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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOUTBoard minutes 0816171 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 Approved 9/20/2017 DRAFT MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY OUTBOARD AUGUST 16, 2017 REGULAR MEETING MEMBERS PRESENT: Heidi Perry (Chair), At -Large Representative; Art Menius, At -Large Representative; David Laudicina, Cheeks Township Representative; Alex Castro (Vice- Chair), Bingham Township Representative; Ted Triebel, Little River Township Representative; Alyson West, At- Large; Jenn Sykes, At- Large; Erle Smith, Chapel Hill Township Representative; Donna Musson, Eno Township Representative; Ed Vaughn, Cedar Grove Township Representative; MEMBERS ABSENT: Jeff Charles, At -Large Representative; Brantley Wells, Hillsborough Township Representative; Gary Saunders, At -Large Representative; Justin Miller, At- Large Representative. TRANSIT ADVISORY SERVICES MEMBERS PRESENT: Janet Sparks, Child Support Director; Janice Tyler, Aging Director; Lisa Berley, Transportation Specialist; Serena McPherson, Administrative Services Supervisor (DSS). STAFF PRESENT: Abigaile Pittman, Transportation /Land Use Planner; Peter Murphy, Transportation Administrator; Theo Letman, Transit Director; Meredith Kern, Administrative Assistant. OTHERS PRESENT FOR TRANSIT ADVISORY SERVICES: Rachel McCook, Minutes Preparer. AGENDA ITEM 1: CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Heidi Perry called the meeting to order. Ms. Perry asked the Board and Staff to introduce themselves. AGENDA ITEM 2: APPROVAL OF MINUTES JUNE 21, 2017 MEETING Art Menius pointed out a misspelling on line 127. MOTION by Heidi Perry to approve the June 21, 2017 OUTBoard Minutes with the correction. Seconded by Alex Castro VOTE: UNANIMOUS AGENDA ITEM 3: CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONS TO AGENDA Heidi Perry noted two additions to the agenda. She requested that members of the Bicycle Safety Implementation Subcommittee decide on a good meeting time (Item 6.a.). She also added a discussion item on lowering the speed limit under item 7.d., in regards to Orange County bridge improvements. AGENDA ITEM 4: SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS Abigaile Pittman said that Staff had no Special Presentations. AGENDA ITEM 5. TRANSIT SERVICES /ORANGE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION (OPT) AGENDA ITEM 5A. OPT QUARTERLY OPERATIONAL UPDATES (THEO LETMAN, PETER MURPHY) Approved 9/20/2017 53 Peter Murphy began the presentation. He reviewed the Quarterly Operational Update which corresponded with a 54 presentation projected onto the screen in the room. Mr. Murphy explained that Staff had collected more ridership 55 data over the past six months, since the last quarterly update, showing a comparison from last year's ridership 56 numbers. The total ridership last year was 55,413 riders. Ridership grew to 61,297 riders this year, even with fewer 57 hours on the fixed routes of the Hillsborough Circulator and the Hill -to -Hill Shuttle. There was growth in ridership on 58 both of these routes in FY2016 -2017. The major 2015 change in the Hill -to -Hill route increased the hours from 3 59 hours /day to 12 hours /day, which changed the tracking. However, Staff tracked passengers in a "per hour served" to 60 maintain a proper comparison. The Circulator has 8 to 9 passengers per hour compared to peer counties, which see 61 a ratio of 3.6 passengers per hour. The Hill -to Hill -is less than that but is still growing, especially once the "Go Pass" 62 was added in September 2016, resulting in increased passengers (over 2 passengers per hour). Staff expects these 63 numbers to grow. Mr. Murphy said that due to consolidations, fixed route transit services are running fewer hours with 64 more passengers per hour during operation. Mr. Murphy went through various graphs and charts on passenger data. 65 66 Art Menius said that he was curious about the big spike in passengers on the Circulator in February and wondered 67 if Peter Murphy knew why this happened. 68 69 Peter Murphy responded that he has not looked into it yet. 70 71 Art Menius replied that he hoped there would be a spike again. 72 73 Peter Murphy said that the department had planned more services for a long time but not all of them have been 74 implemented. As an update, Staff is interviewing drivers now. They plan to roll out services in the order presented 75 on the slide in the presentation (Efland Hillsborough Commuter Loop, Orange Alamance Connector (mid -day US -70 76 service), and Rural Zonal routes). 77 78 Abigaile Pittman asked if everyone remembered the Rural Zonal routes. 79 80 Alex Castro asked Staff how they are marketing the routes and how they are alerting the public online that new 81 routes are coming. 82 83 Peter Murphy answered that once they have a set date, the information will be publicized. He said that Staff would 84 discuss media, marketing, and the new logo later in the presentation. 85 86 Jenn Sykes asked for more information on the Rural Zonal routes. 87 88 Peter Murphy said that Rural Zonal routes are deviated fixed routes set to go 2 days a week into different sections 89 of the County (northeast, northwest, southern zones, etc.) on certain days of the week. Riders can also call and 90 schedule a ride 2 days in advance for a discounted rate. This is adding more services to rural areas that do not 91 currently get service, except for rural residents that use transit to make medical trips. 92 93 Peter Murphy continued the presentation by turning it over to Theo Letman. 94 95 Theo Letman presented staffing information. He said the department was able to get more staff positions approved 96 through this year's budget. Now there are 5 full time bus driver positions added to the total operator roster. Staff is 97 continuing to interview candidates and plans to finish hiring new drivers by the end of the month. New drivers are 98 going through orientation and training for the new routes and regular service. Mr. Letman said that when he first 99 came to Orange County, he noticed that there was no official Transit Dispatcher position. Instead, there were 100 drivers that were assigned to do dispatching work, which causes internal conflict. The Board of County 101 Commissioners (BOCC) just approved a Transit Dispatcher position, classified as a supervisor level position 102 dedicated to operations. Additionally, through a transit - demand grant, Brennan Bouma secured funding for a Transit 103 Demand Coordinator position. The person in this role will provide transit options to the public by educating the 104 community and marketing the department's services. It will be housed out of the Orange Public Transportation 2 Approved 9/20/2017 105 Department. The Transit Demand Coordinator position is common in most transit departments and is often funded 106 through a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant. 107 108 Heidi Perry asked if they had trouble filling the bus driver positions. 109 110 Theo Letman said they have had no trouble filling the positions. There were actually more applications received 111 than in recent periods. They were able to screen -out people who did not have CDLs. Mr. Letman explained that one 112 of his plans includes reducing the size of the vehicle they purchase in the future so that the department can hire 113 people who do not have CDLs. He explained that finding good bus drivers with CDLs is a nationwide problem. If 114 there is a candidate with a good driving record but does not have a CDL, they can train them. Good drivers tend to 115 stay where they are. 116 117 Heidi Perry asked if the other two positions had been filled already. 118 119 Theo Letman responded that the Transit Dispatcher position will be filled in the next couple of weeks. The Transit 120 Demand Coordinator position has been posted and the application period is still open. 121 122 Alex Castro asked if Mr. Letman now has the software needed for dispatch and other functions. 123 124 Theo Letman answered that Staff is reviewing 2 software packages. Peter Murphy has helped get the CTS software 125 update through procurement. It's used for scheduling. Staff will also be getting tablets to increase efficiency and to 126 use for GPS for navigation. The other software package is being finalized with the Legal Department and focuses 127 on transit planning. It will be used for the deviated routes, like the Rural Zonal routes. The software will tell the 128 department where their passengers are and where they want to go, using relevant data. This useful tool not only 129 helps plan routes but it also can help determine where riders would be. 130 131 Alex Castro said that the existing system is labor intensive and the software will give better information without 132 burdening the drivers. 133 134 Theo Letman agreed that the software will help with data collection, heavy paperwork, and analysis. 135 136 Peter Murphy continued the presentation and discussed vehicle replacement. The department got 3 new buses. It 137 is taking some time to get them on the road because of a few minor problems. These buses will be used under the 138 fixed routes, based on the grants tied to them. The plan is for them to be on the Hill -to -Hill shuttle and Hillsborough 139 Circulator. He echoed Mr. Letman's recommendation of buying smaller vehicles, that are easier to maneuver on dirt 140 roads and driven by an operator without a CDL. If a driver is handling a vehicle for less than 14 riders, the driver 141 does not need a CDL. If the driver later needs a CDL, the department can assist with the training and upgrade. 142 143 Alex Castro asked if the smaller vehicles would still be handicap accessible. 144 145 Theo Letman answered that it is a requirement by the FTA for all of their vehicles to be handicap accessible. 146 147 Peter Murphy elaborated that the smaller vehicle would still be a true transit vehicle; they have the layout like a 148 larger bus and are less expensive. 149 150 Heidi Perry asked about the size of these smaller buses. 151 152 Peter Murphy answered that the smaller vehicle would be able to accommodate 10 to 14 passengers, like a Ford 153 transit vehicle or similar to a utility vehicle. They will have ramps or lifts for passengers using wheelchairs or others 154 needing assistance to get onboard the vehicle. 155 156 Theo Letman added that smaller vehicles tend to be easier to work on (maintenance). 157 3 Approved 9/20/2017 158 Peter Murphy continued the presentation. He said that Staff will be working on the CTS software upgrade. It took a 159 long time for sign -offs on the software review but everything has been approved. This upgrade includes the addition 160 of a Medicaid batch - filling module which goes along with EMT Medicaid billing and will cut down on steps. Staff put 161 in for a grant to cover the cost of this module, which NCDOT awarded to the department at 100 percent. The 162 department will begin doing its billing through NC Tracks. 163 164 Ted Triebel asked who submitted the grant. 165 166 Peter Murphy answered that Staff submitted the grant application. 167 168 Ted Triebel said that the department ought to be commended for that. Good job. 169 170 Peter Murphy thanked him. 171 172 Jenn Sykes asked if there is still funding in the budget for part time help with Medicaid billing and the software. 173 174 Theo Letman answered that no, they are going to work on it with the staff they have but hope to have assistance 175 next year. 176 177 Alex Castro asked about maintenance and if the department works within other Orange County departments on 178 mechanic issues. How does this work? 179 180 Theo Letman answered that Orange County Motor Pool maintains their vehicles. They are in -line with EMS vehicles 181 and Sheriff's Department vehicles. This is a limited service. The department also does outside service repair. Many 182 of their vehicles are still under warranty or towards the end of the warranty period, so these vehicles are often 183 serviced by dealerships and other maintenance shops. 184 185 Alex Castro asked if the department has enough spare vehicles to help maintain operations if there is a major 186 maintenance issue. 187 188 Theo Letman answered that they have a slight spare ratio for keeping the maximum amount of vehicles on the 189 road, but it is challenging, especially during the summer when air conditioning has to run all the time, causing 190 vehicles to go down more frequently. The department is working with NCDOT to have more reliable vehicles and to 191 replace more vehicles on schedule. Mr. Letman has noticed that on average, vehicles are 7 years -old. There were 192 some misunderstandings about when replacement should happened, based only on mileage. However, the 193 regulations say that replacement should be based on number of years or mileage a vehicle is in service. Mr. 194 Letman is trying to get vehicles maintained faster by basing replacement on years in service. 195 196 Peter Murphy spoke about REMIX Software. Staff can put a route into the system and the software will report how 197 many people are within certain distance to the route (similar style to Google Maps), their economic background, 198 how many households are without a vehicle, and other such data that has been merged from a number of sources, 199 including Census data. This is a good tool for route - building. 200 201 AGENDA ITEM 5A. REMANDING AND MARKETING EFFORT (THEO LETMAN) 202 203 Theo Letman reviewed the Rebranding item. He said that Staff is looking forward to the re- marketing and rebranding 204 of service and the transit fleet. The goal is to create more identity for the County's transit services and to address 205 feedback from BOCC members and community members requesting more information on the extensive services. 206 The department collaborated with the County's Community Relations Department and came -up with a new logo 207 (shown in presentation). The acronym of "OPT" is proposed to be replaced with "Orange County Public 208 Transportation." Mr. Letman explained that the department will be rolling -out the new logo with the new buses. 209 F. Approved 9/20/2017 210 Alex Castro asked about how Orange County, NC, sets itself apart from other "Orange Counties" all over the 211 country. Is there a need to protect this with a copyright? 212 213 Theo Letman explained that NCDOT requires that "public transit" is explicitly labeled on all public transit vehicles. 214 Orange County Public Transportation will also have the label "public transit" on the vehicle, and Mr. Letman does 215 not think that there will be any confusion about the vehicles being from Orange County, NC. 216 217 Heidi Perry said that Chapel Hill's buses are labeled "Chapel Hill Transit." 218 219 Peter Murphy added that the buses just have to be labeled in such a way that it implies that they are for the public. 220 221 Heidi Perry commented that the bus is not just used as one community's bus. 222 223 Theo Letman agreed and said that making the "public" part clear is a NCDOT regulation. 224 225 Art Menius said that he liked how the department was proposing to make it "Orange County Public Transportation" 226 instead of continuing the acronym. 227 228 Theo Letman said that the department is changing the uniforms and other gear to reflect the new name. 229 230 Alex Castro asked for clarification regarding the new name — is it Orange Public Transit or Orange County Public 231 Transportation? 232 233 Theo Letman said that the new name is proposed to be "Orange County Public Transportation" but "Public Transit" 234 will be put on the side of the vehicles. 235 236 Jenn Sykes asked about if painting the buses orange for branding would be financially feasible. 237 238 Peter Murphy said that the department had one orange bus, but there were lots of ideas kicked around with the 239 media department staff about what would work the best for the rebranding. NCDOT provides white buses and they 240 will pay up to $500 for the lettering on the buses. NCDOT has specific requirements about what has to be on the 241 bus: the phone number has to be on both sides of the bus and the name has to be clearly written (no acronym). 242 Painting the buses would be out of the County's budget. 243 244 Heidi Perry said that it took Chapel Hill a long time to get its website address www.chtransit.com. Is there a quick 245 timeline for Orange County Public Transportation's website? 246 247 Theo Letman responded that Staff has been working with Jim Northrup in IT. It is going to be an easier web 248 address and the site will include places for public comment, scheduling information and other important 249 components. 250 251 Alex Castro asked if Orange Public Transit can connect electronically to Chapel Hill Transit or Go Triangle and if 252 the County is going to be a part of that consortium. 253 254 Peter Murphy answered that the consortium to which he is referencing is tied to a call center, and the County's 255 transit services are not part of that. Since the bulk of the County's calls are not for fixed -route transit, the call center 256 model does not fit with most callers' needs at this point in time. Many calls from Orange County riders are for 257 medical transportation services, which take more detailed knowledge and time and are handled by County staff. As 258 fixed route transit grows in the County, the call center system may be considered. Currently, Orange County bus 259 routes are on Google Maps, which will also show Chapel Hill Transit and Go Triangle routes, and shows how to 260 connect to a stop, including the walking distance. Orange County is also tied into Go Triangle's mapping system 261 and is continuing to work with their partners. 262 5 Approved 9/20/2017 263 Theo Letman added that he has been talking with partners at MPO meetings about connectivity and how it is hard 264 for riders to navigate to Durham and Raleigh and other local destinations, and how everyone should work together 265 to do a better job at connecting and helping with the commutes for riders. Mr. Letman shifted the discussion to a 266 new brochure (see presentation) and drew attention to efforts over the next month - and -a -half to market the 267 rebranding with the help of the media department, radio, public television, and other outlets. 268 269 Alex Castro requested large font size on their advertising. 270 271 Alyson West asked if the department was connected to any app services. 272 273 Theo Letman answered that as the department expands its resources in the future, Staff hopes to include apps 274 (subscription packages). 275 276 Ted Triebel asked if along with the new roll -out, if Staff set any specific goals for new ridership? 277 278 Theo Letman said that they want more riders. 279 280 Ted Triebel elaborated and asked if the department was setting -out objectives and timelines to help figure out 281 where they are headed. He urged the department to have some concrete goals. 282 283 Theo Letman said that he hesitated to answer the question because there must be an order to things; first, the 284 department needs to understand where it is, in this point in time, to know where it is going. Because the department 285 has been using more old- school methods to collect data, it appears that much of its data is not accurate. Staff is 286 scrubbing the data now and is implementing new methods for data gathering. There are also requirements from the 287 FTA that track what the department is doing, like ridership numbers, mileage and other related indicators. Once the 288 department establishes this baseline, they will establish targets for the future. Mr. Letman said that this is a fluid 289 process, especially when they are adding new service and that they do plan to expand ridership, but that he could 290 not say what that would look like right now. 291 292 Erle Smith questioned if goal setting is dependent on the department's current numbers. He suggested that the 293 department could look at similar systems in similar situations (i.e. percentage coverage by particular area) and base 294 goals on that. By looking at current numbers and similar systems, two goal- setting measures could operate 295 simultaneously. 296 297 Theo Letman responded that if the department had a good comparable service, perhaps those measures could be 298 considered, but Orange County is unique; this is a huge rural area. Orange County cannot compare to Durham or 299 Raleigh. Orange County is just coming into fixed routes. Alamance County is just starting its service but with 300 Burlington they have an even larger urbanized area than Orange County. It is a hard comparison. 301 302 Erle Smith suggested that if Staff opened the aperture and examined the flyover states, they may find some areas 303 that are common with the situation here. 304 305 Theo Letman responded that he thought that could be possible. 306 307 Erle Smith said that he agrees with Ted Triebel about the importance of goal- setting and that if the department does 308 not yet know where it's going, and how it get there. 309 310 Peter Murphy revisited the slide presentation on passenger count comparisons. Passengers - per -hour is compared 311 with similar peer counties (about 15 counties out of 100 counties statewide), a grouping by NCDOT. The 312 department does compare there and based on this, the target for passengers is 3.6 per hour. The County is above 313 that across the board. Staff wants the Hill -to -Hill route to be at 3.6 passengers per hour. It will take a couple of 314 years for the department to get to this goal. 315 6 Approved 9/20/2017 316 Heidi Perry asked about the passengers - per -hour average and goal. She commented that Orange County is right 317 below the 3.6 goal at 1.6 or so. 318 319 Peter Murphy said that on the Circulator, they have 8 passengers - per -hour; on the Chapel Hill route, they are 320 regularly at 2 passengers - per -hour, except during the summer when passengers drop below 2 per hour due to 321 students and workers not using transit services when the university is not in full session. On this route, the 322 department has still watched this passenger - per -hour number grow from 1.29 to 2 passengers - per -hour, hovering 323 over 2 passengers - per -hour at the end of this past school year, getting closer to the 3.6 target. When the 324 department looks at its entire service, they are higher than the 3.6 as a whole, when averaged. NCDOT's 325 comparisons with the other 14 counties put Orange County over the average of 3.6 passengers - per -hour but the 326 County is still working to make things better where applicable. 327 328 Alex Castro asked if OPT has a way to connect passengers to a common bus stop. He said that the Maxway 329 Center used to be used as a place to connect OPT passengers with Go Triangle or Mebane. Alex Castro asked if 330 the County has connectivity with other service providers at this point, and if there is a common bus stop or a 331 common point where someone coming in on the County's system can get on to another system's transit services. 332 333 Peter Murphy said that the loss of the Maxway Center did hurt OPT services. Since then, the department has 334 revamped its timing so that it will correspond with others services. Some new services will meet -up at Durham Tech 335 Community College so that riders can transfer to another bus. 336 337 Theo Letman said that there are some bus stop improvements on US 70 with park and ride services. 338 339 Alyson West said that she thought it made sense to not set goals unless the department has the data it is putting 340 together. She also noted that the use of the ReMIX software will help show patterns that Staff may not have 341 expected, and then when the department is ready to set goals, they will be able to focus their resources and use 342 them wisely to get to where they want to go, instead of setting them in the abstract. 343 344 Jenn Sykes added that goal- setting is not just the total ridership count or the like, but that if a lot of the use is 345 around ensuring that people get to medical services, making sure the alternatives for that reduce the amount so 346 citizen rides can go down and bus rides can go up. There are more people engaging with the systems at UNC or 347 Duke. The metric may not come out as the total number of riders but in other changes like people calling Social 348 Services to come out to their houses. 349 350 Theo Letman said that there are a number of quality performance indicators (APIs) that Staff considers to best 351 match riders with the County's resources. 352 353 Jenn Sykes said that it is important to look outside just the transit point of view to determine advocacy for services. 354 355 Theo Letman showed an example of a regional bus stop with the new logo on the bus stop sign. 356 357 Peter Murphy added that the bus stop sign example shows how Go Triangle is adding the County's new logo and 358 phone number to the information on the shared bus stop sign, so that coordinating the transit services are centered 359 on one bus stop sign instead of 3 different ones. 360 361 Alex Castro asked if the bus stop signs could show arrivals times for buses. 362 363 Theo Letman said that the bus stop schedules are in new bus stop sign holders at the stops. 364 365 Heidi Perry asked that sign holders at bus stops be placed at more accessible heights. 366 367 David Laudicina spoke about his recent experience riding the bus with his wife. He said that he was impressed with 368 the service and that the bus driver was very personable, professional, and answered all of their questions. He 7 Approved 9/20/2017 369 explained that he and his wife hoped to use the bus to get to doctors' appointments at UNC since parking there can 370 be so difficult. 371 372 Theo Letman spoke about the Simme Seat for bus stops (see slide in presentation for an image). He explained 373 that he was first introduced to these seats while working at the Georgia Department of Transportation which 374 received grant funding for these seats. The Orange County Department on Aging submitted a grant application to 375 AARP to fund these seats for the County, and AARP awarded the grant. Thanks to this funding, about 15 of these 376 seats will go up by November for folks to use while waiting for the bus. 377 378 Peter Murphy said that Staff needs feedback on the new logo. He noted that Staff will be taking the logo to the 379 BOCC but first, he would like feedback on the logo from the Board, and asked that the Board support and make a 380 recommendation for the logo change. 381 382 Jenn Sykes commented that the logo kind of looks like a wheel. 383 384 Peter Murphy noted that the colors are the same as the County's new colors. 385 386 Theo Letman said that the bus drivers voted on the logo. 387 388 Heidi Perry said that the logo looks fine but that the font in the logo should be clearer between different sizes. 389 390 Theo Letman responded that the graphic designers working on the logo will ensure that the final logos are easy to 391 read at different sizes. 392 393 Art Menius asked if there is a way to standardize to Orange County Public Transit, instead of Orange County Public 394 Transportation when talking about buses. 395 396 Alex Castro said that even smaller vehicles are part of transit operations, technically operating only transit services. 397 398 Ted Triebel asked if they needed a motion to support the logo. 399 400 Heidi Perry asked if the vote would just be on the logo. 401 402 Peter Murphy answered that yes. He said that the department is looking to rebrand older buses with the new logo 403 too. There is a number of buses that need to be rebranded. 404 405 Donna Musson asked about cost of changing to new logo. 406 407 Peter Murphy said that they have received quotes. 408 409 Theo Letman said that the quotes were for about $20,000. 410 411 Peter Murphy said that about a third of the $20,000 is for labeling buses that are blank right now. 412 413 Theo Letman said that the phone number for folks to call and get service and the Orange County Public 414 Transportation logo will be labeled on the buses. He showed a mock -up of the labels on a bus (see image in 415 presentation). 416 417 Alex Castro asked about the re- branding materials and process. 418 419 Peter Murphy said that the labels are just applied straight to the vehicle. 420 Approved 9/20/2017 421 Jenn Sykes asked if any of the buses that are being retrofitted are also close to retirement. Would it be possible to 422 not label certain buses close to retirement? 423 424 Theo Letman answered that the buses that need to be retrofitted have about 2 years or more left before retirement. 425 The lead time on getting a vehicle from NCDOT is about a year or better. 426 427 Peter Murphy stated that they are looking to do the whole change, to make all buses uniform so that there is no 428 confusion. It the big scheme of things, it is not a huge expense. If there is a bus that happens to be very close to 429 retirement, the department will not spend the money to rebrand it. 430 431 Heidi Perry asked if Staff had thought about doing a "GoOrange" campaign, similar to the "Go Chapel Hill" and 432 other similar campaigns in the region. 433 434 Peter Murphy answered that a campaign like that may seem too sports- oriented. 435 436 Motion by Alex Castro to approve the new logo as "Orange County Public Transit" in all situations. Seconded by 437 Art Menius. 438 Vote: Unanimous 439 440 AGENDA ITEM 5C. ACTIVITIES (THEO LETMAN, PETER MURPHY) 441 442 Heidi Perry asked if the Board could review a slide in the presentation on marketing. 443 444 Peter Murphy responded that the slide was on upcoming activities and that they will discuss this now. 445 446 Alex Castro said that it was his understanding that the AARP grant enables the awardee to apply for a federal grant 447 of a greater amount. 448 449 Janice Tyler said that maybe the AARP money could work as a match for another grant. 450 451 Theo Letman responded that as part of a grant application for bus stop improvements, the AARP grant served as a 452 match for a federal grant that was put towards said improvements. 453 454 Alex Castro said that he had heard that the grant was $50,000. 455 456 Janice Tyler asked what was used as the match before. 457 458 Theo Letman said that the local match was out of County funds. 459 460 Peter Murphy confirmed that the County put -up the matching funds. 461 462 Janice Tyler said that total grant awarded was a little over $10,000. 463 464 Peter Murphy said that the money will be put towards the Simme Seats which do not need any approvals to be 465 installed, they just need a local clearance like for a bus stop sign. He said that the next item is an update on OPT's 466 major activities, milestones, reviews, site visits. In February, there was a Medicaid and EMT site visit and the 467 department was approved through an entire review process. OPT can now be an EMT provider for the County. In 468 March, TJCOG, a regional government council, provided funding for transportation for Councils on Aging to move 469 seniors via free transportation to nutrition programs where some are eligible for a free meal. For a lot of the folks in 470 this program, OPT drivers are like family to the passengers. During the site visit, the department had everything in 471 order and passed the annual assessment. Members of management and other staff attended an annual 472 transportation training conference (Concord, NC) to learn about new products and ideas. In October, the biggest 473 conference and expo for transportation will be held in Atlanta, GA, with staff attending. Finally, the last item is "Try 9 Approved 9/20/2017 474 Transit Week," which Lisa Berley will discuss. In summary, there will be a transit academy leading up to the Week, to 475 educate people on how the bus systems work in Orange County. Many groups have provided assistance, including 476 the Healthy Carolinians. 477 478 Lisa Berley spoke about Try Transit Week. The week focuses on encouraging people to ride the bus, like David did, 479 and as an incentive, the ride will be free of charge. In addition to Orange County Public Transit, Chapel Hill Transit, 480 and Go Triangle will be the participating transit departments. The Healthy Carolinians, a group out of the County 481 Health Department has a subcommittee called "Access to Care" which assists people in accessing health care in the 482 County and region at large. This subcommittee is working with Ms. Berley to hold the first ever Transit Academy in 483 both Hillsborough and Chapel Hill (8:00am — noon) two weeks before the Try Transit Week. The concept is to offer 484 training to care managers and social workers in the medical field, in schools, and in non - profits, to get the low -down 485 on what all this transit is that we have in this county. The academy will include presentations, breakout sessions on 486 who qualifies for door -to -door services and how to fill -out the right forms, how to work well with people who have 487 limited English proficiency or English is not their first language, and how to go about setting -up a kiosk of relevant 488 transportation information in your service agency that would be most useful to clients. Throughout the Academy, Staff 489 will be encouraged to get their clients to use transit during Try Transit Week in a variety of ways. During this week, 490 there will be at least 3 places (i.e. Walmart in Hillsborough which also has a bus stop out in front) to talk -up the week 491 with information and a staff person at the table to answer questions. 492 493 Alex Castro added to the list of Try Transit Week publicity locations — gatherings at The Grange (meets the first 494 Tuesday of the month) and Table Top (last Friday in September) and other places such as these. 495 496 David Laudicina said Hog Day is coming up on September 151h, a great event for publicize Try Transit Week. 497 498 Alex Castro said that the updates in transit in the County are significant and not enough people know about them, 499 especially not the seniors. Seniors are the ones who would really make use out of this event and of the services. He 500 also suggested the Seymour Center and Passmore Center as good locations for advertising Try Transit Week. 501 502 Ted Triebel asked about advertising in the News of Orange. What media outlets does the department use? 503 504 Lisa Berley said that they will advertise in the News of Orange and that Southern Neighbor (monthly publication) did 505 a piece on transportation for them, but they are still looking into other media outlets. 506 507 Art Menius suggested getting an interview with WCHL, which would put them on for the afternoon news. 508 509 Janice Tyler said that all media and communications go through Todd McGee (Orange County Community Relations 510 Director) for this event. 511 512 Heidi Perry asked where the Transit Academy in Chapel Hill will be located. 513 514 Janice Tyler said that the Academy would be at the Seymour Center. 515 516 Heidi Perry asked if healthcare facilities know about this. 517 518 Lisa Berley explained that the list of contacts (inclusive of care managers and others) have been generated by the 519 subcommittee and by Ms. Berley herself has been collecting contacts for over a year- and -a -half for an event like this. 520 All of these contacts will receive a "Save the Date" and an invitation via email. 521 522 Jenn Sykes said that she works with the head of UNC Care Management and has connections with Duke's Care 523 Management and will work with them on getting participants to the event. She has already suggested that they reach 524 out to Lisa Berley and the team for more information on this event. 525 526 Lisa Berley said that she would definitely talk to Jenn more about this. 10 Approved 9/20/2017 527 528 Heidi Perry asked if outreach is solely focused on health care for the Week. 529 530 Lisa Berley said that no, they are working with a variety of groups, but the Healthy Carolinians' subcommittee 531 generated mostly health care contacts. She welcomed more ideas for sharing this event with other people and 532 groups. They are reaching out to Head Start programs and programs working with non - English speakers. 533 534 Various Board members chimed in about various groups that should be invited like the Chambers of Commerce, El 535 Centro Hispano, and other regional groups. 536 537 Heidi Perry asked if Go Triangle is only giving the free fare to Orange County riders during Try Transit Week. 538 539 Lisa Berley confirmed this and said that the only bus routes that are a part of this are the 420 and the ODS. 540 541 Heidi Perry said that she now understood that not all Go Triangle's buses were a part of this Week. 542 543 Peter Murphy said that there is also a Try Transit Week in September, and for Orange County's Try Transit Week in 544 October, the department is working with Go Triangle and all Orange County transit services to try and get free fare 545 for anyone going to a destination that touches Orange County, even if the department is making passes available 546 (with an internal charge to keep cost down). 547 548 Heidi Perry suggested that there be a large advertisement at Orange County's Durham Tech Campus for Orange 549 County Public Transit services. Students may not know that they can take the bus, what the hours are and other 550 important information. Ms. Perry also made a suggestion to encourage organizations to put information on their 551 websites about how to take the bus to their locations. 552 553 Jenn Sykes said that there are concerns about easing access requirements to get into UNC facilities by people using 554 transportation services and by care managers. 555 556 Lisa Berley agreed that big health care systems are very concerned about access and to ensure that people do not 557 miss their appointments. 558 559 Janice Tyler just met with the Senior Health Alliance, the new Medicaid Accountable Care Organization (ACO) at 560 UNC (contact is Eleanor). 561 562 Jenn Sykes said that she referred the head of the Alliance to Ms. Tyler and Ms. Berley. 563 564 Janice Tyler said that the Alliance is involved in a big transportation platform, even encouraging clients to use Uber. 565 566 Jenn Sykes said that it is not ideal to have to pay Uber drivers and that using the public transit system in a County 567 makes better sense. 568 569 Heidi Perry suggested that if there is some buy -in from businesses on Churton Street affected by the construction, 570 these businesses could incentivize patrons for riding the bus with discounts. 571 572 Lisa Berley agreed that that would be a great idea. 573 574 Heidi Perry said that people can get from Hillsborough to Chapel Hill in a timely manner. 575 576 Lisa Berley said that they can use the Hill -to -Hill Connector. 577 578 Jenn Sykes added that if it is possible, it would be good to advertise in the Courthouse. 579 11 Approved 9/20/2017 580 Peter Murphy mentioned the new bus stops on Churton Street are dedicated for buses. There will be one in front of 581 the police station in Hillsborough and one by the Courthouse (the cut -out) across from Weaver Street. 582 583 Heidi Perry mentioned people going to the Courthouse will be able to get there via bus which could cut -down on 584 parking problems. 585 586 Theo Letman spoke about the history of the Courthouse and that he had heard from Durham Tech that originally, the 587 transportation department was a part of the plan, and the parking for the Courthouse was going to be at Durham 588 Tech. 589 590 Heidi Perry said that as the County sends out notices to people coming to the Courthouse. They could start noting 591 different ways of getting to the Courthouse, like via public transportation with a link to the website. She also noted 592 that it would be helpful for transportation to run later in the day. 593 594 Donna Musson asked if there is outreach to young people to ride the bus. She said that in Chapel Hill they ride the 595 bus a lot. 596 597 Heidi Perry said that this was a great question and commented that transit services go to the Sportsplex. 598 599 Lisa Berley commented that riding the bus helps young people get their freedom. 600 601 Heidi Perry said that the Sportsplex is another place to advertise for riding public transit. 602 603 Motion by Art Menius to recommend to the Board of County Commissioners to support the participation by Orange 604 County Public Transit in "Try Transit Week" and recommend the continuance of their ongoing activities. Seconded 605 by Jenn Sykes 606 Vote: Unanimous 607 608 Peter Murphy said that OPT's presentation was concluded and that he appreciated the great feedback from the 609 Board. 610 611 Alex Castro thanked and complimented Staff for all their hard work. 612 613 AGENDA ITEM 6: REGULAR OUTBOARD AGENDA (ACTION ITEMS) 614 615 6A. BICYCLE SAFETY TASK FORCE (BSTF) REPORT IMPLEMENTATION SUBCOMMITTEE (ABIGAILE PITTMAN) 616 617 Abigaile Pittman presented. Ms. Pittman reminded the Board that at the last meeting, Staff's recommendation was to 618 form a subcommittee from the OUTBoard, per the Advisory Board Policies. At this stage, the subcommittee 619 structure, budget, parties involved, and the actions to be taken for the first funding year (FY17 -18) need to be 620 reviewed (see Attachment 2, page 23 in the packet). After the Board reviews this, Ms. Pittman recommended that it 621 takes action to form the subcommittee tonight. Once the subcommittee is formed, Ms. Pittman can help set -up a 622 meeting date and develop an agenda with members. She is also getting other Staff lined -up to assist the 623 subcommittee. 624 625 Heidi Perry asked Abigaile Pittman if she had the list of people who said that they would sign -up as subcommittee 626 members. 627 628 Abigaile Pittman said that Alyson West, Art Menius and Heidi Perry had volunteered to serve on the subcommittee. 629 630 Heidi Perry asked if there were any others who signed -up from the previous Bicycle Safety Report Taskforce. 631 12 Approved 9/20/2017 632 Abigaile Pittman answered that she had received some emails from folks who volunteered to assist on agenda items 633 as needed. These volunteers may not attend every meeting but could assist as needed, which is appropriate for 634 someone not formally on the subcommittee. She added that County Staff is available from Planning and also Todd 635 McGee from Community Relations and Melissa Blackburn who does graphic design, and perhaps someone from the 636 Visitor's Center. She said that they can request different County Staff from the appropriate departments as needed. 637 638 Alex Castro asked about the structure of the subcommittee noted in Attachment 2. In referenced to item 6.b. on 639 voting rights on the subcommittee; he asked why those with voting power had to be members of the OUTBoard. 640 641 Abigaile Pittman answered that the advisory policies adopted by the BOCC set the voting rights for OUTBoard 642 subcommittee members. 643 644 Heidi Perry asked why the BOCC would not approve the original members of the Bicycle Safety Report Taskforce to 645 be kept on the subcommittee as well. 646 647 Abigaile Pittman answered that for that to be considered, Staff would have to take the request back through the 648 process to the BOCC, which would take several months. 649 650 Heidi Perry said that the members have not officially been dismissed yet. 651 652 Abigaile Pittman responded that the group had been dismissed; it was disbanded once the BOCC accepted the 653 report. Subject to the OUTBoard's recommendation, the Staff would have to go back to BOCC, get on the agenda, 654 confirm who is willing to serve, and go back through the whole application and appointment process. 655 656 Alex Castro commented that they could tell the BOCC that this is an unworkable arrangement and ask relief from it. 657 He is concerned that a very limited number of people are now going to be tasked with implementing all the work, and 658 people cannot be added as subcommittee members. It seems like an impossible situation. 659 660 Abigaile Pittman said that the subcommittee will still present their work to the OUTBoard monthly, and the OUTBoard 661 will comment and provide direction; there would be that larger involvement from the Board. 662 663 Alex Castro said that he would defer to Heidi Perry. 664 665 Heidi Perry spoke about how she wishes that they could work out a way that everyone who comes to the meeting 666 could participate and that it is hard that the OUTBoard members' votes to represent others votes, even though they 667 cannot vote directly. 668 669 Art Menius said that other's participation in the committee is more important than the voting. He would not see non - 670 OUTBoard members as being second class because they cannot vote. The voices are more important. 671 672 Jenn Sykes noted that if the subcommittee members have worked on this in the past and understand processes such 673 as these, they will most likely not be offended by the structure. They will understand it as a structure of the bylaws in 674 the County and they are going to want to make sure that the subcommittee follows -up on their work as a Taskforce. 675 676 Heidi Perry said that there were at least 3 or 4 from the original Taskforce that said they would be interested in 677 attending the subcommittee. 678 679 Art Menius spoke about running the subcommittee on a consensus basis and then have the official subcommittee 680 members' vote ratify the consensus. 681 682 Jenn Sykes noted that the way the structure is worded does not seem to prohibit the subcommittee from functioning 683 in this suggested way. Abigaile Pittman agreed. 684 13 Approved 9/20/2017 685 Alex Castro asked if there would be any impediments to non- OUTBoard members being asked to be members of this 686 group. Is there a formal vetting process? 687 688 Abigaile Pittman answered that the process would be per the County Advisory Board Policies. 689 690 Heidi Perry said that if people become members of the OUTBoard, they would not have to go through the process. 691 692 Abigaile Pittman pointed out that the Board and Taskforce has many years ahead of it in implementing the Bicycle 693 Safety Report, and it could be that there is a good first year start that rolls into something bigger with a 694 recommendation for a BOCC appointed implementation task force (again). She asked if the subcommittee members 695 present had reviewed Attachment 2. If so, she needs an endorsement or approval of the attachment and for there to 696 be a vote on appointing the subcommittee. 697 698 Heidi Perry asked for clarification on the first vote. 699 700 Abigaile Pittman answered that the first vote could be on whether or not to approve Attachment 2. 701 702 Art Menius suggested that they roll the approvals all into one vote. 703 704 Motion by Art Menius to approve Attachment 2, Bicycle Safety Taskforce Report Implementation Subcommittee, 705 Fiscal Year 2017 -2018, and to appoint Heidi Perry, Alyson West, and Art Menius to the subcommittee. Seconded 706 by Alex Castro 707 708 Heidi Perry asked if there needed to be something said about the additional non- OUTBoard members in the motion. 709 710 Abigaile Pittman replied that this consideration is already in Attachment 2. 711 712 Heidi Perry called for the vote. 713 Vote: Unanimous 714 715 Abigaile Pittman said that she would send out an online poll to members to schedule the subcommittee's first 716 meeting to be held before the end of the month.. 717 718 7. STAFF UPDATES (ABIGAILE PITTMAN) 719 720 Abigaile Pittman reported that she had a productive meeting with Todd McGee, Melissa Blackburn, and Laurie 721 Paolicelli from the Visitor's Bureau in Chapel Hill. Since much of the conversation circled back to the topic of a logo 722 for the subcommittee, Ms. Pittman put in a request with Melissa Blackburn for assistance with the logo, and she will 723 attend the upcoming subcommittee meeting to present some initial logo concepts. She learned that the bicycle safety 724 website no longer has to be part of Orange County Planning Department's webpage. There is a new contract to 725 revise the website, and a freestanding fixed website is now feasible, which the subcommittee can update as 726 necessary, inclusive of direct links to other websites, laws and policies, etc. 727 728 Art Menius said that the a site like Wordpress has a cascade system set -up so that the subcommittee's website 729 would still be part of the Orange County website but it would have its own web address. 730 731 Abigaile Pittman noted that Mr. McGee and Ms. Paolicelli will help launch a media campaign inclusive of radio, public 732 access television, website banners, newsprint and more (e.g. WCHL radio and Chapelboro.com, WUNC, WHOP, 733 Chapel Hill Public Access TV, Visitor's Bureau, neighboring towns and Chambers of Commerce, local newspapers, 734 etc.). Once the subcommittee has a concept of who they want to reach and how, they can negotiate for media slots. 735 736 Heidi Perry asked if the subcommittee is keeping the bike safety slogan in the report. 737 14 Approved 9/20/2017 738 Abigaile Pittman said the slogan must be used because it was officially approved by the Bicycle Safety Task Force 739 and the OUTBoard. She said that in her meeting with she went over recommended preferred messaging and also 740 unfavorable messaging. Pittman started a brief discussion on best meeting times and subcommittee members gave 741 initial feedback. 742 743 Abigaile Pittman noted that she had raised the Task Force's concern about not wanting people to use Facebook to 744 make contentious remarks and comments in posts, so the media staff suggested doing a Facebook ad that connects 745 to the subcommittee's website. She concluded this update. 746 747 7.A. MEBANE TRAFFIC SEPARATION STUDY (TSS) 748 749 Abigaile Pittman reviewed the abstract (see page 27 in the packet). This study is being conducted by the Rail 750 Division of NCDOT, City of Mebane, and Norfolk Southern Rail line. They retained a private consultant to do the 751 study which examines eight highway at -grade railroad crossings, two of which are in Orange County: (1) Mattress 752 Factory Road and (2) Buckhorn Road. The purpose of a traffic separation study purpose is to improve safety. She 753 went over some of the methods described in the abstract and slide presentation. The consultant said that there was 754 nothing that they could recommend for the crossing at Mattress Factory Road because the distance to the nearest 755 intersection was too close to get over and back down safely. For Buckhorn Road, the consultant recommended three 756 options (Ms. Pittman passed around a graphic showing the options and then went over the options). Option 1 showed 757 a grade separation at Buckhorn Road in connection with a new road over the railroad to US 70. Option 2 showed a 758 grade separation with a roundabout at Buckhorn Road and Industrial Drive and connection to South Frazier Road. 759 Option 3 showed a grade separation with a roundabout and a new road connecting US 70 not lining -up with Frazier 760 Road. Orange County Transportation Planning Staff was consulted for a courtesy review and comments. Staff 761 preferred Option 2 but did not like the roundabout. Staff supported Option 2 for the following reasons: alignment 762 shown in Option 2 with Frazier Road is consistent with the County's road alignment concepts through this area as 763 supported by the Buckhorn - Efland- Mebane Access Management Plan; could include traffic lights in concert with the 764 alignment on US 70; and that direct routes around the western side of Efland are important. There is also a big 765 problem around Mount Willing Road and Buckhorn Road with trucks getting off the interstate and going through the 766 area to head towards north or to avoid the weigh station on the highway. The alignment shown in Option 2 is good for 767 moving trucks through here; however, Staff recommended that the Buckhorn Road and Industrial Drive design be a 768 cross intersection with turn lanes, not a roundabout. There is too short of a distance to the interchange ramps to 769 accommodate a roundabout for trucks to go around. 770 771 Jenn Sykes said that a roundabout sounded like a disaster. 772 773 Heidi Perry asked a question if traffic calming would help the situation since vehicles would be getting off the 774 intersection anyway. 775 776 Abigaile Pittman said that Staff thought that these vehicles need to be managed with a light and turn lanes, not 777 directing them straight into a roundabout. With a roundabout, trucks would be backed up to the interchange ramps. 778 779 Heidi Perry asked Ms. Pittman if she could remind her why the intersection is being improved. 780 781 Abigaile Pittman answered that this traffic separation study is in -line with the state's future goals of doing higher 782 speed trains in the future. Ms. Pittman reminded the Board of work on private crossing closures in the last several 783 years in the eastern part of the County around Old NC 10 (three of them), straightening curves, etc. All of this work is 784 in preparation for higher speed trains coming through the area, thus the state needs to improve safety along the rail 785 line. 786 787 Heidi Perry asked why this could not be done with the arms at railroad crossings. 788 789 Abigaile Pittman answered that in some cases this can be done but they also need to straighten -out some of the 790 curves and allow for trains to continue at higher speeds safely. 15 Approved 9/20/2017 791 792 Alex Castro spoke about the very big gas station that truckers use on the west side of Buckhorn Road south of the 793 interstate. Traffic flowing in and out of the station plus the traffic coming down the road would contribute to the snafus 794 of a roundabout concept. 795 796 Abigaile Pittman said that there are also a lot of school bus routes along this road, another reason the roundabout 797 would not be the best option. 798 799 Heidi Perry asked — aren't roundabouts safer? 800 801 Abigaile Pittman responded that they can, in some situations, but not all. 802 803 Alex Castro said they are not when you are talking about tractor trailers. 804 805 David Laudicina asked about giving extra space for future plans, a future double track in particular for the higher 806 speed line. 807 808 Abigaile Pittman answered that the double tracks will not be done as much in Orange County because existing lines 809 will not be as high speed as in other counties and do not carry as much freight as do rail lines in some other counties. 810 However, she was told that rail right -of -way width in certain locations in the County will allow for some double - 811 tracking. Traffic Separation Studies (TSS's) help eliminate as many conflicts as possible and help sort out where 812 curves can be adjusted. 813 814 Donna Musson asked about the rationale of putting a roundabout there as an option. 815 816 Abigaile Pittman said that she had called the consultant to discuss this very question. She told him that the County 817 was submitting its comments in support of Option 2 but did not support the roundabout. Ms. Pittman's impression 818 was that the consultant did not fully understand current conditions of the intersection and area. The County had its 819 own consultant do a study in the same area for the previously mentioned access management plan, which shows 820 that Buckhorn Road is going to need to be 4 lanes with a median and turn lanes. The roundabout would not suit 821 these future plans. In comparison, Mebane Oaks also only has about 600 -650 ft. and this has not proved to be 822 sufficient. 823 824 Heidi Perry asked if the 4 lanes recommended for Buckhorn by the County's consultant are planned, and if the TSS 825 considered this recommendation. 826 827 Abigaile Pittman said no, these two studies were not performed simultaneously. 828 829 Heidi Perry asked if the proposed roundabout would be a single lane roundabout? 830 831 Abigaile Pittman answered that the consultant did not specify the number of lanes for the roundabout, but the 832 concept appears to be a single lane. 833 834 Heidi Perry said that it would be interesting to know what may be built at that intersection. 835 836 Abigaile Pittman said that the consultant stressed to her that what they presented was "just a concept." 837 838 Heidi Perry said that it would be hard for her to approve or disapprove a concept. 839 840 Abigaile Pittman said that Staff is not asking the Board to approve anything; that her presentation is just an update on 841 the courtesy review Staff completed on the TSS. 842 843 Heidi Perry asked if there would be any bicycle facilities as a part of this project. 16 Approved 9/20/2017 844 845 Abigaile Pittman responded that this was not brought -up; however, there is a Buckhorn Road project to the south that 846 includes bike facilities that is still in the plans. She said that the department is hoping to coordinate with Mebane on 847 these projects on a regular basis. 848 849 7.8. MEBANE COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN (CTP) 850 851 Abigaile Pittman explained that Mebane is working on its CTP with the consultant Ramey Kemp. This plan mostly 852 focuses on transportation improvements for the Mebane area. The plan includes three maps showing an area that 853 expands to Mount Willing Road. Orange County Staff was asked to provide a courtesy review since a portion of the 854 study area is in Orange County. She said that the she and the Planning Director provided comments that the plans 855 should be consistent with the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and Rural Planning Organization (RPO) 856 CTPS, and Orange County's Access Management Plan. The proposed Mebane CTP is not entirely consistent with 857 these plans and does not include Orange County bike routes or access management routes, and did not 858 acknowledge that there should be consistency with Orange County plans. Mebane's new Development Director 859 responded to the courtesy review comments by saying that County Staff's feedback and additions would be 860 incorporated into the Mebane CTP. 861 862 7.C. MOUNTAIN -TO -SEA TRAIL (MST) 863 864 Abigaile Pittman provided an update. The Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation (DEAPR) 865 will give provide an update at the September 17, 2017 BOCC meeting. Marabeth Carr, DEAPR, said that it had not 866 yet been determined if there would be discussion at this meeting on routes, and that the County Manager would talk 867 to the BOCC to find the best time to discuss the routes. Ms. Pittman will provide any updates on the agenda as she 868 receives them. 869 870 7.D. ORANGE GROVE ROAD BRIDGE FENCING 871 872 Abigaile Pittman reported that $100,000 funding request was referred by the NC DOT Board of Transportation to Mr. 873 Trogden's desk and was approved, for both sides of the bridge, from Statewide Contingency Funds. They are 874 currently in the design phase, bidding will start in October, and the estimated completion date is December 2017. 875 876 Alex Castro wanted to make a note that there was a letter to the editor in the Chapel Hill News by Amy Cole (former 877 member of Walkabout Hillsborough) about this bridge fence request. He asked if the Board could petition NCDOT to 878 request that they bring out the variable message signs for this project before the time change in November for safety 879 reasons. School children will be walking to and from school in the dark and the signs may help to alert drivers until 880 the fencing goes in. 881 882 Abigaile Pittman said that NCDOT may close down the bridge while the fencing is being installed. She had 883 previously been told that they will also close some lanes on the interstate during installation. 884 885 Alex Castro said that in the interim, the sign may help with safety as a stopgap measure. 886 887 Abigaile Pittman said that she could talk to NCDOT about putting up the sign. 888 889 Heidi Perry said that she wants to ask NCDOT to lower the speed limit in that area. There are School Zone signs on 890 both sides of the bridge but not a lower the speed limit. A lower speed limit could be incorporated with the bridge 891 fencing project. 892 893 Abigaile Pittman said that she will raise this issue with NCDOT again. She did note that there are criteria on how low 894 a speed limit can go on certain types of roads, and the last time she discussed this with NCDOT, there was not a 895 definitive answer, so she will ask again. 896 17 Approved 9/20/2017 897 Heidi Perry said that she should talk to Dawn McPherson about this issue. She said that she would like to make a 898 motion to ask NCDOT to lower the speed limit on that School Zone area by the bridge. 899 900 Alex Castro said that he thought the speed limit was 40 miles per hour right now. 901 902 Ted Triebel asked what the speed limit would be lowered to. 903 904 Heidi Perry said that she thought it should be lowered to 30 miles per hour for the bridge, but thought it should match 905 the standard School Zone speed limit, since there are children walking across the bridge. 906 907 Ted Triebel said that School Zone speed limit signs specify the change of speed limit during certain times and days. 908 Does Ms. Perry want a standard speed limit sign, or a school sign? 909 910 Heidi Perry said that the signs stating the certain times would also work. 911 912 Jenn Sykes asked if the bridge is close enough to the school that it fits inside a School Zone. 913 914 Heidi Perry said that there are School Zone signs on either side of the bridge but no lower speed limit. 915 916 Alex Castro said that he did not see on- pavement marking associated with a School Zone. 917 918 Jenn Sykes said that the School Zone signs may just be a courtesy but do not indicate that vehicles are entering in a 919 certain distance from a school. 920 921 Heidi Perry said that maybe the speed limit signs she is recommending can be a courtesy too, but all she wants is for 922 the kids to arrive safely. 923 924 Abigaile Pittman said that she will be glad to discuss the matter with Dawn McPherson and will report back in 925 September. Ms. Pittman said that she was not sure if this idea requires a motion since Ms. McPherson may have 926 some other suggestion on how to deal with this issue. 927 928 Ted Triebel said that the bridge fencing is a great example of an important issue being pushed by people in this 929 community when otherwise nothing was going to be done, and now something is being done. Of the four years he 930 has served on this committee, the OUTBoard accomplished something great and he is happy to be a part of it, and it 931 can happen on other things too. 932 933 Alyson West agreed that it was a great accomplishment. 934 935 7.E. ENO EDD SEWER PROJECT, PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT, AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT PLAN 936 937 Abigaile Pittman reviewed the abstract. She said that this Eno Access Management Plan was adopted in 2013 and it 938 is for one of three strategic economic development areas in the County. She showed the different land uses on a 939 map in the presentation and oriented the Board to the area shown on the map (Durham County to the right). Ms. 940 Pittman said that the two main things holding this area back from development have been: (1) no sewer and very little 941 water; and (2) lack of improved road infrastructure. There is an Orange County Capital Improvement Project 942 underway with extending sewer from the City of Durham into the area. There are already some water lines in the 943 area. The Planning Department has also received a development proposal in the area. Residents in the area are 944 working with the County to get connected to the new sewer lines and the water lines, and are also discussing 945 dedicating right -of -way for the future roads that will need to be built. She showed the Board the Eno EDD Access 946 Management Plan and pointed out the proposed extension of Highway 751 north of US 70, which she described as 947 the most important road access component for the Eno EDD. The County does not qualify for the STIP funding with 948 the scoring system because there is no congestion here yet. So, at this point, the County would need to compete for 949 economic development funds. The County has Article 46 quarter -cent sales tax funds and NCDOT has some 18 Approved 9/20/2017 950 economic development funds, so the Planning Department is discussing a shared funding strategy. Ms. Pittman 951 showed Board members visually where future right -of -ways would conceptually be located. Some road development 952 will be done by private developers also. When trip generations get high, NCDOT would revise the access point of Old 953 NC 10 and US 70 (shown visually in the presentation). 954 955 Heidi Perry thanked Abigaile for her presentation and asked if there were any questions. 956 957 7.F. NCDOT DIVISION 7 TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS LOCATED IN THE DURHAM - CHAPEL HILL - CARRBORO 958 METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION (DCHC MPO) AND BURLINGTON - GRAHAM METROPOLITAN PLANNING 959 ORGANIZATION (BG MPO) PLANNING AREAS 960 961 No formal comments. 962 963 Abigaile said that the last three pages of the packet include more project updates, which the Board can review on thie 964 own. 965 966 David Laudicina said that he noticed a sign notifying the public that parts of Arthur Minnis Road will be shut -down for 967 bridge work starting August 281h 968 969 Abigaile Pittman confirmed this. 970 971 AGENDA ITEM 8: BOARD COMMENTS 972 973 Abigaile Pittman made the Board aware of an upcoming public meeting (notice forthcoming) that is a drop -in session 974 for the 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan alternatives analysis. This will be held on September 12, 2017, 5:30- 975 7:30pm in this room, DCHC MPO. Andy Henry from the Durham Transportation Department will also be doing a 976 presentation for the OUTBoard's September 20 meeting. S 977 978 Abigaile Pittman stated that the Clerk's Office asked her to notify some of the members' term limits are approaching: 979 Ed Vaughn, Brantley Wells, Art Menius, Jenn Sykes, and Heidi Perry. Ms. Pittman said that she needs to know by 980 Wednesday, September 6 if these members want to serve another term. Ms. Pittman talked about a computer glitch 981 in the Clerk's Office that caused confusion when some members were asked to re -apply to the OUTBoard. This has 982 been cleared -up. Ms. Pittman received confirmation from Mr. Vaughn, Mr. Menius, Ms. Sykes, and Ms. Perry that 983 they wanted to serve another term. Ms. Pittman said that she would follow -up with Mr. Brantley Wells. 984 985 Heidi Perry asked if Jeff Charles was going to serve another term. 986 987 Abigaile Pittman said that his term is not up yet, and under the circumstances they will wait for Mr. Charles to check - 988 in with Staff. 989 990 Ms. Perry shared a brief update on Mr. Charles' medical condition and said she has not talked to him personally but 991 thought that he was getting better. 992 993 Art Menius asked if Board members with terms expiring on September 30 need to do anything proactive to continue 994 their service on the Board. 995 996 Abigaile Pittman said that if the aforementioned members could send her an email saying that they have an interest 997 in serving an additional term, and she will forward the email to Tom Freeman in the Clerk's Office. 998 999 Heidi Perry asked about how the Board could take back up the matter of a feasibility study for the possibility of a bike 1000 path from Carrboro to Hillsborough. She said that Max Bushell had provided some price quotes on this idea a while 1001 back. 1002 Wri Approved 9/20/2017 1003 Abigaile Pittman said that she would try and find an answer to this question, but that Mr. Bushell had also provided 1004 background on the concept, how it had been evaluated in the past, and other information. 1005 1006 Heidi Perry said that she could look into the matter as a resident and discuss it with the BOCC. 1007 1008 Abigaile Pittman said that she would consult with others and get back to Ms. Perry about the issue. 1009 1010 AGENDA ITEM 9: ADJOURNMENT 1011 1012 Alex Castro made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Art Menius seconded the motion 1013 OUTBoard meeting was adjourned by consensus. 1014 1015 Heidi Perry, Chair 20