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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 09-06-2016-13-6 - Information Item - Safe Routes to School Plan Update INFORMATION ITEM 1 PLANNING & INSPECTIONS DEPARTMENT Craig N. Benedict, AICP, Director Administration 131 W. Margaret Lane (919) 245-2575 Suite 201 (919) 644-3002 (FAX) [ N :„itE" „ w„ VU a P. O. Box 8181 www.orangecountync.gov 1,t i i : �l1 A Hillsborough, NC 27278 lair "lii/r1 k�1��10y1117rifil y a nm � 000II0 � ,, /� „ a � �� G � M rig�ryIIi N i �; luu � � i „d e7,mow no Itr i 1111 , 6„ 114 u` lll�Ih"�M� 1 r r,, f1o0 urrr+r , I10"Of 11 Oo ,rr MEMORANDUM TO: Board of County Commissioners FROM: Craig Benedict, Planning & Inspections Director DATE: August 16, 2016 SUBJECT: INFORMATION ITEM — Safe Routes to School Plan Update The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Action Plan was adopted by Orange County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), Orange County Schools, and the Town of Hillsborough in 2014. This update includes a review of the Town's adoption of its Community Connectivity Plan, and the shift in funding program criteria over the past several years, resulting in the prioritization of urban settings and highway projects over bicycle and pedestrian projects. However, limited implementation of non-infrastructure projects may be possible with the participation and support of our Plan partners. The SRTS Plan was developed under the NC SRTS Program, with the goal of identifying improvements that make bicycling and walking to and from school a safe and healthy transportation alternative. The three schools included in the SRTS Plan are part of the Orange County school system, and all are located inside or adjacent to the Town of Hillsborough: • Grady A. Brown Elementary School (in the County's jurisdiction) • Cameron Park Elementary School (in the Town's jurisdiction) • C.W. Stanford Middle School (in the Town's jurisdiction) Eligible SRTS projects can be bundled as infrastructure and non-infrastructure. Funding can include training volunteers, building sidewalks, creating cross walks, making safety improvements, constructing bicycle lanes and pedestrian paths, etc. All projects must be within two (2) miles of a K-8 school. Obstacles to Plan Implementation Project Funding: Following adoption, and as recommended by the adopted Plan, a SRTS Action Plan Advisory Committee (APAC) was established that would be responsible for managing plan implementation. However, during this same time period there were some revisions to federal and state funding sources that impacted future funding resources for the Safe Routes to School program. Specifically, the federal Moving Ahead for Progress in 2 the 21st Century Bill (MAP-21) SRTS program direct allocation funds were removed. In lieu of these funds, MAP-21 authorized the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) to provide funding for programs and projects defined as transportation alternatives, including safe routes to school projects. The TAP program replaced the funding from pre-MAP-21 programs, including the SRTS program. Under the TAP program the federal share is the same as for the general federal-aid highway program: 80 percent Federal/20 percent State or local match. Also, to address the shift in funding programs, prioritized SRTS projects are included on the list of future year projects submitted to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Strategic Planning Office of Transportation (SPOT) scoring process. The metrics used to generate SPOT scores also evolved during this time frame and prioritized highway projects to a greater degree than other modes (such as bicycle, pedestrian and transit). Besides TAP funds there are other major program funds that may be used on bicycle and pedestrian improvements. However, the process is highly competitive and the metrics used to generate project scores prioritize urban settings and also favors highway projects to a greater degree than other modes: • Federal Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds - Although bicycle and pedestrian projects are eligible for STP funding, it is rare for these funds to be used for bicycle/pedestrian projects outside of major urban areas (where MPOs have direct control over STP funding, rather than NCDOT for RPOs). Therefore, in RPOs STP funds are typically used primarily for highway and bridge projects. Every two years NCDOT selects funded projects based on project scores through the SPOT process and other funding eligibility rules. • Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds — Funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and administered by NCDOT, CMAQ funds must be obligated in designated air quality nonattainment and maintenance areas (Orange County is a maintenance area). NCDOT issues calls for CMAQ projects through the MPOs and RPOs on a semi-regular basis. Projects must be included in a MPO transportation plan and transportation improvement program (TIP), or the current Statewide TIP in areas that are in an RPO. These funds can be used for engineering/design, right-of-way, utility, and construction costs of bicycle and pedestrian projects. CMAQ-funded projects are locally administered. Length of SRTS Plan Preparation Process/Consultant Scope/Hillsborough Community Connectivity Plan — The development of the Orange County SRTS Plan began in January 2010. Although the County Transportation staff, OUTBoard, and local SRTS committee were heavily engaged in plan development, the process and product were managed by a NCDOT consultant. Unfortunately, the consultant experienced significant delays, which resulted in a delay of the adoption of the Plan. During this period of delay, at almost the same time the Town of Hillsborough adopted the SRTS Plan in March 2014, they also adopted revisions to its Connectivity Plan that were not consistent with the SRTS Plan recommendations. The purpose of the Connectivity Plan is to provide specific recommendations to improve the pedestrian and bicycle environment in Hillsborough. While the sidewalk and bike lane recommendations contained in the SRTS Plan were acknowledged in the Connectivity Plan, they were not ultimately recommended as part of the Town's infrastructure network. From an implementation standpoint, the Connectivity Plan has replaced the SRTS Plan as the guiding document as it relates to Cameron Park Elementary School and C.W. Stanford Middle School. 3 Jurisdiction and Implementation of Infrastructure Projects The Town is responsible for the implementation of its Community Connectivity Plan. Priority projects related to Cameron Park Elementary School and C.W. Stanford Middle School include sidewalks, crosswalks, and bike lanes. Orange County Planning staff and NCDOT have identified recommendations related to Grady Brown Elementary School and Cedar Ridge High School as potentially viable projects in the SRTS Plan. These projects would include sidewalks along the New Grady Brown School Road frontage and along Orange Grove Road to Interstate 40, where these sidewalks would serve as receiving sidewalks for a pedestrian crossing across the interstate and into the Town's jurisdiction. If the County were to take steps towards this multi-phase project implementation, it would initially need to: • Contract or perform in-house engineering design of sidewalks, including an estimated cost of construction; • Obtain an easement encroachment agreement with NCDOT; • Enter into a mutually agreeable sidewalk maintenance agreement with the Town; • Enlist the schools as partners in the project planning; and • Acquire funding for the engineering and construction of the sidewalks, which would include a 20% local match, and seek competitive federal funds through the DCHC MPO; or fund the project through County funds. The interstate pedestrian overpass may become a more viable project following construction of the receiving sidewalks. Jurisdiction and Implementation of Non-infrastructure Projects Implementation of the SRTS Action Plan can also address non-infrastructure projects in the categories education, encouragement, enforcement, and evaluation. The Town and County would be responsible for implementing projects within their respective jurisdictions. Examples of these non-infrastructure project recommendations could include: • Integration of bicycle/pedestrian education into the class curriculum, including hands-on skills training such as simulated street crossings and bicycle handling drills/rodeos; • Start a comprehensive motorist/pedestrian/bicyclist safety campaign to create awareness of conflicts and safety behavior; • Begin a walking school bus program including a partnership of the school system, parents and members of the community, including law enforcement; • Begin mileage clubs/contests that can give children a sense of accomplishment; • Begin a crossing guard program; • Develop SRTS bicycle/walking maps; • Starting a Walk to School Day; and • Perform an update of the surveys identifying numbers of students walking and biking to school, or desiring to, and the key factors affecting parents' decisions to allow or disallow children to walk or bike to schools. 4 Many of these non-infrastructure projects cannot be fully implemented without the construction of the related infrastructure (sidewalks, bike lanes, cross walks, etc.). However, it may be possible for Orange County Schools to make some progress on some of these projects. Summary In summary, due to the Plan becoming partially obsolete, limited funding due to the revision in project criteria at the state level, and lack of any local matching funds, Orange County Transportation staff is at a standstill on implementation of infrastructure projects until such time as there is a revision of the funding landscape. However, should the Commissioners so direct, staff can provide support to Orange County Schools and/or the Town of Hillsborough if they decide to proceed with implementation of non-infrastructure projects.