HomeMy WebLinkAboutOUTBoard minutes 011608Approved 3/19/08
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MINUTES ORANGE UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEETING JANUARY 16, 2008
MEMBERS PRESENT: Sam Lasris, Cedar Grove Township; Nancy Cole Baker, Pedestrian Advocate; Jan Grossman,
Bicycle Advocate; Julian (Randy) Marshall, Bingham Township; Al Terry, Transportation Services Board
Representative; Paul Guthrie, Transit Advocate; Karen Barrows, Little River Township; Pascale Mittendorf,
Hillsborough Township
MEMBERS ABSENT: Alice Gordon, Board of County Commissioners; Sandra Quinn, Planning Board Representative;
Dawn Brezina, Eno Township; Bryn Smith, CFE Representative; Eric Tillman, EDC Representative
STAFF PRESENT: Karen Lincoln, Transportation Planner; Deb Graham, Administrative Assistant; Pat Strong, TJ COG
OTHERS PRESENT: Rita Leadem, Comprehensive Coalition; Betsy Underwood, Historic Preservation Board
I. Call to order and roll call
II. Consideration of additions to the agenda
Sam Lasris noted we do have one addition. We have a brief update on the Safe Routes to School application.
III. Board Comments/Updates
Karen Lincoln announced that Commissioner Gordon could not make the meeting due to a special meeting of the
Board of County Commissioners scheduled for this evening.
Al Terry attended and reported on the DCHC MPO workshop on Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) and New
Freedom grant programs. Orange Public Transportation plans to apply for funds. OPT will partner with TTA and
DATA in a group JARC grant application for a Regional Mobility Enhancement Coordinator for the existing regional
call center. Regional transit providers will also make a group application for a New Freedom grant to develop
regional travel training and education for paratransit drivers and potential customers. Al is working with Steve Spade,
Chapel Hill Transit Director, to coordinate efforts between OPT and Chapel Hill Transit for CHT to contract OPT for
paratransit feeder service for CHT EZ Rider service to senior centers. The JARC and New Freedom Program grants
can provide funds to private providers to purchase vehicles for services for Work First Program clients and the elderly
and disabled.
Nancy Baker asked if the funds could be used to assemble a class at high schools for training students about public
transportation. Discussion followed regarding incorporating transit education and training in vocational education
studies in the high schools or including transit education and training in Driver Education. Al Terry will make the
appropriate contacts for those programs and report back regarding possibilities.
Paul Guthrie asked about using funds to provide service to areas not served by transit. Mt. Carmel Road is one area
where many people walk on the shoulder of the road. That area and the adjacent area in Chatham County are
rapidly growing. Al Terry responded that there have been meetings with elected officials of Orange County, Chatham
County, Carrboro and Chapel Hill to discuss transportation. The process is in place that will look at expanding transit
outside Chapel Hill’s municipal territory. He reiterated that the grant funds are targeted for specific populations.
JARC funds are to provide transit to enable low-income populations to get to work and back; New Freedom funds are
strictly for transit services that give the elderly and disabled more options.
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Nancy Baker gave an update on the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Action Plan Service Award application. Walkable
Hillsborough members prepared most of the application from previous work the group had done in looking at ways to
procure safe pedestrian and bicycle access to schools. The application is for consultant to work with the local area to
prepare an action plan for three schools – Cameron Park Elementary School, Stanford Middle School and Grady
Brown Elementary School. She said that the SRTS grant program does not apply to high schools. NCDOT will
provide and pay a consultant to work with the local stakeholders and the NCDOT SRTS coordinator to develop the
plan. Karen Lincoln provided maps and local regulatory information for the grant application and hand-delivered 12
copies of the application to the NCDOT Safe Routes to School Coordinator Monday (January 14).
Karen Lincoln related that the SRTS Coordinator, Leza Mundt, had said that there was an overwhelming response for
the SRTS action plan grants and NCDOT is thinking about having another call for applications at a later date, and is
working on a template that will assist local areas in preparing their own action plans. She said that the grants would
be very competitive. The schedule calls for the Board of Transportation to consider the recommendations for
application approvals in April. Recipients will be notified once the BOT makes its decisions. The number of action
plan grant recipients awarded will depend on the types of applications received. NCDOT has set aside $300,000 to
fund SRTS planning grants. Grant applications will vary from $15,000: for one or two schools to up to $30,000 for
three to five schools.
Pat Strong said that the NCDOT Board of Transportation has moved awarding grants for various projects to the last
part of the fiscal year. The NCDOT anticipates a call for infrastructure projects mid-year. There is a local match
requirement for SRTS infrastructure projects.
Sam Lasris asked if there be a critique of this application. He stated that we should know why it failed (if our
application does not receive a grant)
IV. Approval of Minutes of November 14, 2007 meeting a) October 17, 2007, meeting minutes (Attachment 1)
b) November 15, 2007 meeting minutes, (Attachment 2) c) December 12, 2007, meeting minutes (Attachment 3); handout at meeting
OUTBoard Action: A. Approve October 17, 2007 minutes
B. Approve November 14, 2007 minutes
C. Approve December 12, 2007 minutes
Karen Lincoln stated that she had not finished reviewing the December minutes.
Karen Barrows: page 1, line 43 of the November minutes, change “combing” to “combining”.
Sam Lasris: In the future, the minutes need to be summarized, not line-by-line. There was a consensus by the
board.
MOTION to approve the minutes for October 17 and November 14 made by Karen Barrows. Seconded by Jan
Grossman.
VOTE: Unanimous
V. Comprehensive Plan Update: Transportation Element Objectives
Karen Lincoln reminded the board of the public input meeting for the Comprehensive Plan objectives on Monday,
January 28 from 7:00-9:00. She requested that a few OUTBoard members (not all) attend. The OUTBoard must
submit comments to the consultant by January 31 in order for the consultant to consider those comments in the draft
Comprehensive Plan. The Consultant will present the Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan to the
OUTBoard at a joint meeting with the Planning Board on March 5.
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The board discussed problems with the Transportation goal objectives as provided by the consultant:
• There is no objective that addresses transportation planning that ensures walkable communities, mixed
development.
• The objectives are not as forward looking as they should be. The wording does not address what is necessary
to accommodate a doubling of the population as envisioned by regional projections.
• The objectives should also address how to finance transportation infrastructure to handle anticipated increase in
population.
• The objectives do not address the necessary coordination of land use goals/objectives with transportation
goals/objectives.
• The wording is too soft. Words like “encourage” and “improve” do not sufficiently describe a method or action to
accomplish goals.
• There should be an objective that addresses requiring transportation facilities to be included in development.
• Objective T-3.4 Change “Encourage” to “Provide” and strike out the last part of the sentence after “cul-de-sacs”.
(The phrase to be omitted, “in accordance with applicable policies respecting residential neighborhood integrity”
negates the objective.)
• Objectives 2.3 and 2.4 do not fit under Goal 2.
• Objective T-2.3: add “and public service vehicle access” after “to ensure adequate emergency vehicle access”.
• Move Objectives T-2.3 and T-2.4 to Goal 3.
• Combine Objectives T-2.5 through T-2.7, and move those to Goal 1.
• Objective T-3.3: Add “transportation” in between “multi-modal” and “improvements”.
• Objective T-3.2: Change “transportation facilities” to “transportation improvements”.
• Objective T-3.3: Change “improvement to provide service to lands in Economic Development Districts” to
“improvements to provide service to Economic Development Districts”.
The board agreed by consensus for the Chair, Vice Chair and staff to develop written comments to submit to the
consultant.
VI. Comments regarding the Draft 2009-2015 State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)
Karen Lincoln explained that the OUTBoard should endorse comments to submit to the Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC) regarding the draft STIP. The BOCC must endorse comments at its meeting on February 5
in order to submit comments to the Metropolitan Planning Organization and to the NCDOT at the public comment
meetings held by those agencies . NCDOT released the draft 2009-2015 STIP in October 2007 for public review,
and will hold a public comment meeting for Division 7 on February 20 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the Seymour Senior
Center at the Southern Human Services Campus in Chapel Hill. Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro (DCHC) Metropolitan
Planning Organization (MPO) Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC), at its meeting January 9, released the local
supplement of the draft STIP as the Draft Metropolitan TIP (MTIP) for public comment, and will hold a public hearing
at its meeting February 13 to allow public comment on the draft MTIP. She suggested that the OUTBoard submit
applicable comments endorsed by that board for the previous TIP (2007-2013) since there were few changes for
Orange County’s TIP projects in the proposed draft for 2009-2015. She also provided a list flagged items prepared
by MPO staff, which the OUTBoard may wish to consider in its comments.
ACTION: The board agreed by affirmation to resubmit applicable comments recommended by the OUTBoard for the
2007-2013 TIP for the 2009-2015 TIP (schedule a feasibility study for the Orange Grove Road pedestrian bridge over
I-40 and fund 4-ft. paved shoulders on Dairyland Road from Union Grove Church Road to Orange Grove Road),
along with its concern that cuts in appropriated federal transportation funds to North Carolina coupled with
the rapid increase in construction costs have reduced funding sources for bicycle and pedestrian projects
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in order to prevent further delay of highway projects and a comment to reconstruct interchanges in Phase A of
the I-85 widening project with widening roadway sections in Phase B.
VII. Future Agenda Items
The board will meet with the Planning Board on March 5 to receive a presentation on the Draft
Comprehensive Plan Transportation Element. The board must submit any comments regarding the draft
Comprehensive Plan to the consultant by April 14.
VIII. Adjournment