RES-2012-020 Resolution to Approve the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for the Durham Orange County Transit Corridor

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�� S . �o � � • dzo 8� RESOLUTION TO APPROVE THE LOCALLY-PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE (LPA) FOR THE DURHAM-ORANGE COUNTY TRANSIT CORRIDOR February 8, 2012 A motion was made by TAC Member_and seconded by TAC Member for the adoption of the following resolution, and upon being put to a vote, was duly adopted. WHEREAS, the Special Transit Advisory Commission (STAC) recommendations in May 2008 included rail transit extending from Raleigh to Durham to Chapel Hill; and WHEREAS, the Durham-Chapel-Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO) incorporated the STAC rail transit into the adopted 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan in April 2009; and WHEREAS, the North Carolina General Assembly approved the Congestion Relief/Intermodal Transport bill in August 2009 that enables local areas to fund public transportation through an increase in sales tax, car registration fees and special district property taxes; and WHEREAS, the Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) implemented the Triangle Regional Transit Program in 2010 to study the financial, ridership, environmental and public input aspects of regional bus and rail transit, and subsequently conducted a visioning process and Transitional Analysis to study rail corridors in Durham, Orange, and Wake counties, and WHEREAS, the TTA completed an Alternatives Analysis on the three highest-performing corridors that included the Durham-Orange corridor in July 2011 and issued an Addendum to the "Detailed Definition of Alternatives Technical Report" in August 2011 which clarified that reasonable alternatives to the proposed alignments crossing the Little Creek and New Hope Creek areas will be studied; and WHEREAS, the TTA and the DCHC MPO have both conducted comprehensive public involvement activities, which included public workshops, public hearings and presentations to local elected boards, for the visioning process, Transitional Analysis and Alternatives Analysis; and WHEREAS, light rail transit technology has a greater potential to promote economic growth and focus transit-supportive development around station areas as compared to bus rapid transit technology; and WHEREAS, alignment option A3 in the UNC station area is supported by the Town of Chapel Hill, UNC at Chapel Hill, and UNC Hospitals and would allow for future extension of the alignment to the west to possible destinations such as downtown Chapel Hill, downtown Carrboro and the Carolina North Campus; and