TITLE: Title
Request to Consider Resolution to Continue Participation in the Transportation Demand Management Program for FY2020-21.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is for the Town Council to consider authorizing the Town Manager to Execute a Memorandum of Agreement with the Town of Chapel Hill for Carrboro's participation in the Regional Transportation Demand Management program for FY2020-2021.
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DEPARTMENT: Planning
CONTACT INFORMATION: Zachary Hallock, 919-918-7329, zhallock@townofcarrboro.org <mailto:zhallock@townofcarrboro.org>
INFORMATION: Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programs promote alternatives to single occupant vehicles for personal commuter transportation for the purpose of improving air quality, reducing transportation congestion, and expanding mobility options. In 2006-2007, Go Triangle, Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG), the two Metropolitan Planning Organizations (Capital Area MPO and Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro MPO) and the North Carolina Department of Transportation created the Triangle Region Seven Year Long Range Travel Demand Management Plan to improve TDM efforts in the Triangle. The regional program, funded by NCDOT is administered by TJCOG as a reimbursement-based grant program. Information about the program is provided (Attachment B and Attachment C). Additional details about the TJCOG TDM program can be found at:
<https://www.tjcog.org/programs-land-use-transportation/transportation-demand-management>
The Town of Carrboro has participated with the Town of Chapel Hill in the regional Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program for the last several years. Chapel Hill serves as the grant recipient and the Town of Carrboro partners as a sub-recipient. The Town of Carrboro receives up to a 50-percent match on staff and vehicle costs for activities such as the Open Streets event in April, and a 2-percent reimbursement of the Transportation Planner’s salary for the year.
Due to the competitiveness of the grant application process, the amount which staff are requesting for Carrboro’s TDM activities has been reduced from previous years. In the past, we had applied for a 50-percent grant on approximate $9,000. The amount we are applying for has been lowered to $5,500 (a 50-percent reimbursement of $2,750 as identified above), in order to give our application a greater chance of being accepted and increase the chance to receive some grant funding for the TDM activities which the Town will continue participating in throughout the year regardless.
FISCAL & STAFF IMPACT: The anticipated fiscal impact for the Town’s participation in the TDM program for FY2020-2021 is up to $5,500, which includes a 50-percent reimbursement for staff and vehicle costs for specific activities such as the April Open Streets Event, Bike on Bus and other TDM outreach events throughout the year; plus approximately 2-percent of the Transportation Planner’s Salary.
RECOMMENDATION:r Staff recommends that the Council consider adopting the resolution (Attachment A) to authorize the Town Manager to execute a Memorandum of Agreement with the Town of Chapel Hill for the FY2020-2021 Transportation Demand Management program, a grant from Triangle J Council of Governments.