Minutes 01-29-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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involved and giving input. He said that the new construction for Hwy 86 North will be carrying a four foot shoulder, which is a considerable improvement from a safety standpoint. Jeff Charles said Orange County is a bicycling mecca due to its rural roads and attracts this segment of tourism. He noted that Bikefest in Hillsborough in August attracts about 850 people, which has an economic impact. He said there is a need to start thinking about connectivity, not only for commuting, but for cyclists, and recreational cycling. He said there are more slow-moving 35 mph top end scooters in Orange County. He noted the benefit of sharing that four foot side shoulder with cyclists, and slow moving individual powered vehicles. Commissioner McKee said he had found the surrounding counties to be amenable to accommodating Orange County on an equal basis and several projects were able to be moved forward, particularly in the Chapel Hill area and Orange Grove area for paved shoulders to accommodate safe bike travel. Chair Jacobs said one of the advantages of Orange County staying in a rural entity like TARPO is that we are a big fish in a smaller pond as opposed to being a little fish in a much bigger pond. Paul Guthrie said rural areas of Orange County and other counties are very critical to the long term future of building a satisfactory transportation system. He said that Orange County is just at the cusp of beginning to put together a comprehensive transportation system. He said that we can, in our rural areas, begin to build a base for the more sophisticated systems as population increases. He noted that Chapel Hill is planning to put in bus routes that will build a generation of people using routes that will establish a ready customer base for future higher forms of transportation. Building public awareness of systems is key. This is where TARPO comes in, as well as relationship with metropolitan areas. Chair Jacobs apologized for the lack of time, and asked David Neal to answer Commissioner Gordon's question. Commissioner Gordon asked about the first item on page 19- emerging issues. She wanted to know what they plan to do with the Water Resources Initiative. Dave Stancil said they built a stable base with their ground observation well network, but they have several hydro geologic unit areas that are not covered yet. He said they would like to build a database where all the different underlying geological areas in the county are covered with wells in the network. There is also the idea of creating a water budget, but this is a huge undertaking. Commissioner Gordon asked about their department's resources and Dave Stancil said they may have to re-task and re-prioritize Commissioner Gordon said that this Water Resources Initiative has been around for a long time. She noted that Orange County has a limited quantity of water and that everyone deserves to have clean water. Dave Gephart made one final point about the Visitor's Bureau. He said that an upcoming issue they will be looking at is relocating the Visitor's Bureau to an area with more parking. 2. Town of Hillsborough/Orange County Central Orange Coordinated Area Land Use Plan — Update and Next Steps Craig Benedict introduced himself and said this item is an update. He said some of the history pre-dates the slides. He said that in 2001 Commissioner Jacobs and Commissioner Halkiotis and the Town of Hillsborough Board members met concerning the Waterstone Development. There was concern that this growth was not in Hillsborough, but in Orange County's economic development zone and how could there be coordination of what occurs in