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i <br /> • II. TRANSIT PLANNING STEPS LEADING UP TO THIS PLAN <br /> Beginning in 2007, a blue-ribbon group of Triangle leaders (the Special Transit Advisory <br /> Commission, or STAC) met for over a year and in 2008 unanimously recommended a regional <br /> vision for bus and rail investments. One year later,the region's two MPOs fully incorporated <br /> the STAC recommendations into their long-range (25 year)transportation plan. <br /> In August 2009, Governor Beverly Perdue signed into law the Congestion Relief and <br /> Intermodal Transport Fund Act(HB 148), legislation that allows Orange, Durham and Wake <br /> counties to generate new revenues for public transportation. These new revenues can <br /> include a one-half cent sales tax, if approved by the public through a referendum, as well as <br /> an additional $10 in local and regional vehicle registration fees. <br /> Over the last 18 months,Triangle Transit staff have worked with municipal, Orange County, <br /> MPO and other regional transportation staff to develop a detailed, 25-year plan for new bus <br /> and rail investments designed to provide greater transportation options for residents and <br /> employers. These investments would positively impact traffic congestion and poor air quality, <br /> and support local land use policies. This plan is the culmination of that collaboration and <br /> purposes crucial public investments and services to maintain our quality of life and economic <br /> vitality in the next 25 years. <br /> • Extensive public engagement has occurred over the past year in the development of the bus <br /> and rail elements of this plan. Triangle Transit and local transportation staff members from <br /> municipalities, counties and MPOs conducted a series of 19 public workshops, at various <br /> locations throughout the Triangle, on the process and substance of the plan's development. <br /> A total of over 1,100 participants attended the meetings and they provided over 500 <br /> comments on the plan. The project web site, www.ourtransitfuture.com,was viewed by over <br /> 31,000 unique individuals with 1.4 million page hits. The web site houses all of the <br /> presentation materials and proposed plan elements. <br /> There have been dozens of meetings with citizens, local elected officials, staff and members <br /> of the region's MPOs, community stakeholders and business leaders,allowing extensive <br /> feedback on the proposed bus and rail elements of the plan. The financial and service <br /> elements of this plan are coordinated with the corresponding Durham County Bus and Rail <br /> Investment Plan. Additionally,this bus and rail investment plan builds on the existing transit <br /> services and therefore does not eliminate or reduce the current financial and service <br /> commitments. <br /> 5/26/2011-Page 14 <br />