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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: May 17, 2016 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-a <br /> SUBJECT: North-South Corridor Study Update — Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) <br /> DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1. LPA Recommendation Max Bushell, Transportation Planner, <br /> 2. LPA Powerpoint Orange County, 919-245-2582 <br /> Mila Vega, Transit Service Planner, <br /> Chapel Hill Transit, 919-969-4916 <br /> PURPOSE: To receive an update on the North-South Corridor Study and provide comment as <br /> appropriate. <br /> BACKGROUND: The study corridor runs along Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard (Historic <br /> Airport Road/NC Hwy 86), South Columbia Street (including the portion of Pittsboro Street along <br /> the one-way pairing in this corridor through the UNC campus), and US 15-501 South. This <br /> corridor, which is approximately 7.3 miles long, has its northern terminus at Eubanks Road and <br /> Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and its southern terminus at US 15-501 near the Southern <br /> Village mixed-use development. <br /> The North-South Corridor study, funded through a combination of federal (Federal Transit <br /> Administration [FTA]) and local funds, identifies and evaluates a series of transit investment <br /> alternatives for implementation within the study corridor. It is managed by Chapel Hill Transit <br /> and guided by a Policy Committee, Technical Committee, Transit Partners Committee and a <br /> substantial public involvement process. The Technical Committee includes a representative <br /> from Orange County Planning. <br /> The study expands on previous planning work to identify a locally-preferred transit investment <br /> alternative that facilitates safe, efficient and expanded levels of mobility within the increasingly <br /> busy study corridor, and to improve connectivity between the corridor and the Research Triangle <br /> region. Additional reasons for this study include improving connections with other local and <br /> regional transit routes (including the planned Durham-Orange Light Rail line), supporting future <br /> development within the corridor, and increasing transit mode share and ridership to the UNC <br /> campus/hospital. The Orange County Bus Rail Investment Plan (OCBRIP) has this project <br /> identified in its adopted 2012 plan, including some assumed local funding from the mobility tax. <br /> The study process was guided by strategic and comprehensive public involvement process that <br /> included three rounds of public meetings that were well attended. The process also included <br />