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Home My WebLink AboutAgenda - 01-22-2019 7-a - Orange County Public Transportation Short Range Transit Plan 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: January 22, 2019 Action Agenda Item No. 7-a SUBJECT: Orange County Public Transportation Short Range Transit Plan DEPARTMENT: Public Transportation ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Executive Summary of Orange County Theo Letman, Transit Director, 919-245- Short Range Transit Plan (Draft 2018) 2007 UNDER SEPARATE COVER Full Report - Orange County Short Range Transit Plan (Draft 2018) Only Available Electronically at: http://www.orangecountync.qo v/Docume ntCenter/View/6390/OPT-SRTP-Final- Report-DRAFT PURPOSE: To receive a report on the Orange County Public Transportation Short Range Transit Plan (draft) and recommendations for the final Report, in preparation for further discussion and feedback at the Board's January 25, 2019 Retreat. BACKGROUND: Orange County Public Transportation (OCPT) currently operates three fixed routes: Hillsborough Circulator, Orange — Chapel Hill Mid-Day Connector, and Orange — Alamance Mid-Day Connector. These OCPT fixed routes are financed through the Article 43 Tax District funds. Article 43 Tax District funds provide an opportunity for Orange County residents, customers and community partners to access an additional source of revenue with which to meet the needs for financing public transportation systems. Recommendations are provided to maintain and expand upon current service levels, based upon qualitative analysis and public outreach, conducted over the course of a year, utilizing surveys, public meetings, information sessions and websites. Due to the amount of new information contained in the report, staff will present the findings and recommendations in anticipation of a policy discussion at the Board's annual retreat. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with receiving this report. SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: There is no Orange County Social Justice Goal impact associated with this item. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board receive the report, review the information, provide feedback, and prepare for further discussion at the Board's January 25, 2019 Retreat. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Orange County Public Transportation(OPT)provides transit service throughout Orange County, including both demand response and fixed-route service.Identifying performance of the existing system,areas of unmet transit demand,assessing priorities of passengers,and prioritizing service improvements with a limited budget are keys to addressing the needs of the community.To ensure integrated,high performing transit service across the region,OPT's Short Range Transit Plan(SRTP)assesses the market for transit service,operations in Orange County,and prioritizes future recommendations. Existing Conditions OPT currently operates three midday/off peak,weekday,fixed-route bus services in Orange County—the Hillsborough Circulator,the Orange-Chapel Hill Midday Connector,and the Orange- Alamance Connector,as shown in Figure ES-1. As part of the SRTP,an analysis was conducted to provide an overview of the operating context for OPT,demographic and socioeconomic characteristics,and general system performance. Findings included the following: ■ There is opportunity to improve ridership on existing services.The Hillsborough Circulator and the Orange-Chapel Hill Midday Connector serve approximately 64 and 15 average daily riders,respectively. ■ Population density in Orange County outside of Chapel Hill and Carrboro is relatively low.The majority of the county does not have the population or employment density to support fixed-route transit. ■ The most common commute destinations for north Orange County residents are to Hillsborough,Durham,and Chapel Hill. Public Outreach Two phases of outreach were conducted as part of the SRTP—the first phase took place in November 2017 to understand the needs of existing riders and non-riders,and the second phase occurred in September 2018 to confirm future service priorities.Top priorities from each of the outreach phases included the following: ■ Improving weekday and Saturday service frequency and providing later evening service ■ Improving local circulation in Hillsborough and providing connections to Chapel Hill 3 00ran9e,,C,,&_,U,!rY I OPT Short Range Transit Plan Figure ES-1 Existing OPT Service Network I I - ------ - - — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — I r wl r UIw W I ZIU Uri Q l Z Z I a � IQ Q12 cr Q I O 5, '❑ , r I ' , I I ' I r es I ! I I Mebane ; r I r 76 Hillsborough r i Efland , Of r Mebane C e r Park&Ride J I I I rot I I Or I Durham + Durham ec OCC r y Park&Ri 86 I � I I Duke University I ' 1 ' r OPT Existing Service ' r Orange-AlamanceConnector 0 r 07 Hillsborough Circulator Eubanks Road Chapel Hill I r Orange Chapel Hill Connector Park&Ride I Q Park&Ride Carrboro a a r Point of Interest UNC-Chapel Hill 311lles N ! � NelsonlNygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. I ES-2 4 00ran9e,,C,,&_,U,!rY I OPT Short Range Transit Plan Service Prioritization Typically,fixed-route transit service is best suited for areas with sufficiently high population and employment density to provide adequate ridership to sustain the service.In rural or suburban areas,like much of Orange County,frequent fixed-route service may not be the most effective method of service delivery.Instead,multiple service types may be appropriate depending on the density of population and jobs,the distribution of community services,and potential connections to surrounding areas and transit services. As such,recommended improvements for OPT represent a combination of service types. Recommendations were prioritized to provide access to jobs from rural areas,respond to public feedback by expanding service hours and improving frequency on existing routes,and improving connections between Mebane,Efland,and Hillsborough.A summary of these improvements is provided in Figure ES-2,and the proposed system map is shown in Figure ES-3. The prioritized recommendations are intended to provide the maximum benefit within current funding levels and provide a path for future investment should additional funding become available. NelsonlNygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. I ES-3 00ran9e,,C,,&_,U,!rY I OPT Short Range Transit Plan Figure ES-2 OPT Service Prioritization Summary Improvement I Description Funded 1 Regional Vanpool Expand GoTriangle vanpool program to other areas of Orange County, Yes Program provide marketing and subsidies 2 Community Van Lease vans to non-profits and government agencies to provide access to Yes Program social services in the community 3 Zone Services Three demand response zones operating two days per week for five hours Yes 4 Hillsborough Continue to provide service that operates hourly on weekdays from 8:00 AM Yes Circulator to 5:00 PM 5 Orange-Alamance Alter alignment to provide bi-directional service on US 70 between Yes Connector Hillsborough, Efland,and Mebane 6 Orange-Chapel Hill Continue to provide service that operates hourly on weekdays from 9:45 AM Yes Midday Connector to 3:50 PM 7 Vanpool Subsidy Provide additional vanpool subsidy for Orange County residents No Program 8 Expand Expand service span and frequency on existing route to operate Monday to No Hillsborough Saturday from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM Circulator Service 9 Additional Alternative alignment for the Hillsborough Circulator with two partially No Hillsborough overlapping loops Circulator Route 10 Improve Zone Improve service on the three demand response zones to operate on all No Services weekdays from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM 11 Hillsborough- New fixed-route service between Hillsborough and Durham with connections No Durham Connector to the Duke VA Hospital operating hourly on weekdays between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM 12 Cedar Grove Peak New peak only fixed-route service between Hillsborough and Cedar Grove No Connector on weekdays between 6:00 AM and 9:00 AM and 3:30 PM and 7:00 PM 13 White Cross New peak only fixed-route service between Chapel Hill and White Cross No Commuter Service operating on weekdays between 6:30 AM and 9:30 AM and between 3:30 PM and 6:30 PM 14 Transit Amenities New transit amenities in Hillsborough including a new transfer center and a No new park-and-ride facility NelsonlNygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. I ES-4 00ran9e,,C,,&i I OPT Short Range Transit Plan Figure ES-3 Proposed OPT System Map rLi — Legend Orange-Al—nce Connector ■ Southernoeviated Fixed Route Zone 49 — Hillsborough Circu lator ■ Northwesterr,De�iatea — Orange-Chapel Hill Connector Fixed Route Zone Hillsborough-Duke VA ■ Northeastern Deviated Fixed Route Zane Cedar Grove Peak Connector O Park-and-Ride Lots Cedar • white Cross Connector Grove CcTriangle Routes c o a v E C' f E Lebanon Rtl -mod Hillsborough Ftlltlre a Hillsborough 157 Efland OPark-aril-Ride Mebane aewrle rope Healm Park-antl-Ride �' 0 U E S 0 Q ®O otlrhamT�rn Party-aM-Ride aNis Rtl 147 ��vz V60 Vvxpml ♦ouke Durham � sol e E�oanln Park-and-Ritle O IS While E— Pdrk-arvJ-Ride O 8 Chapel Hill Carrboro UNC Chapel Hill 15 501 NelsonlNygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. I ES-5