Minutes 04-23-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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He said ridership has picked up at these locations, and as people are learning about the service he expects the number of riders to increase. Peter Murphy said staff had recommended changes for expansion routes, funded through the sales tax and other fees. He referenced several maps on the screen. He said a 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. service to the Highway 70 Corridor between Alamance and Orange Counties is being considered, to supplement the routes of Go Triangle. He said there will also be a commuter route operating down the Churton corridor, also going to Durham Tech and University of North Carolina (UNC) Hospitals. He said a route will regularly go to Cedar Grove and then down to Chapel Hill from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. He said the Circulator service will also be provided during the 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. period, which will be the first service improvement funded by the vehicle registration fee and sales tax revenues. The new Circulator alignment will tie into the other fixed-route bus service expansion services to be operated by Orange Public Transportation that will be funded by Orange County Bus and Rail Investment Plan (OCBRIP) revenues tentatively scheduled to begin this summer. Chair McKee asked if Route 3 and the mid day Circulator are using the same vehicles. Peter Murphy said all of the routes have been re-shuffled to make them more efficient, without adding any additional buses. b) Amtrak Station Margaret Hauth said the draft Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) includes funding for the Hillsborough station and also Orange Grove Road extension project. She said the extension project proposed to extend the Orange Grove Road from where it intersects now over to US 70A. She said the exact point of intersection of 70A is unknown, but it is expected that the road will go under the railroad rather than over. The draft TIP includes full construction funding for the Hillsborough station with construction beginning in 2019. The full scope and details of this funding are still unfolding as the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) continues to flesh out the draft TIP. The Town intends to prepare a small area plan for the 250 acres bounded by the railroad, South Churton Street, and I-85 to reflect the advice and charette results from the Sustainable Cities Design Academy attended by the town and property owner representatives in October 2014. The charrette results were conceptual, but identified some critical connections and areas of joint agreement that should be documented and memorialized as development in this area may take years to come to pass. Commissioner Jacobs asked for the charette results that addressed the two hundred fifty acres. Margaret Hauth said a group looked at the acres and came back with the conclusion that it could be one project but also lent itself to being three projects: the area north of the power lines, the Daniel Boone properties and the remainder of the Collins properties. She said the group discussed how the larger block needs to connect to the existing transportation network. She said a new idea that arose was to run a road parallel to Churton Street and to explore the possibility of an overpass or underpass to run up the heart of the Collins property, even if just for bikes and pedestrians. Chair McKee asked if there is a potential timeline for the Collins property baseball fields. Margaret Hauth said other properties for the Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association (HYAA) ball fields have been considered, but a good match has yet to be found. She said the Town is committed to assisting HYAA in this process but has not defined what that help will be. 2. Economic Development/Tourism a.) County Economic Development Update