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From page 310... ... B‐14 Idaho Valley Regional Transit (VRT) Case Study: Boise City, ID Highlights: VRT, a small regional public transportation authority operating in Ada (Boise City) Read the entire page →
From page 311... ... B‐15 VRT's vision is a region with adequate and secure funding to support public transportation options designed to meet the needs of citizens and businesses and to support livable, healthy, and sustainable communities. Its organizational mission is to develop and manage transportation resources and to coordinate the effective and efficient delivery of safe transportation options to the region's citizens. Boise is considered a high desert area and its location shields it from most extreme weather patterns found in other states and regions in the United States. High heat, occasional flooding, strong winds, cold temperatures are the expected weather events for the communities. Therefore, VRT has not experienced a major disaster related to a natural or weather event to date. Consequently, VRT has not done severe weather planning. The agency's approach to severe weather is very practical: planners and operators know what roads are likely to occasionally flood and reroute the bus trips until the road is clear. Snow events of 10 inches or more are a rarity. VRT and its communities just close down when such a blizzard events occurs. Currently, emergency management governance is managed by the Executive Director, Director of Operations and the Chairperson of the Board. VRT works with the emergency management agencies in the area. The FTA's effort on resiliency for transit properties to extreme weather and the TCRP effort have prompted VRT to consider resiliency as a concept and planning in response to severe weather events. Sustainability has been the agency's major approach to VRT's emerging asset management program. The transit asset management program suggested by the FTA has VRT developing a regional policy and program for VRT and other public transportation providers in the two‐county region. VRT is prompted by financial issues that require maximizing the useful life of investments. The agency does some risk analyses and vulnerability assessments with respect to sustainability of the system, and in terms of planning for new services in the communities served. However, these analyses are more focused on financial issues and ridership. VRT is interested in learning about other transit efforts to be considered in future planning and service efforts, and how that may help them to be better prepared for severe weather planning. VRT's Severe Weather‐Related Conditions VRT's service area experiences occasional heavy rains, flash floods, flooding (foothill run off and snow melt,) extreme heat, high winds, extreme cold and snow/ ice, lightning, winter storms, and wildfires/dense smoke. Its natural disaster related conditions: occasional small earthquakes. Recent climate‐related events:  2015 saw record heat waves exceeding historical records for example Boise' June 2015 temperatures topped 106 degrees on a Saturday, breaking the previous record of 104, set in 1892, and on that Sunday, the 110 degree temperature broke the previous record of 102, set in 2010.  Severe thunderstorms in the foothills can result in flash flooding and mud slides. The peak season for thunderstorms are June ‐ September. Read the entire page →
From page 312... ... B‐16  High runoff can occur from the foothills from rapid snowmelt, especially when warm rain falls on existing snow pack. In these situations, flow rates may not rise rapidly but may last for several days or weeks.  Only twelve (12) Read the entire page →
From page 313... ... B‐17 The asset management program involves at least three elements:  Vehicle and infrastructure maintenance management system with inventories, conditions and life cycle and maintenance management;  SGR database, which includes a capital asset inventory and investment priorities; and,  Asset management planning that includes policies on how assets are to be maintained through the assets' life cycle. VRT is developing a full inventory system that is based, in part, on conversations with front‐line staff and divisions on critical asset areas. There are plans for the asset management system to identify vulnerabilities and risks. Capital Planning, Programming and Finance VRT receives no state revenues. For local revenue, VRT is dependent upon the voluntary annual contributions of the communities they serve. The majority of VRT's funding is from the Federal Government, followed by local grants and transit generated revenues. The local match is intended to match the federal funds and cover most of VRT's operating costs. The federal funding for VRT and its other services is a bit complicated and accounts for some of the elements of transit services being somewhat fractured:  Preventative maintenance budget for Boise and Canyon County is 80 percent federal to 20 percent local match;  VRT operating budget is 100 percent local for the large urban area, because Boise is too large a city to receive any federal operating assistance;  In contrast, Nampa receives federal funds up to 50% with a 50% local match for operations. Read the entire page →
From page 314... ... B‐18 Operations and Maintenance (O&M) With respect to questions 1 and 2 (agency having plans to harden infrastructure, like sand bags, and contingency plans to allow for re‐routing) Read the entire page →

From page 310...

... B‐14 Idaho Valley Regional Transit (VRT) Case Study: Boise City, ID Highlights: VRT, a small regional public transportation authority operating in Ada (Boise City)

Read the entire page →

From page 311...

... B‐15 VRT's vision is a region with adequate and secure funding to support public transportation options designed to meet the needs of citizens and businesses and to support livable, healthy, and sustainable communities. Its organizational mission is to develop and manage transportation resources and to coordinate the effective and efficient delivery of safe transportation options to the region's citizens. Boise is considered a high desert area and its location shields it from most extreme weather patterns found in other states and regions in the United States. High heat, occasional flooding, strong winds, cold temperatures are the expected weather events for the communities. Therefore, VRT has not experienced a major disaster related to a natural or weather event to date. Consequently, VRT has not done severe weather planning. The agency's approach to severe weather is very practical: planners and operators know what roads are likely to occasionally flood and reroute the bus trips until the road is clear. Snow events of 10 inches or more are a rarity. VRT and its communities just close down when such a blizzard events occurs. Currently, emergency management governance is managed by the Executive Director, Director of Operations and the Chairperson of the Board. VRT works with the emergency management agencies in the area. The FTA's effort on resiliency for transit properties to extreme weather and the TCRP effort have prompted VRT to consider resiliency as a concept and planning in response to severe weather events. Sustainability has been the agency's major approach to VRT's emerging asset management program. The transit asset management program suggested by the FTA has VRT developing a regional policy and program for VRT and other public transportation providers in the two‐county region. VRT is prompted by financial issues that require maximizing the useful life of investments. The agency does some risk analyses and vulnerability assessments with respect to sustainability of the system, and in terms of planning for new services in the communities served. However, these analyses are more focused on financial issues and ridership. VRT is interested in learning about other transit efforts to be considered in future planning and service efforts, and how that may help them to be better prepared for severe weather planning. VRT's Severe Weather‐Related Conditions VRT's service area experiences occasional heavy rains, flash floods, flooding (foothill run off and snow melt,) extreme heat, high winds, extreme cold and snow/ ice, lightning, winter storms, and wildfires/dense smoke. Its natural disaster related conditions: occasional small earthquakes. Recent climate‐related events:  2015 saw record heat waves exceeding historical records for example Boise' June 2015 temperatures topped 106 degrees on a Saturday, breaking the previous record of 104, set in 1892, and on that Sunday, the 110 degree temperature broke the previous record of 102, set in 2010.  Severe thunderstorms in the foothills can result in flash flooding and mud slides. The peak season for thunderstorms are June ‐ September.

Read the entire page →

From page 312...

... B‐16  High runoff can occur from the foothills from rapid snowmelt, especially when warm rain falls on existing snow pack. In these situations, flow rates may not rise rapidly but may last for several days or weeks.  Only twelve (12)

Read the entire page →

From page 313...

... B‐17 The asset management program involves at least three elements:  Vehicle and infrastructure maintenance management system with inventories, conditions and life cycle and maintenance management;  SGR database, which includes a capital asset inventory and investment priorities; and,  Asset management planning that includes policies on how assets are to be maintained through the assets' life cycle. VRT is developing a full inventory system that is based, in part, on conversations with front‐line staff and divisions on critical asset areas. There are plans for the asset management system to identify vulnerabilities and risks. Capital Planning, Programming and Finance VRT receives no state revenues. For local revenue, VRT is dependent upon the voluntary annual contributions of the communities they serve. The majority of VRT's funding is from the Federal Government, followed by local grants and transit generated revenues. The local match is intended to match the federal funds and cover most of VRT's operating costs. The federal funding for VRT and its other services is a bit complicated and accounts for some of the elements of transit services being somewhat fractured:  Preventative maintenance budget for Boise and Canyon County is 80 percent federal to 20 percent local match;  VRT operating budget is 100 percent local for the large urban area, because Boise is too large a city to receive any federal operating assistance;  In contrast, Nampa receives federal funds up to 50% with a 50% local match for operations.

Read the entire page →

From page 314...

... B‐18 Operations and Maintenance (O&M) With respect to questions 1 and 2 (agency having plans to harden infrastructure, like sand bags, and contingency plans to allow for re‐routing)

Read the entire page →

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