Minutes 02-16-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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15 this would be a rural county selling to an urban project, which is a statewide impact beyond the three core counties. Commissioner Rich asked if the average age of riders could be identified. Patrick McDonough said this information has been gathered, and he will send it to the Board. Commissioner Rich said her sons take public transportation everywhere, and do not want to use their cars. She said 20-40 year olds do not want to be in the car, and she would like to see if GoTriangle's research matches her experiences. Commissioner Rich said there is a lot of talk about BRT versus Light rail, but a lot of money has already been invested in light rail. She asked what would be lost if the plan were to switch to BRT. Patrick McDonough said the process is at 30% design stage, which is 30% completion on the construction drawings to hand to a contractor to build. Patrick McDonough said it would be a minimum of a 4-year loss of time. Commissioner Rich asked if the timing, from the beginning to the end, of the light rail line could be identified. Patrick McDonough said it was originally a 35 minute ride time in 2011, but the design has changed in order to accommodate community values; for example, property impacts and the addition of the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) stop. He said these changes lengthen the time. Commissioner Price referred to the comparison of Durham and Orange with King County, Washington, and asked if Orange County will benefit in the same way. She asked if people in rural areas like Efland will benefit from the LRT. Patrick McDonough said the most important element is good rail-bus integration planning. Chair Dorosin referred to the hand out about buses that run in 100% mixed traffic lanes, and asked if this is the case, how is that type of bus considered rapid. Patrick McDonough said the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has noticed this as well, and has redefined BRT to require that lanes must be at least 50% bus dedicated. He said the cities referenced in the presentation are still committed to improving their bus systems. Chair Dorosin said there could be a bus system, which goes down the existing traffic ways of Martin Luther King Boulevard in Chapel Hill that is called a BRT system. He asked if the distinct characteristics of a BRT system could be identified. Patrick McDonough said there is a national standard checklist for a BRT definition. He said BRT is still being applied to a wide variety of implementations nationwide. Chair Dorosin said one of the challenges is that there are not clear definitions about many of the things being discussed. Commissioner Marcoplos asked if BRT systems ever get faster. Patrick McDonough said it depends on the system and the location. Commissioner Marcoplos asked if Wake County is focusing on BRT due to the wide- open spaces that exist there. Patrick McDonough said Wake County is much more spread out than Orange and Durham, and BRT would work better for them. He said Orange and Durham counties have gone to great planning lengths to preserve the LRT corridor. Commissioner Price asked if Patrick McDonough could speak more about decreased car trips in Raleigh, as mentioned in the presentation. Patrick McDonough said he was actually talking about Franklin Street. He said since the buses became fare free, ridership doubled over a few years.