HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.19.2024 OUTboard Minutes ORANGE UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Monday February 19, 2023, 6:30 pm
131 W. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC 27278
1 Attendance: Members Present
2
3 Jamie Crandell Eno Township
4 Natalie Ziemba Cedar Grove Township
5 Nishith Trivedi Transportation Director
6 Darlene Weaver Transportation Planning Manager
7 Roy Schonberg Chapel Hill Township
8 Erik Legg Cheeks Township
9 Adam McGovern At Large
10 Micheal Hughes At Large
11 Joshua Mayo At Large
12 Amy Cole At Large
13 Sherrl Appel At Large
14 Randy Marshall Bringham Township
15
16 AGENDA ITEM 1: CALL TO ORDER
17 The meeting was called to order and roll taken
18
19 AGENDA ITEM 2: CONSIDERATIONS OF ADDITIONS TO AGENDA
20
21 AGENDA ITEM 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS
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23 AGENDA ITEM 4.APPROVAL OF MINUTES
24
25 AGENDA ITEM S. OUTBoard Agenda
26
27 5.a. 70 Multimodal Corridor Plan Presentation
28 Nish presented the corridor study and answered questions raised.
29
30 Question: Does that involved a widened shoulder?
31 Answer: Study recommends shared use path on the north side and a sidewalk on the south, done in coordination
32 with Hillsboro's connectivity plan and Mebane's recently approved Bike/Ped. Plan. Study does not recommend
33 any changes to locally adopted plans.
34
35 Question: Does that include the sidewalk in subdivision along the corridor?
36 Answer:Yes, areas like Fairview, and others that go through development review will require sidewalks.
37
38 Question: What about the corner of Corbin and 86? I've heard it's a state road, but what I hear you say that
39 Hillsborough has a plan for it?
40 Answer:Yes. It is in the Hillsborough Connectivity plan they recently adopted.
41
42 Question: Does this plan include areas below it?
43 Answer: Hillsborough Connectivity Plan addresses it.
44
45 Question: What's the road in the upper left-hand corner?
46 Answer:That is Fairview, rural Orange County.
47 Question: I see bike improvement and is that the road to Transportation Services?
48 Answer:Yes. There is Fairview Community Center and Park right there.
49
50 Question: Is the transit vision for this corridor a fixed route transit?
51 Answer: Yes, the majority is fixed route with demand response feeding it. As Transit Emphases Corridor or and
52 through Transit Oriented Development, additional fixed route services will increase transit access. Currently we
53 have the Orange-Alamance and in discussion with Mebane for the Mebane circulator. Question: Do we know the
54 ridership along the corridor?
55 Answer: Right now, it is poor and the ridership along Orange-Alamance is more of a deviated service since Covid.
56 It was also advised that since Go triangle just made changes to their ODX route(s). Transit recommendations
57 include new stops and improvements. Once those are all addressed, it shows a need for a widened road and the
58 plan recommends a four-lane divided for the corridor.
59
60 Question: Would that be similar to the typical widened section in NC 54?
61 Answer: NCDOT complete streets will only help pay for improvements such as sidewalks, bike, pedestrian, and
62 transit improvements through highway projects.
63
64 Question: Is there enough right of way to do it?
65 Answer: It's 120 feet of right of way which is already filed for US 70 (not 70 business). The DOT already has it.
66 There are parts of 70 that are only 100 feet. US 70 is also a federal highway.
67
68 There was discussion regarding speed cameras and revenue generation and higher rates of speeding and accidents
69 post Covid.The four-lane divided highway will end at Buckhorn and Mt.Willing Road. It was recommended to look
70 at the Efland access management plan regarding the residential zoning and a four-lane divided highway. Mebane
71 and 70 business are not recommended to be widened at this time.
72
73 Question: How do you put in a divided highway and keep the character of the community & preserve the
74 environment? There are studies that show the effective way to reduce congestion is to narrow the lanes, not
75 widen them, how will this work?
76 Answer: Road diet's such as narrowing lanes or replacing vehicle lanes with bike/ped. Work in urban
77 environments. The practice is challenging in rural areas due to constant increasing in commuting traffic. The
78 Existing Condition analysis showed that more and more people are using US 70 and less are using 1-85. 1-85/1-40
79 is mainly Burlington to Raleigh, not Mebane, Hillsborough to Durham and vice versa.
80
81 Question: Is this work/plan at the point where the MPOs and Towns have agreed?
82 Answer: We're looking for as many comments as possible so they can make any changes that need to be done
83 before it comes back to you in March for your action. Hillsborough and Mebane will take action first,than Orange
84 County. MPO action will defer to local jurisdictions.
85
86 Question: Has this been vetted by the MPOs at this point?
87 Answer: Both MPOs are part of the Core Technical Team and meet monthly on the project.
88
89 Question: When those improvements are done, is it required they make it ADA accessible for the bus stops, etc.?
90 Answer: Yes. When the State does a road improvement, if there is an associated transit component, it is required
91 to be ADA accessible. A comment was made that advised it depends on the scope of the change, for example, if
92 the State tears up the asphalt and puts it back, that will not trigger the need for an ADA improvement. If they
93 were to move the bus stop, then they would have to. There was a discussion of the nuance of when an
94 improvement is required vs. not.
95 Question: How and who determines the priorities, and what is the total dollar amount for all of this?Who is going
96 to make the decision, I assume there is a staging process?
97 Answer: In the Plan itself it tells you who is responsible for what. The total cost will be requested from the
98 consultant. The Plan will be implemented through multiple funding sources SPOT/STIP, SPOT
99 Safety/Mobility/HSIP, SS4A and other resources identified.
100
101 Question: Will the consultant break it down by responsibility?
102 Answer:The table in the Plan itself already does that. Consultant will provide cost estimates.
103
104 Question: Will this plan be effective?
105 Answer:This is a visionary document. Durham,Alamance County, Burlington,and Raleigh already have their plans
106 for their portions of the corridor and are currently implementing them.
107
108 Question: Does the Study include anything on the bus ridership like frequency, hours, and is it sufficient for the
109 routes activity?
110 Answer: For the Mebane side, Burlington has put together plans mainly going west Elon, Alamance Community
111 College, and working with John Ando to address improvements focus more regional connections and to bridge
112 the gaps in coordinated service.
113
114 Action: Provide Comments. Please email any additional comments by March 8, 2024.
115
116 AGENDA ITEM 6: STAFF REPORT/ UPDATES
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118 6.a. MPO, RPO,& NCDOT Updates- Updates were included in the packet.The County bike/Ped. DCHC MPO funds
119 the plan with County giving the local match and managing the project. It will mirror the scope of work done by
120 Durham County who has already started theirs.
121
122 Question: What will be the scope of work?
123 Answer: I will get you a copy of the scope of work once I get the plan and have a chance to review it.We will make
124 sure it's on the agenda for next month. In the FY26, the MPO may fund the design and engineering for Transit
125 access for around mile of Orange Grove Road around the bus stop.
126
127 OUTBoard requested a strong push for this project. They would like for our County Commissioners and our DOT
128 representatives to have to stand on the side while the buses and cars drive by them just to get a feel what that
129 feels like for all the kids walking across there. Another comment was made regarding the logging trucks that also
130 drive by.And another comment was made that we have several bridges where this is an issue.They would love to
131 get people to do a field visit and experience some of these roads. That would be one main area for the DOT to
132 experience. MPO could assist and try to do this with a congestion management plan with cameras to get video of
133 kids walking that area risking their life. OUTBoard discussed that before the DOT would allow there workers to go
134 on that bridge, they had to do a safety assessment to make sure it was safe for their workers to go there, so they
135 are aware that there is a concern, and secondly, more safety calming measures for the interim, such as using only
136 one lane in construction areas around the school.
137
138 Question: Can the Sherrif's Office do that?
139 Answer:Yes.
140
141 The last update contained in the OUTBoard member's packet, the NCDOT luncheon notes and project sheet. We
142 did get a request for comments that is not in your packet.The NCDOT is looking for environmental/technical and
143 public comments on the widening of 1-85.
144
145 Question:The Morgan Creek Greenway, can you give us a snippet?
146 Member answer:The main thing is that there is no sidewalk and no way to get there from the neighborhoods.
147
148 Question: On the DOT status of projects what's the difference between the two columns?
149 Answer: One is what they are supposed to be, one is where they actually are currently.
150
151 AGENDA ITEM 7: FY25 WORK PROGRAM
152 Staff notified OUTBoard the FY25 Orange County Annual Work Program is out for public comment.
153
154 AGENDA ITEM 8:ADJOURNMENT
155 OUTBoard meeting was adjourned at 7:51 p.m.The next meeting is scheduled for March 18, 2024.