HomeMy WebLinkAboutOUTBoard minutes 0320131
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
53
54
55
Approved 4/17/13
MINUTES
ORANGE UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION BOARD
MARCH 20, 2013
MEMBERS PRESENT: Paul Guthrie, Chapel Hill Township; Jeff Charles, Bicycle Advocate; Alex Castro, Bingham
Township; Annette Jurgelski, Eno Township;
MEMBERS ABSENT: Susie Enoch, Cheeks Township; Bryant Warren, Hillsborough Township; Sam Lasris, Cedar
Grove Township; Ted Triebel, Little River Township; Jeff Miles, Pedestrian Access & Safety Advocate; Amy Cole,
Transit Advocate; Economic Development Commission - Vacant; CfE Representative- Vacant; Planning Board
Representative- Vacant;
STAFF PRESENT: Craig Benedict, Planning Director; Abigaile Pittman, Transportation /Land Use Planner; Al Terry,
Transportation Manager; Tina Love, Administrative Assistant II
OTHERS PRESENT: Tamra Shaw, NCDOT; David Bonk, Town of Chapel Hill
AGENDA ITEM 1: CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
AGENDA ITEM II: INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: Craig Benedict, Planning Director; Al Terry, Orange County
Transportation Manager; Tamra Shaw, Senior Mobility Development Specialist NCDOT
Public Transportation Division; David Bonk, Town of Chapel Hill Senior Transportation
Manager
Paul Guthrie welcomed and introduced the guests.
Tamra Shaw advised the group that her office had just had a call for projects which has ended but there is an annual
call for projects and she would like to talk about that when the time rolls around, probably around August or
September. She would like to come and talk about the funding opportunities. The big thing her department is
dealing with right now is the locally coordinated human services transportation plan, developed by working with the
local councils of government. It is an assessment of unmet needs in the county.
Craig Benedict introduced David Bonk from the Town of Chapel Hill and noted that David is the Durham - Chapel Hill -
Carrboro MPO Vice -Chair and is the primary conduit to the MPO for matters dealing with transportation and funding
for a variety of public transit initiatives.
AGENDA ITEM III: APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR FEBRUARY 20, 2013
Approval of minutes for the February 20, 2013 meeting were moved to the April 17, 2013 OUTBoard meeting due to
lack of a quorum.
AGENDA ITEM IV: CONSIDERATIONS OF ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
AGENDA ITEM V: REGULAR AGENDA
Next Steps for Implementing the Bus and Rail Investment Plan (BRIP)
OUTBoard Action: To receive information in preparation for future OUTBoard role.
Approved 4/17/13
Craig Benedict gave an overview of the plan and map. Highlights include the creation of a rail station in Hillsborough,
10% will come the BRIP and the rest would come from state and federal funds. New and expanded bus services is
part of the plan and will amount to an additional 40,000 hours by 2026 with 8,000 hours to be used in the first five
years.
Craig Benedict told the OUTBoard that its role may come when monies come in to TTA or OPT to suggest or
prioritize where funds may best be spent. Craig also talked about the implementation agreement which is between
three parties, Orange County, Triangle Transit who is the implementing agency, and the DCHC and BG MPOs.
Triangle Transit will be receiving all monies collected but each year they will report to the Commission and
participants will be invited, municipalities, etc. and the questions can be asked at that time. Craig discussed an east -
west route to connect the western side of Orange County to Hillsborough, Chapel Hill and Durham and coordinating
with Piedmont Area Rapid Transit (PART).
Alex Castro asked if there are any plans to combine the Chapel Hill Transit EZ Rider with OPT that makes more
sense in terms of staging and shorter trip times, etc.
Craig Benedict responded that the both the boards of Chapel Hill and Orange County have responded that they
would like to take a look at a potential OPT/CHT consolidation between those two agencies for efficiency. There is a
grant that was acquired from DOT /Public Transit Division to study that issue and a consulting firm was hired to
analyze both systems and it has taken over two years to produce a draft report. Craig remarked that at some point
he would like the consultant to come and speak to the OUTBoard.
Jeff Charles suggested that if you use percentages of rider increase, etc. it means more to the public than saying that
there will be X more hours added, X more buses, etc.
David Bonk gave an update on the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) noting that an alternatives analysis will be
done and a Request for Proposals (RFP) will be out in April. and once selected it will take about 18 months for the
consultants to perform that work. He also noted that the Town of Chapel Hill has initiated a Small Area Plan for the
area around Estes Drive /Martin Luther King Blvd. and through that process they are very aware of the fact that they
are adjacent to that BRT corridor and what decisions they make about land use will have a direct impact on the
Town's ability to meet the federal requirements. Those requirements have a very heavy emphasis on not simply
having good intentions with regard to coordinating land use and transportation but actually adopting plans and in the
best case scenario, actually having projects that have been built based on those plans.
Paul Guthrie noted that while everyone thinks light rail is a wonderful thing and in his opinion a necessary thing by
2030, we don't have to go there at this point but what can have a major impact is how we carefully decide where to
put in bus services, where the connection points are located between routes so all this interchange can be made to
expedite and also look at a few things relative to the light rail system that perhaps need to be worked on such as
terminating the light rail system at memorial hospitals. It would have been smarter to curl it around so that it came up
somewhere near the rail route and come in to Carrboro on the hard rail system, because sooner or later hard rail will
run between Greensboro and Raleigh. The major work that is already underway on the track between Durham and
Raleigh tells you that. One of the key ingredients for Orange County is to get the rail station in Hillsborough done
and use the parking facilities as a connection point for bus service and other kinds of services for connections. Build
that into the fabric of the community and then you are ready for the more sophisticated systems. Paul continued that
54 is a major feeder and as PART can't service it, the area of Mt. Carmel Rd. /Stagecoach Rd. is becoming the
bypass for commuters and truckers to skip around the problems on I -40 and Chatham County. This is going to be
increasing, sending traffic northbound and needs to be considered.
AGENDA ITEM VI: REGULAR AGENDA
Next Steps for Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Plan Adoption and Implementation.
OUTBoard Action: To receive information in preparation for future OUTBoard role.
This item was moved to the April meeting due to time constraints.
151
152
153
154
155
156
Approved 4/17/13
AGENDA ITEM VII: STAFF UPDATES
a. Update on BOCC action on Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP)
b. Update on staff meeting with NCDOT Rail Division regarding the three proposed
railroad private crossing closures in Orange County.
c. Update on BG MPO activities.
d. Update on DCHC MPO 2040 MTP and CTP.
OUTBoard Action: Receive updates
Abigaile Pittman updated the OUTBoard that the BOCC completed the public hearing on the CTP and adopted the
Highway Map, Public Transportation and Rail Map, the Bicycle Map, the Pedestrian Map and the overall Adoption
Map subject to the comments and recommendations of the OUTBoard and Planning staff. The BOCC also made
recommendations on the technical report included in the CTP. The technical report will not be considered for
adoption by the BOCC until the fall, after TARPO and NCDOT complete their review and adoption of all five maps.
The BOCC adopted the maps with the OUTBoard recommendations.
Abigaile Pittman updated the group regarding the proposed rail crossings showing proposed routes on map and the
timeline going forward with a deadline for completion by 2017.
Abigaile Pittman noted that she attended the BG MPO meeting and reviewed that meeting and gave the group a
handout on those activities and reports.
Abigaile Pittman gave an update and handouts on Orange County bridge projects and the adopted DCHC MPO MTP
and CTP. She also advised that the Riverwalk project in Hillsborough is scheduled to begin in June.
Abigaile Pittman advised that she would be giving a briefing on Safe Routes to School to the BOCC on April 91h. She
will brief the OUTBoard on April 171h and advised that the OUTBoard should be involved in it by the fall.
AGENDA ITEM VIII:
UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS OF INTEREST ON OTHER REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION RELATED
BOARD AGENDAS:
OUTBoard Action: Receive information as handout.
AGENDA ITEM IX:
LISTING OF ITEMS FOR APRIL 17, 2013 MEETING
OUTBoard Action: Receive information
AGENDA ITEM X:
BOARD COMMENTS
OUTBoard Action: Receive comments
AGENDA ITEM XI:
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned by consensus.
Paul Guthrie, Chair