT A WHEELCHAIR COULDN'T GET AROUND IN FRONT OF THE, THE SHELTER WAS BUILT SO CLOSE TO THE CURB MM-HMM . THAT A WHEELCHAIR COULDN'T GET AROUND IN FRONT OF THE SHELTER TO GET ON THE BUS. UM, ANY NUMBER OF THINGS, I GUESS AS YOU SAID, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHAT, 6,000 BUS STOPS THAT WERE NOT EVEN COMPLIANT WITH A DA. SO WHEN YOU STARTED, WHEN YOU LOOKED AT THAT, WHEN METRO LOOKED AT IT, AND I GUESS THAT WAS LARGELY THE ENGINEERING TEAM, UM, YOU RECOGNIZED THAT THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY AND I KNOW MY OWN, AND TO BE PERFECTLY TRANSPARENT ABOUT IT, I HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN SOMETHING THAT I CAN DO ABOUT IT. SINCE I'M ON THE, UH, METRO BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND BACK THEN I WAS, I THINK ONE OF THE FEW WHO WERE ASKING, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO ABOUT THAT? BUT METRO TURNED A CORNER RIGHT AT THAT TIME AND STARTED TRYING TO EXCEED EXPECTATIONS, INCLUDING EXPECTATIONS FOR ACCESSIBILITY. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TABLE WAS SET, TIM WAS THERE, AND, UH, I GUESS AFTER THE SURVEY, THE FIRST THING YOU STARTED DOING WAS DESIGNING NEW, NEW STOPS. WELL, FIRST WE, WE WANTED TO TAKE A LOOK AT [00:25:01] HOW WE ADDRESSED THOSE STOPS WITH, WITH SUCH A LARGE NUMBER TO, TO BE ADDRESSED. HOW, HOW WOULD WE PRIORITIZE THOSE STOPS TO WHERE WE WOULD, YOU KNOW, MAKE THE BIGGEST IMPACT WHILE ALSO MAKING GOOD USE OF, OF METRO'S RESOURCES IN, IN BRING THOSE STOPS UP TO COMPLIANCE. SO WE, WE TOOK A LOOK AND, YOU KNOW, WITH YOUR HELP AND YOU KNOW, OTHER BOARD MEMBERS, WE CAME UP WITH A PRIORITIZATION SYSTEM THAT LOOKED AT, AT TRANSIT NEED FIRST OF, OF WHERE, WHERE THE TRANSIT WAS NEEDED MOST, AND THEN A SECOND SORT ON THAT WAS DONE BY RIDERSHIP. AND SO WE WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, GET THE, THE STOPS THAT WOULD HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT TO THE TRANSIT RIDERS, NOT JUST THE STOPS THAT HAD THE, THE HIGHEST RIDERSHIP. SO ONCE WE HAD THAT PRIORITIZATION, THEN YES, IT WAS STARTING DESIGN AND THEN MOVING ON INTO CONSTRUCTION AND JUST KIND OF WORKING OUR WAY THROUGH THAT, THAT PRIORITIZATION. ONE INTERESTING ASPECT OF THAT WAS THE, UH, SOME OF THE MOST DIFFICULT ONES TO ALTER, TO BRING UP TO CODE WERE ALSO SOME OF THE LEAST USED ONES. SO BY PRIORITIZING THE ABILITY TO FIX 'EM QUICKLY AND ADDRESSING THOSE THAT HAD THE LARGEST NEED, UH, YOU WERE REALLY HITTING TWO NOTES AT ONCE. CORRECT. BECAUSE LIKE YOU MENTIONED THAT SOME OF THOSE STOPS WITH LOWER RIDERSHIP, IT WOULD ALSO TAKE A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT TO BRING THAT STOP UP TO COMPLIANCE. SO OUT OF 9,000 WE'RE, WE'RE IN THE YEAR 2024, HOW MANY, UH, HAVE BEEN COMPLETED? UH, AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, WE COMPLETED OUR 5000TH, UH, BUS STOP IMPROVEMENT. SO WE HAVE 4,000 LEFT. WELL, SOME OF THOSE WERE EXISTING COMPLIANCE, SO OKAY, WE'RE DOWN TO PROBABLY A COUPLE THOUSAND. COUPLE THOUSAND. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE? THOSE ARE THE HARDEST ONES. SO RIGHT AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, THERE'S ABOUT A THOUSAND STOPS IN THE SYSTEM. THE, UH, WE, WE CATEGORIZE, CATEGORIZE THEM AS, AS PARTNERSHIP STOPS, STOPS WHERE YOU HAVE LONG STRETCHES WITH NO SIDEWALK OR OPEN DITCH, WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE WORK NEEDED TO BRING IT UP TO COMPLIANT IS A COMPLIANCE IS A LITTLE BIT MORE, YOU KNOW, ADVANCE AND, AND, AND BEYOND KIND OF METRO'S SCOPE OF WORK. AND SO THOSE ARE ONES THAT WE'LL NEED TO PARTNER WITH, YOU KNOW, THE CITY ON, WITH T ON AND, AND THE COUNTY ON. SO THOSE, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIZED TOWARDS THE END OF THE PROGRAM. UM, WE ARE GETTING THAT STAGE OF THE PROGRAM THOUGH, WHERE WE ARE STARTING TO GET INTO SOME OF THOSE AND, AND STARTING TO CONSTRUCT SOME OF THOSE, UM, OPEN DITCH BUS STOPS AND, AND PUTTING EQUIPMENTS OUT THERE. SO I WILL MAKE A NOTE AGAIN, FROM MY PERSONAL OBSERVATION EXPERIENCE, IS THAT PEOPLE WHO, UM, WHO CALL METRO WHO, WHO BRING UP A STOP THAT'S HARD TO GET TO FOR THEM AND THEY USE IT REGULARLY, THOSE, UH, FOLKS ARE GENERALLY HELPFUL IN MOVING THE PRIORITY. YES. AND, AND YOU KNOW, OVER THE YEARS WE'VE, YOU KNOW, HAVE DESIGNERS, YOU KNOW, UNDER CONTRACT, WE HAVE CONTRACTORS, YOU KNOW, READY TO GO. SO WE ARE A LITTLE MORE AGILE THAN WE WERE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROGRAM AND ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, SHIFTING RESOURCES AROUND. SO IF WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, MOVE A STOP UP THE LIST, WE, WE CAN DO THAT. ALRIGHT, WELL, TIM, I WANT TO THANK YOU ON BEHALF OF ALL THE DISABLED TRANSIT USERS IN HOUSTON AND OUR FAMILY MEMBERS AND OTHER PEOPLE WHO DEPEND ON US TO GET TO WORK AND, AND WHEREVER WE WANT TO GO. UH, BUT WE, WE APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORT AND THE TEAM'S EFFORT AND METRO'S EFFORT TO DO THAT. WE'VE GOT SOME OUTSTANDING ISSUES. UH, ONE OF THEM ARE THE SIDEWALKS NECESSARY TO SOMETIMES GET TO THE STOP. AND I KNOW YOU CAN GO A WAYS WITH THAT, BUT AT SOME POINT IT EXTENDS BEYOND METRO'S, UH, REALM OF RESPONSIBILITY AND WE HAVE TO DEPEND ON OTHER PARTNERS TO HELP WITH THOSE SIDEWALKS. SO FOLKS, IF YOU HAVE, UH, SIDEWALKS IN MIND THAT NEED TO BE REPAIRED, UH, I'D SUGGEST BEING IN TOUCH WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, UH, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, MOPD. UH, IF YOU NEED A DA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, CALL 1-800-949-FOUR 2 3 2. AND UH, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR WATCHING. FOCUS ON ABILITIES. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.