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2 <br /> 1 improvements in the area of Cameron Park Elementary School, Charles Stanford Middle <br /> 2 School, and Grady Brown Elementary School. The Plan is scheduled to be reviewed by the <br /> 3 Orange Unified Transportation Board (0UTBoard).Orange County School Board and the Town <br /> 4 of Hillsborough Board of Commissioners, and returned to the BOCC on April 15, 2014 for <br /> 5 adoption consideration. <br /> 6 <br /> 7 Abigaile Pittman said the provision and maintenance of sidewalks in the County's jurisdiction <br /> 8 will be an issue for SRTS implementation. This issue was previously discussed by the BOCC on <br /> 9 October 6, 2011 in the context of reviewing proposed subdivision development requirements. At <br /> 10 that time the BOCC did not adopt an official sidewalk policy, but expressed the intent of <br /> 11 revisiting the issue in the future. Orange County (as well as most, if not all, counties in North <br /> 12 Carolina) does not maintain local streets or sidewalks. Public roadways are part of the State <br /> 13 maintained system. The NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) does not build nor <br /> 14 maintain sidewalks. In municipalities, streets and sidewalks are generally maintained by a <br /> 15 municipal public works staffs or by homeowners associations. Several years ago Orange <br /> 16 County entered into a sidewalk maintenance agreement for a portion of Homestead Road <br /> 17 adjacent to the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The agreement is multi-party including <br /> 18 NCDOT, which allowed an encroachment agreement in its right-of-way. The Towns maintain <br /> 19 the sidewalk. <br /> 20 <br /> 21 Commissioner McKee arrived at 7:12 PM. <br /> 22 <br /> 23 Chair Jacobs asked if staff is proposing some action. <br /> 24 Abigaile Pittman said staff is proposing that the Board and town staff discuss the <br /> 25 potential for having a policy for the maintenance of sidewalks in the County, related to Safe <br /> 26 Routes to School implementation. <br /> 27 Chair Jacobs asked if this was for sidewalks in the County that attach to sidewalks in the <br /> 28 town and are part of the Safe Routes to School (SRTS). <br /> 29 Abigaile Pittman said this is for sidewalks to Grady Brown School and other schools that <br /> 30 are in the County's jurisdiction. She said the idea is for creation of a policy or agreement on <br /> 31 how to maintain these. <br /> 32 Chair Jacobs asked if that kind of agreement would indicate that Orange County would <br /> 33 contribute and pay for this maintenance, and the Town would administer the funds. <br /> 34 Abigaile Pittman said the precedent in the past was Homestead Road, where DOT was <br /> 35 the party for encroachments, and the Towns maintained it, while the County paid for that <br /> 36 maintenance. <br /> 37 Mayor Stevens said the Town only has a public works staff of 7 people, and the <br /> 38 sidewalk maintenance and needed repairs are contracted out. He said he does not see any <br /> 39 reason for not having an agreement and finding a way of sharing resources. He said he wants <br /> 40 to set the expectations that the Town does not do a whole lot of maintenance now. <br /> 41 Eric Hallman said the Orange County SRTS plan aligns with the Town's sidewalk plan, <br /> 42 which is driven by the schools as a nucleus. He said staff has been trying to get a pedestrian <br /> 43 overpass along Orange Grove Road to connect to Grady Brown. <br /> 44 Commissioner Rich said Orange County is not in the sidewalk business, and she asked <br /> 45 if the County has ever found itself in a situation where someone has to be hired to fix a <br /> 46 sidewalk. She asked if there are places in County jurisdiction where there are sidewalks, and <br /> 47 she noted that there was something in the materials that referenced maintenance of a parking <br /> 48 lot. <br /> 49 Abigaile Pittman said there are sidewalks on private property, within a development. <br /> 50 <br />