Agenda - 02-19-2015 - E3 - Laserfiche WebLink

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123 Attachment 4 Transportation Notes: A TIA for The EDGE development (The EDGE Development Traffic Impact Study — 2013 Update Final Executive Summary) was completed in August 2013. The development's improvements to Eubanks Road, which have been reviewed and approved through both the Chapel Hill Transportation Division and NCDOT Region 5, will not only support existing daily traffic volumes, but will incorporate through lanes, turn lanes and storage volumes to improve existing traffic. Fourteen (14) intersections were analyzed (including intersections created as part of the development); the Build scenarios are forecast to improve congestion levels at two (2) intersections (Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and the I -40 eastbound ramp; Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Eubanks Road), and are forecast to degrade one (1) intersection to a "failing" LOS E (Eubanks Road and Old N.C. 86). High- capacity transit investment will be necessary to provide alternatives to single -car travel through the corridor; mode shift from cars to transit will mitigate congestion within the corridor and support efficient mobility for all transportation network users. Therefore, Orange County endorses the following improvements reviewed in the North -South Corridor Study (NSCS) 2 (scheduled for completion in September 2015): • The 2040 Capital Area MPO and DCHC MPO Metropolitan Transportation Plan recommend Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on the Chapel Hill Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Corridor. The types of improvements discussed in the plan include more frequent service /improved headways, additional service hours during evenings and weekdays, realigned bus routes to connect with rail routes, new technology, such as satellite tracking of buses, and circulator service to provide connections for the "last mile" for transit riders. • The NC 86 / Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Corridor and Town -Wide Pedestrian Safety Evaluation Study makes several recommendations that seek to improve conditions for pedestrian, bicyclists and transit users in the corridor. Some of the specific recommendations include filling in gaps in sidewalk coverage, stripe crosswalks, constructing bus pullouts, and creating raised medians and narrow vehicular lanes. Footnotes: Summary of Transportation Improvements Proposed for The Edge The application materials included information on proposed transportation improvements: • Widening Eubanks Road in both directions • Installing two new 4 -way traffic signals on Eubanks Road • Adding additional turn lanes to each leg of the existing traffic signal at the Eubanks Road /MLK intersection • Modifications to both the ingress and egress routes from the park- and -ride lot. 2The North -South Corridor Study (NSCS) is an 18 -month project that is being led by Chapel Hill Transit (CHT) in coordination with the Chapel Hill Transit Partners, which includes the Town of Chapel Hill (ToCH), the Town of Carrboro (ToC) and the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (UNC). The project will identify and evaluate a series of transit investment alternatives for implementation within the study corridor, which runs along the Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard (Historic Airport Road /NC Hwy 86), South Columbia Street, and US 15 -501 South. This corridor, which is approximately 7.3 miles long, has its northern terminus at Eubanks Road and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and its southern terminus at US 15 -501 near the Southern Village mixed -use development. The study will expand on previous planning work to identify a locally - preferred transit investment alternative that facilitates safe, efficient and expanded levels of mobility within the increasingly busy study corridor, and to improve connectivity between the corridor and the Research Triangle region. Additional reasons for this study include improving connections with other local and regional transit routes (including the planned Durham - Orange Light Rail line), supporting future development within the corridor, increasing transit mode share and ridership to the UNC campus /hospital, the downtown area, and improving multi -modal connectivity options between the new Carolina North campus on the northern end of the study corridor, Southern Village at the southern end of the corridor, and the rest of the study corridor.