Orange County NC Website
11 <br /> Demand <br /> 4. The ridership forecasts (Table D-2 of AA) for boarding (via walk access) in <br /> Orange County at: <br /> UNC 630 <br /> Mason Farm 340 <br /> Hamilton 220 <br /> Friday Center 70 <br /> Meadowmont '110 <br /> TOTAL RIDERS 1370 <br /> These numbers appear high since most populations in UNC are students who <br /> would not be leaving Orange County via LRT for employment. <br /> Is there any other insight on these numbers? <br /> This question mistakenly assumes that people who walk to and from stations are <br /> by definition Orange County residents, and/or students. In fact, few of those <br /> walking to the station are likely to be on-campus students. <br /> Instead, many of the people walking to and from the UNC Hospital station are <br /> most likely workers at the hospital complex or other facilities on south campus <br /> such as the Thurston Bowles building, Neurosciences Research Center, or <br /> Ambulatory Care Center. <br /> While we cannot tell the county of origin of riders in the data (see question 1 on <br /> page 1) we can guess that with 75% of the UNC-Alston light rail line being <br /> physically in Durham County, a significant portion of those walking to and from <br /> the UNC Hospital station live outside of Orange County. <br /> COMMUTER PATTERNS/CORRIDORS <br /> 1. Due to the shape of Orange County and the proposal for light rail alignments in <br /> its extreme southeast corner, many county residents with destinations in Durham <br /> will continue to drive directly. Although a majority of the County's residents <br /> reside in the Chapel Hill and Carrboro area, approximately 45% live elsewhere <br /> (See Map). <br /> This is more of a statement than a question. <br /> Page 3 of 13 <br />