2017-225 OPT - Triangle J. Council of Governments - Grant Award Agreement

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FY18 PROPOSAL NARRATIVE ,, OVERVIEWOF PROGRAM Background: Include a brief description below of the organization and program. Over the past 10 years and more, Orange County has consistently shown support for alternative commuting among Orange County's 900 staff and more than 140,000 residents to protect air quality and mitigate traffic congestion. The adoption of our"Environmental Responsibility Goal" in 2005 committed the County in part to "Implement programs that monitor and improve local and regional air quality by promoting public transportation options and incentives within the County that increase connectivity and decrease dependence on personal vehicles." This goal led to an analysis of commuter patterns and their impacts on air quality, congestion, and quality of life in the County's current 2030 Comprehensive Plan. These commitments to supporting and planning for commuter alternatives to decrease reliance on single-occupancy vehicles will help the county address congestion issues in the rapidly expanding Town of Hillsborough. According to latest Town of Hillsborough FY17 Annual Budget, as of July 2016 there were 1,270 new residential units that were approved within a town of 2,455 total housing units (Census 2011-2015 ACS 5-year Estimates). This will lead to a Figure 1:Principal Employers in Town of dramatic increase in population and therefore Hillsborough demand for transportation infrastructure and Employer Town Population Orange County Schools* 16.20% services. As the second-largest employer in Orange County Government* 15.23% Hillsborough (See Figure 1), Orange County Sports Endeavors,Inc. 5.56% is well-positioned to direct this transportation PHE 4.94% demand away from single-occupancy Wal-Mart Associates Inc 4.45% Brookshire Nursing Center 2.34% VehIC12S. Piedmont Electric 1.45% Town of Hillsborough 1.40% Builders First* 1.24% Recently, Orange County has Created Triangle Sportsplex* 0.83% initiatives to support County employees who Total 53.6x% are looking for ways to commute without Source:Town of Hillsborough FY17 Annual Budget driving alone. Following a formal petition from *Facilities all or partly owned by Orange County. the Board of Orange County Commissioners (BOCC) the County created a complete Telework program (a package of administrative rules, forms and trainings) in the Fall of 2016. This new alternative commute service for County employees was created and implemented through a collaboration between Human Resources and the County Sustainability Program. The County Sustainability Program and Human Resources have also created a customized ShareTheRideNC (STRNC) ride-matching page, and are working with Orange Public Transportation (OPT) to follow through on another BOCC petition to identify a way to provide free or subsidized bus fares for County staff. OPT Staff has reached out to GoTriangle and has identified a way forward that may involve integrating their operations into the GoTriangle family of services. With the support of FY18 Triangle Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Local Core Program funding, Orange County will be able to coordinate and expand these new commuter initiatives into a comprehensive Orange County Commuter Options (OCCO) Program. The OCCO Program will promote alternative commuting modes and schedules for employees Triangle J Council of Governments 1