Meeting_Body
SYSTEM SAFETY, SECURITY AND OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
Subject/Action
SUBJECT: RESPONSE TO MOTION ON AUTOMATED PUBLIC TOILETS AT EL MONTE STATION
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE status report on the Automated Public Toilets (APT’s) at El Monte Station, as requested in Motion 69 at the September 2015 Regular Board Meeting.
Issue
ISSUE
At the September 2015 meeting, the Board approved Motion 69 by Director Fasana, which asked staff to report back with information regarding the APT’s at El Monte Station. The information requested included: a) usage date for the APT’s, b) methodologies for monitoring usage and capacity needs, c) feasibility of additional restrooms, d) cost estimates for additional restrooms, and e) timelines for additional installations.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Metro’s new El Monte Station opened for revenue service in October 2012 and serves approximately 30,000 daily riders as the eastern terminus of the Metro Silver Line. As part of the original station construction, an APT consisting of two unisex stalls was installed in the lower concourse area for usage by our customers. The APT unit is a pre-fabricated structure manufactured by Exeloo, is automated for unit self-disinfecting (exclusive of routine daily unit and custodial maintenance), and cost approximately $400,000 to install. Unit maintenance consists of comprehensive servicing of the unit’s internal systems and resupply of paper products. Supplemental custodial maintenance involves additional inspection checks throughout the day.
Usage Information
Staff reviewed and analyzed monthly system reports provided by Exeloo, and also conducted 24-hour usage studies performed on three separate days at El Monte Station. The following information was obtained from the automated Exeloo reports:
• The APT’s are available 24 hours a day for the 24-hour bus service operated out of the El Monte Station.
• The APT’s average approximately 20,000 uses per month, with an average daily usage of approximately 400 uses.
• The majority of APT usage is between 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM, with daytime peaks between 7:00-8:00 AM, 12:00-1:00 PM, and 4:00-5:00 PM.
• The average usage time is just under two minutes.
According to the three separate 24-hour counts of people using the APT’s conducted at El Monte Station, our analysis suggests the following:
• The average queue waiting for a restroom between the peak usage time of 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM is 2 people
• In the AM peak (7:00-8:00 AM), the average queue is 1.25 people, and the average wait time in line is 2.3 minutes.
• In the PM peak (4:00-5:00 PM), the average queue is 2.25 people, and the average wait time in line is 2.7 minutes.
• Over three 24-hour days, the peak queue observed was 8 people, which only occurred twice over 72 hours. This suggests that peak queues are not consistent and only occur occasionally.
• Over three 24-hour days, the peak line waiting time was 9 minutes which only occurred once over 72 hours. This again suggests long waits above the average are rare and occur infrequently.
In summary, based on the usage rates observed from the Exeloo automated reporting and the three 24-hour counts conducted by Metro, it appears that the APTs are functioning well and in accordance with our expectations. With average queuing of 2-3 people, wait times of 2-3 minutes, and extremely rare occurrences of longer queues and waits, it would appear that there is no current need to install additional APTs or restrooms at El Monte Station
Methodology for Future Monitoring
Staff will continue monitoring the Exeloo reports on a quarterly basis to evaluate average daily and monthly usage, wait times, and peak usage timeframes. Further, staff will conduct physical APT usage counts from 5:00 AM to 8:00 PM once per year. This monitoring and physical counting will ensure that Metro is responsive to conditions at El Monte Station.
Feasibility of Additional Restrooms at El Monte Station
At El Monte Station, sewer capacity is available for additional restroom facilities. Metro staff has explored additional options for restrooms as APT’s are expensive to install and require approximately $130,000 per year in maintenance. Other low maintenance options are being reviewed and a different location within the station is also being considered.
Metro staff also explored the potential of adding public restrooms in the currently un-leased retail building at El Monte. Future leasing opportunities will be retail or convenience store in nature, and likely would not include a restaurant-type tenant. Given this, it has been determined that restrooms in the retail buildings would not be cost-effective or desired by Metro or prospective tenants.
Cost Estimates
An additional APT unit, such as the one already installed, would cost approximately $500,000 to install. An additional APT would also require a yearly maintenance commitment of $130,000 for unit maintenance and approximately $58,000 for up to 16 supplemental custodial service checks daily. Other options for units would cost approximately $150,000-$200,000 and would require similar maintenance commitment and expense.
Timelines
Should additional restrooms be required in the future and funding is made available, the restrooms could be procured and installed within approximately one year.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Staff will continue to monitor the automated Exeloo reports quarterly and will conduct physical usage counts once per year to further monitor usage of the public restrooms at El Monte Station.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Motion 69: Automated Public Toilets
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Timothy Lindholm, Executive Officer, Capital Projects, (213) 922-7297
Brady Branstetter, Director, Facilities Maintenance, (213) 922-6767
Chris Reyes, Transportation Planning Manager III, (213) 922-4808
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: James T. Gallagher, Chief Operations Officer, (213) 922-4424
