Agenda - 12-12-2017 - 8-e - Right of Way Encroachment Agreement for Non-Utility Encroachments on Primary and Secondary Highways

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16 This project will provide funds to construct 15 bus stop seats, suitable for older adult use, at strategic locations within the northern,more rural half of Orange County. Bus service, suitable for older adults has been expanding in rural Orange County over the past five years. A new 10 stop "Circulator Route"began operation three years ago. This is a free one hour loop through the northern Orange County town of Hillsborough (population ), which includes a stop at the Senior Center, public library, Walmart store, and several apartments where large numbers of older adults live. In addition, a new public bus route has recently opened,joining Hillsborough with other Orange County communities where additional health and social services are located. These new routes, managed by the Orange County Public Transportation Department, make transportation for older adult residents much more accessible, however, the bus stops themselves are not very"age friendly". At many of the stops, there are no shelters or benches—barely a sign in the ground. In many of these locations and others, older adults find the bus stop difficult to access due to uneven pavement and sometimes there is no pavement at all! The $10,020 request from AARP would purchase and install Simme (www.simmeseat.com)bus- stop seats in 15 strategic locations between Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Efland and on the Hillsborough Circulator route. These new Simme bus stop seats would provide adequate seating for two individuals while waiting for the bus. The seats would be placed in level, safe places and the route to the street would be graded for additional safety. Each seat is priced at $528,plus approximately $140 for installation. These 15 locations have already been sited. The Simme seats can be purchased as soon as the AARP funds are released and installed before November 1St by the Orange County Public Transportation Department. Staff from the Orange County Department on Aging staff would oversee the process to make sure that it is implemented in an"age friendly" manner and will provide, at no cost to the grant,travel information and training for older adults to get them comfortable with using these new bus stops. The key benefit of this project to make Orange County more of an"age friendly community" is to make bus use more accessible and comfortable to all persons, especially those who are older. The Department on Aging has been working closely with the Public Transportation Department to expand bus routes so that older adults have options for getting around the community once they stop driving their own cars. Adequate bus stops are common in the more urban area of Chapel Hill, but almost non-existent in the more rural parts of the county. In many places, there is no place to sit or get out of the sun or to walk safely to mount the bus when it arrives. The project will also include information and training on bus ridership to older adults throughout the county. The Department on Aging employs a"Transportation Specialist" whose job it is to link older adults with available transportation and to work with provider agencies to provide expanded and better transportation options. If this grant is approved, the OCDOA Transportation Specialist will focus much of her work on getting the word out about the improved bus stops and encouraging older adults to use them to conduct their everyday business and to access health and wellness services.