HomeMy WebLinkAboutOUTBoard Minutes - August 19, 2024 ORANGE UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Monday August 19, 2024, 6:30 pm
131 W. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC 27278
1 Attendance: Members Present
2 Jamie Crandell Eno Township
3 Natalie Ziemba Cedar Grove Township
4 Roy Schonberg Chapel Hill Township
5 Erik Legg Cheeks Township
6 Micheal Hughes At Large
7 Joshua Mayo At Large
8 Amy Cole At Large
9 Randy Marshall Bingham Township
10 Art Menius Little River Township
11 Gregory Woloszczuk Chapel Hill Township
12 Miranda Adams Nelson Nygaard
13 Terren Green Public Citizen
14 Luis Hernandez Public Citizen
15 Kelly Milligan Orange County Staff
16 Nishith Trivedi Orange County Staff
17 Darlene Weaver Orange County Staff
18
19 AGENDA ITEM 1: CALL TO ORDER
20 The meeting was called to order and the roll was taken.
21
22 AGENDA ITEM 2: CONSIDERATIONS OF ADDITIONS TO AGENDA. None.
23
24 AGENDA ITEM 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS. None.
25
26 AGENDA ITEM 4. MINUTES-July 10 and July 18, 2024
27 Motion:Art Menius-with changes:
28 Date correction June 101h to July 101h, and 2023 to 2024.
29 Amy not at July 18`h meeting.
30 Spelling correction Bingham Township,
31 Future minutes summarized, not verbatim,videos posted online for the verbatim
32 Second: Randy Marshal
33 Approval: Unanimously
34
35 AGENDA ITEM 5. OUTBOARD AGENDA
36
37 a. Transportation Multimodal Plan
38 N.Trivedi provided a brief update on the TMP, focusing on the unique prioritization process specific to
39 Orange County. More information on the criteria will be provided. Multiple projects along Orange Grove
40 Road were discussed.
41
42 J. Mayo asked about public involvement. N.Trivedi answered yes,there was public involvement and WSP
43 is including it in the plan update.Also asked if action would be taken if more information is forthcoming.
44 N.Trivedi answered, no action taken, only feedback, action at next meeting.
45 J. Mayo inquired about the town projects that might be included in the list. N.Trivedi clarified that these
46 projects would be called out separately, as the focus is primarily on the unincorporated areas of the
47 County. While towns were invited to engage in the process, town projects are not part of this plan and
48 will be addressed independently by the town. J. Mayo also questioned whether the aim was to prepare
49 for future SPOT submissions. Nish responded that the objective is to consolidate into a single,enhanced
50 document, building upon previous efforts. SPOT considerations will follow at a later stage.
51
52 b. Short Range Transit Plan
53 M. Adams with Nelson Nygaard provided an update on the plan. R. Marshall asked about how people
54 could get more information and better qualify for Demand Response. M. Adams informed that the plan
55 recommends improvements to messaging and marketing: Transit Information Campaign and Improve
56 Demand Response booking. J. Mayo shared concern of Orange County transit tax used in Alamance
57 County. N. Trivedi explained it was part of Continuation of Existing Services, discontinuing Orange-
58 Alamance and starting a Circulator. Funding for Mebane Circulator is an ongoing discussion.
59
60 c. 2024 Safe Routes to School Plan
61 N.Trivedi provided an update on the plan.G.Woloszczuk asked about the two-mile radius around Chapel
62 Hill Carrboro schools where some of it may be outside town jurisdiction. N.Trivedi explained this could
63 be part of a future update of the plan. J. Mayo offered to share the Chapel Hills Safe Routes to School
64 program. Future works could include addressing the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction and entire school
65 districts rather than just a 2-mile radius.
66
67 A. Cole and N.Ziemba asked about current school policies and programs while M. Hughes asked about
68 potential infrastructure. N.Trivedi explained schools are aware of the Federal requirements for the Safe
69 Routes to School program and they have their own approaches. They were involved in the planning
70 process. T. Green discussed the potential for a Safe Routes to School Champion as a future option.
71 County staff will continue researching how we can improve messaging through a Safe Routes to School
72 Coordinator similar to that in Chapel Hill and other local jurisdictions.
73 Infrastructure in North Carolina is challenging, with towns having more opportunities than Counties.
74 Rural areas require more local and federal commitment towards improving such infrastructure. Plans
75 like this and others help establish local support so that other funding opportunities could be made
76 available like SPOT,Transit Tax and other transportation related sources.OUTBoard members and public
77 citizens emphasized the critical importance, current demand and lack of resources for the most
78 vulnerable walking and bike population in the County. R. Marshal explained the significance of school
79 busses as a safe means of travel to and from schools.
80
81 AGENDA ITEM 6. STAFF REPORT/UPDATES
82 a. MPO, RPO, and NCDOT
83 N.Trivedi provided update on Orange Grove Road's future Professional Engineering work to be done by
84 WSP.
85
86 b. 5310 Grant—Go Orange and 3ADAVehicles
87 N.Trivedi updated everyone on grant applications submitted to DCHC MPO in coordination with
88 Department on Aging
89
90 AGENDA ITEM 8:ADJOURNMENT
91 OUTBoard meeting was adjourned at 7:56 p.m.The next meeting is scheduled for September 30, 2024.