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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOUTBoard Dec 15, 2025 ORANGE TRANSPORTATION COUNTY GOVERNMENT TRANSPORTATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT COUNTY NoKaL CALIQLLNA PUBLIC TRANSIT OrangeCounty AGENDA ORANGE UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION BOARD December 15th, 2025, 6:30 pm 131 W Margaret Ln, Hillsborough, NC 27278 OUTBoard meetings are held in person and open to the public. Any member of the general public who wishes to make a public comment can email transportationinput@orangecountync.gov. All comments will be read to the OUTBoard during the public comment portion of the meeting. 1. Call to Order 2. Consideration of Additions or Changes to Agenda 3. Public Comments 4. Minutes— November 17th, 2025 5. Staff Report/Updates a. Staff updates What's Ahead in 2026 i. Action: Information 6. Adjournment-The next meeting—January 15, 2026 It is the policy of Orange County Transportation Services to ensure that no person shall, on the ground of race, color, sex, age, national origin, or disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987. 600 Hwy 86 N - Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Phone (919)245-2008 - Fax (919) 732-2137 orangecountync.gov/transportation ORANGE UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES Monday, November 17, 2025 131 W. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC 27278 1 The Orange Unified Transportation Board Meeting was held on Monday, November 17, 2025, at 6:30 PM in 2 the West Campus Office Building.The following members and guests attended: 3 4 Jamie Crandell Eno Township 5 Erik Legg Cedar Grove Township 6 Art Menius Little River Township 7 Gregory Woloszczuk At Large 8 Roy Schonberg Chapel Hill Township 9 Heidi Perry Bingham Township 10 Sherry Appel At Large 11 Josh Mayo Cheeks Township 12 Gene Owen At Large 13 Susan Gladin Hillsborough Township 14 Roy Schonberg Chapel Hill Township 15 Sarah Williamson Orange County Staff 16 Darlene Weaver Orange County Staff 17 18 19 AGENDA ITEM 1: CALL TO ORDER 20 The meeting was called to order at 6:31 pm, and the roll was taken. 21 22 AGENDA ITEM 2: CONSIDERATIONS OF ADDITIONS TO AGENDA. 23 Art Menius added the June minutes to the meeting for approval. 24 Motion: Gregory Woloszczuk 25 Second: Roy Schonberg 26 Approved: Unanimously 27 28 AGENDA ITEM 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS 29 No public comments were made. 30 31 AGENDA ITEM 4. MINUTES-October 20, 2025. Motion to approve as amended to change the date to 32 November 17, 2025. 33 Motion: Heidi Perry 34 Second:Jamie Crandell 35 Approved: Unanimously 36 AGENDA ITEM 5. REGULAR AGENDA 37 38 a. County Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan 39 Sarah Williamson provided information on the process and coordination involved with the consultant, 40 Stantec, and the Triangle West Transportation Planning Organization (TWTPO). Johnna Burkett and 41 Madeline Galliano provided the presentation.The project started in November 2024.Johnna provided an 42 actionable strategy for multimodal design in the unincorporated areas of Orange County. She explained 43 that Stantec is in the listening stage of the project, and they are documenting the paths and graph 44 recommendations draft for the implementation plan.The goal is the discuss what Stantec has done over 45 the past year and discuss the recommendations moving forward.The organization has three goals make 46 walking and biking safer, build a more connected network, and improve access for everyone. Stantec 47 completed engagements and was able to reach 600 residents across nine different engagement 48 platforms. They had a project website and an interactive online map, and an online survey. They 49 completed one pop-up and public workshops in Carrboro and Chapel Hill. Feedback from all platforms 50 indicated that the infrastructure is limited and disconnected. Although there was interest in creating 51 connections between Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough, safety concerns arose due to drivers' 52 behaviors. 53 54 Stantec chose 10 project concept designs, eight of which came from the top 20 projects that came 55 from the prioritization criteria that they went through, along with a prioritization working group;the 56 last two projects came from engaging with the community.They determined the 10 by doing 10%of 10 57 projects. It was highlighted that safety concerns near Duke Forest on Whitfield Road, noting the lack of 58 sidewalks and shoulders, despite increased bicycle and pedestrian activity. It was also mentioned that 59 the new 1-40 entrance has shifted traffic patterns in the northwest Chapel Hill/unincorporated area. It 60 was suggested that we discuss traffic, safety, and speed because there is an allusion to that earlier in 61 the plan.Any recommendations on roads like Old NC 86 or NC 86 would stop at the Hillsborough town 62 limits because this plan does not cover facilities inside the town. One OUTboard member suggested 63 that the document clearly note that some proposed segments will not connect directly to 64 Hillsborough's existing bike and pedestrian network, since the town has limited space(e.g., on Churton 65 Street), and the plan does not include their internal projects. Stantec said they discussed with 66 Hillsborough staff that their planned shared-use path on Churton Street would connect directly to the 67 shared-use path recommended in this plan. If the town chooses a different design,the connection 68 could shift from a shared-use path to a bike lane, but coordination between county and town staff will 69 ensure everything ties together.The OUTboard members would like to see more data, because right 70 now they don't have enough information. Stantec asked for feedback on how supportive the board 71 would be with recommendations to update the Unified Development Ordinance(UDO)to align with 72 current and future planning efforts. Yes, and UDO updates are already underway, and aligning them 73 with adopted plans would help ensure consistency, close network gaps, and require developers to 74 provide needed bicycle and pedestrian connections. It was suggested to use an example that supports 75 rural concepts. It was suggested that we use the type of facility that we want in the plan and have the 76 plan adopted as part of the county's plan. It was explained that Orange County has a strong foundation 77 of adopted plans that support biking and walking, such as the Orange County Transportation 78 Multimodal Plan, Orange County Trails plan,TWTPO Vision Action Zero Plan, and Safe Routes for 79 School Plan.The Bike-Ped plan is expected to go before the board in January or February, and we have 80 another meeting before presenting the packet to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). 81 82 There were several questions: 83 0 Can we have a list of the roads?Yes,they will be provided 84 0 Is there a way to have a map with roads labeled online and in a spreadsheet? 85 0 Did you remove the greenway and trail?Yes, because Parks and Recreation are doing a separate 86 plan. Stantec is only focusing on the bike-ped network that's on the road. 87 0 When the plans are complete,will we be able to see how they are both connected?Yes,they are 88 being completed in a parallel process, and we are both prioritizing. Both plans will be presented 89 to the BOCC together so that they can see both plans at the same time. 90 0 What is Stantec proposing for Old 86?The right of way is so very narrow. Stantec recommends a 91 10-foot shared-use path along Old NC 86, separated from the roadway with a buffer, to improve 92 safety for people walking and biking,given curves, driver behavior, and line-of-sight issues. 93 ■ Are there more details about what incidents have occurred for either pedestrians or bicyclists on 94 Orange High School Road or Oakdale Drive? Stantec looks at safety and crash locations, and 95 TWTPO has a vision zero safety action plan for a portion of Orange County. Stantec will provide 96 the map. 97 M Were there specific criteria beyond the goals that guided and justified the recommendations? It 98 was explained that all county roads mustfollowthe North Carolina Department of Transportation 99 (NCDOT's) Complete Streets policy, so the team reviewed the state's requirements and design 100 guidance. They used NCDOT's activity estimation map to understand areas of high walking and 101 biking demands, and evaluated speeds, traffic volumes, crash history, and existing plans to 102 shape the recommendations. 103 0 Is the pipe pad crash tool still existing? How often does it update? Yes, and it's updated 104 frequently. 105 0 How do you decide between building a 10-foot shared-use path versus two 5-foot bike lanes? 106 Since bike lanes are not separated from traffic,the shared-use path provides a much higher level 107 of protection. It's the safest option for everyday users, cautious riders, and families who don't 108 feel comfortable biking next to vehicles. Cost, along with factors like speed and traffic volumes, 109 all help determine the recommended. 110 ■ Can we have upgrades to Irwin Road? 111 E What is the difference between US 70, US 70 Business, and US 70 Alt, and why do they appear 112 differently on the map? US 70 Alt is essentially the same roadway people commonly refer to as 113 US 70 Business,while US 70 refers to the main highway alignment.The map shows both because 114 they represent two separate project areas: one on US 70 Alt/Business and another on the main 115 US 70 corridor.The team will clarify the naming in revisions to avoid confusion. 116 ■ Where can we find Appendix A?This is where all the concept designs are for each project. The 117 plan is still in draft format, and we have not assembled them;the materials are ready. 118 M How is this integrated with the town of Hillsborough?Are they also doing a similar bike plan that 119 would feed into this?This plan focuses on the unincorporated parts of Hillsborough of Orange 120 County, but Hillsborough staff participated throughout the process through stakeholder 121 meetings and the project committee. Much of the recommended network connects to 122 Hillsborough because focus groups identified more infrastructure gaps there compared to other 123 areas. While the team coordinated closely with the town, this plan does not make 124 recommendations for Hillsborough's own internal planning efforts. 125 Why did we choose the 10 projects we have designs for?Are they the top priorities, and I would 126 like to know how NC86 would fit into this?We had a list of the top 20, and 8 are from that list.We 127 did not choose the concept development; we were told which ones to move forward with. The 128 priorities are not set,yet we are getting your feedback, but these were picked as a sampling of the 129 20.Theywere informed that Nish picked these before he left, so we are having to figure out some 130 of the parts, and we are getting feedback on these ten, and we'll take that feedback into account 131 as we figure out the whole prioritization. 132 133 134 AGENDA ITEM 6.STAFF REPORT/UPDATES/EVENTS 135 a. Fare Free Fixed Route Service 136 This is scheduled to go before the BOCC in December 2025. Orange County is looking at going fare-free 137 on all four of our fixed route services.That would save us some staff time on getting that paperwork 138 done for customers that might or might not qualify, and then would also eliminate the collection 139 equipment that we have to replace every several years,which is expensive and takes the vehicles out of 140 service to do.We are in the process of routing a contract that will change the software that we use for 141 dispatching our buses, and that connects to the onboard Wi-Fi systems. It was suggested that we do 142 marketing to inform the community through radio, churches, and the Department of Social Services 143 (DSS), etc.An Orange County representative explained they were currently working with the 144 Communication Engagement Office on the Outreach and Education Campaign and updating 145 brochures, and we are working with the finance department so that we can advertise the change. 146 147 148 AGENDA ITEM 7:ADJOURNMENT 149 Art Menius adjourned the meeting at 7:38 pm.The next meeting is scheduled for December 15, 2025.