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A+44z4om 3 -6 -1 Brady Alternatives 38 September 20, 2010 Page I of 6 MEMORANDUM To: Mayor Stevens and Hillsborough Town Board members From: Margaret Hauth, Planning Director Date: September 20, 2010 RE: Alternatives to Elizabeth Brady Road Background: The Hillsborough Town Board of Commissioners withdrew its support for TIP (Transportation Improvement Program) project U -3808 (Elizabeth Brady Road Extension), a $33.9 million project, on December 14, 2009. After reviewing the environmental documents for the project, the Board realized the project yielded limited improvements in traffic congestion on Churton Street while posing significant impacts to the natural and social environment in the area of the project. During these discussions, Planning Department staff proposed a list of alternative projects that when taken in some combination may have similar or greater impacts on reducing Churton Street congestion. At the time of their decision, the Town Board expressed concern that withdrawing their support may cause the Town to lose the funding assigned to The Elizabeth Brady Road Extension project. Prior to NCDOT's (North Carolina Department of Transportation) withdrawal of the project entirely, it was partially funded in the STIP (State Transportation Improvement Program). While NCDOT would not commit to "swapping funding," the door was left open to work within the TIP process to assign the funds to new priorities. The DCHC -MPO (Durham Chapel Hill Carrboro - Metropolitan Planning Organization) has supported the concept of reassigning the funding to other Town projects that may achieve the goal of the Elizabeth Brady Road Extension project and assisted with the analysis of the substitute projects list to determine what combination of projects may be most effective. A copy of the DCHC -MPO report containing their analysis, The Churton Street Congestion Analy� is Report, is attached. The purpose of this document is to provide a framework for understanding that report and suggesting action options. Purpose of the Analysis: To assist with the TIP process, it is desirable to have a locally supported "package" of projects analyzed in a model that can be held up as having an impact on Churton Street congestion. This is needed in order to help persuade NCDOT that it is reasonable to reassign funding for the Elizabeth Brady Road Extension project to this package of projects as they would address the same need. When the selected package is run in the model, the Town will pick the same measures of effectiveness that were used in the Elizabeth Brady Road Extension project's EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) so the alternative projects can be compared fairly. The package must consist of projects that can be constructed quickly, and can be shown to effectively alleviate traffic congestion on Churton Street in downtown Hillsborough.