Notebook - Agenda - 06-21-2011, Item 8g

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• The Draft Durham Bus and Rail Investment Plan I. INTRODUCTION The Durham community has achieved an enviable quality of life at the end of the first decade of the 21St century. Recent accolades include its ranking as the best mid-sized city for jobs in the US by Forbes magazine,as the#1 housing market in the US by the Wall Street Journal,as one of the top places in the world to visit in 2011 by the New York Times and the#2 "green city"for lifestyle and quality of life by Country Home magazine. The Triangle region has also enjoyed a diverse,growing economy and attractive quality of life for a number of years,topping many best places to live and best places to work lists. With these successes has come a surging growth in population and demand upon our roads and highways. Since 2004,the Triangle has moved from 46th largest metro area to 40th in the US for 2009, and our vehicle demand on freeways is up by 28%over those five years. Recently, our region was named the 3rd most sprawling urban area in the country among the 83 areas studied. In its 2009 long-range (2035) report,the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO) noted that the region's population would more than double over the 25-year period. For the last two decades, the demand on our roads has grown • significantly faster than our population. Even with planned highway improvements and likely additional revenues for new roads, it is clear that Durham and the region will see declining levels of service on major roads in the next 25 years., The economic costs for our increasingly congested roads are significant. In its 2010 Mobility report,the Texas Transportation Institute estimated that our region has"congestion costs" of almost one-half billion dollars a year. A May 10, 2011 study cited in Forbes magazine found that the Triangle region was ranked "America's Biggest Gas Guzzler." Finally, it will be difficult to impossible for many of Durham's low to moderate income families to afford to get to new jobs and take advantage of the region's prosperity unless enhanced transportation options are created. Durham residents and its regional neighbors are aware of the growth in clogged roads, as well as the accompanying air quality problems, negative economic impacts and the loss of the quality of life we enjoy if these transportation challenges are not met. Local citizens and elected leaders have responded to these challenges,with some assistance from state government, as described below. • 5/26/2011-Page 3