TITLE: Title
Report on the 2022 Orange County Transit Plan Update
PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is to provide the Town Council with a report on the 2022 Orange County Transit Plan (OCTP) Update during the public comment period and an opportunity to adopt a resolution of support. The plan is anticipated to be adopted in December 2022.
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DEPARTMENT: Planning
CONTACT INFORMATION: Christina Moon, Planning Administrator, 919-918-7325, cmoon@carrboronc.gov <mailto:cmoon@carrboronc.gov>; Tom Altieri, Orange County Comprehensive Planning Supervisor, 919-9-245-2579, taltieri@orangecountync.gov <mailto:taltieri@orangecountync.gov>; Patricia McGuire, Planning Director, 919-918-7327, pmcguire@carrboronc.gov <mailto:pmcguire@carrboronc.gov>
INFORMATION: This agenda item is intended to provide the Town Council with report on the 2022 Orange County Transit Plan Update scheduled to be adopted in December of this year. The plan allocates County transit tax revenue with commitments for public transit through the next twenty years, including major investments in bus rapid transit, enhanced bus service and associated bus access improvement projects (bus shelters, sidewalks, etc.), and is linked to a cost-sharing agreement with Durham County for projects of mutual interest-such as regional transit that provides service to both jurisdictions.
The Council received a presentation on the draft plan on May 10, 2022. Agenda materials included links to previous Council agenda items relating to this update, the 2017 Orange County Transit Plan and associated background information (Town of Carrboro - Meeting of Town Council on 5/10/2022 at 7:00 PM (legistar.com) <https://carrboro.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=921150&GUID=04C5B400-BCFB-4EAD-B2D2-70E21D66DC80&Options=&Search=>). (It should be noted that work on the update began in 2020, so early materials are referred to as the Orange County Transit Plan 2020.)
The updated plan will be adopted by Orange County, GoTriangle, and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO). The DCHC MPO Board received a report on the draft plan on October 12th. Materials from that meeting are provided: a staff memo (Attachment B), a copy of the draft plan (Attachment C) and a PowerPoint presentation (Attachment D). The presentation was recorded and is recommended for viewing as it provides a good overview of the plan, including the proposed projects and financial model. (DCHC Metropolitan Planning Organization - Meeting of DCHC MPO Board on 10/12/2022 at 9:00 AM (legistar.com) <https://dchcmpo.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=922100&GUID=DDC385D8-96E2-4687-AEB7-558250EB0CCC&Options=info|&Search=>; (DCHC MPO Regular Board Meeting - October 12, 2022 - YouTube <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_D8nJUT0zE>). The DCHC MPO opened the public comment period for the plan on October 17th; the 21-day period ends on November 7th.
At its final meeting on October 14th, the Policy Steering Committee (PSC) for the Orange County Transit Plan received a presentation from Chapel Hill Transit requesting an additional $15 million for the North-South Bus Rapid Transit (NSBRT) project to allow that project to move forward with an application for federal funding by securing the 20-percent required local match (Attachment E). The PSC voted in support of request. Orange County staff are examining the financial implications of the request; adjustments to the funding chapter (4) of the draft plan (pages 42-43) will be needed, modification to the implementation chapter (7) of the plan may also be needed. The Orange County Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the transit plan on November 1st. (Agenda materials may be found here: <https://www.orangecountync.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11012022-1666>.)
It should be noted that the Town has received funds from the 2017 Orange County Transit Plan for capital projects and will continue to receive funds for those projects as part of the new plan. The Town’s request to include projects for the “unfunded priorities,” section of the plan has also been included in the current draft. These projects were discussed on May 10, 2022 and February 9, 2021 Town of Carrboro - Meeting of Town Council on 2/9/2021 at 6:30 PM (legistar.com) <https://carrboro.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=823938&GUID=70401FAB-4AE5-4104-8785-4EE435B92376&Options=&Search=> <https://carrboro.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4790210&GUID=7A50B109-BAAC-460E-9BBF-9A76D5169A23&Options=ID%7CText%7C&Search=transit+project&FullText=1>.
Additional information about the Orange County Transit Plan may be found on the project website (-Orange County Transit Plan 2020 Transit Plan 2020 (octransit2020.com) <https://octransit2020.com/>.
FISCAL & STAFF IMPACT: There are no fiscal impacts associated with receiving the update. Adoption of the 2022 Orange County Transit Plan Update would continue to provide funding for certain Town bike-ped infrastructure projects that offer enhanced access to transit service and, dependent on future transit tax revenues, may provide funding for additional infrastructure projects.
RECOMMENDATION:r Staff recommends that the Town Council receive the update and consider adoption of the resolution provided (Attachment A), which supports the adoption of the updated plan, with support for the additional funding for the NSBRT project, and the continued incorporation of projects for Carrboro, both funded and currently unfunded.