Minutes 02-27-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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