Title
Public Hearing for the Safe Routes to School Action Plan Update
PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND:
The purpose of this agenda item is for the Town Council to hold a legislative public hearing and receive public comment on the draft Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Action Plan Update. The draft Plan identifies infrastructure improvements and programmatic strategies to make walking, biking, and rolling to school safer and more accessible for students in and around Carrboro.
In 2023, the Town received a non-infrastructure grant from the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Integrated Mobility Division (NCDOT-IMD) to update the 2012 SRTS Strategic Action Plan and collaborate with the Town of Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools on a district-wide SRTS program. A supplemental grant awarded in 2025, with a 20% Town match, supported continued development of the Plan.
In August 2025, the Town contracted with Three Oaks Engineering, Inc. to prepare the update. Over the past year, the project team has assessed existing travel conditions, engaged students, families, and school administrators, and developed infrastructure and programmatic recommendations. The resulting draft Plan is intended to guide the Town’s SRTS program over the next five years.
With additional approval from NCDOT-IMD and the Town Council, the consultant’s scope was expanded to include:
Assessing existing conditions and recommending improvements for Carrboro students traveling to schools in Chapel Hill.
Advancing priority projects through preliminary design and engineering to improve their competitiveness for future funding and support earlier implementation.
These additional efforts are incorporated into the draft Plan.
Since the draft Plan was published on the Engage Carrboro webpage on October 4, 2026, the project team has shared it with stakeholder groups, including Carrboro school principals, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools administrators, Town advisory boards and commissions, and NC...
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