Agenda- 02-06-2018 11-a - Go Triangle Transit Citizen Advisory Committee - Recommendations

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M, I take public transit at least five days per week to commute to work, community events and social engagements. My most commonly used routes are the Chapel Hill Transit NS and T routes to get to work and campus, the CHT /GoTriangle 420 and the OPT Hill-to -Hill connector to get to Hillsborough for meetings with the county health department and other county staff, and the RSX or the 405 to get to Duke University for meetings with colleagues. I have put my bicycle in or on a bus on every one of these routes. Would you be willing to try public transit? I try public transit every chance I get. If I have to make a transfer, even better. In the last four months, I have collected metro cards from Boston, Atlanta, and Washington, DC. I've tried light rail in Baltimore and Denver in the last two years. I've taken trains in four countries in the last year. I've taken GoTriangle from Orange County to Durham, Raleigh and RDU. I'm always excited when I am able to add another tried route to my list. Describe the importance of transit with regards to affordable housing and land use planning. I have written and spoken publically advocating for comprehensive, regional transit service for over five years in the Triangle. Some of those pieces are below. Being a public health professional, I am more adept at discussing the social, mental, and physical benefits of a strong public transit system. I do know, however, that a strong, supported public transit system can reduce the cost of living by eliminating the need to pay for a car, it's upkeep and fuel. Further, a robust public transit system contributes to more walkable and bikeable communities with less need for vast parking lots and multi -lane roads. Land can instead be used to grow food and provide for recreation. I've been helping to launch a local organization called NEXT Chapel Hill- Carrboro. I am the board chair. Here is our statement of believes on transit: http: / /nextnc.org/ issues /transit- and - transportation/ I used to have a monthly column in the Chapel Hill News with a few colleagues. Here is one piece we wrote in support of the Durham- Orange Light Rail Transit project: http: / /www.newsobserver.com /news /local /community /chapel -hill -news /chn- opinion /article38082588.html Here's another on density and transit - oriented development: http: / /www.newsobserver.com /news /local /community /chapel -hill-news / chn- ooinion /article151009242.html Describe the importance of transit with regards to individuals with handicaps or disabilities. It is vital that we plan for and support a robust regional transit system. It is reality, that all of us will live with disabilities as we age. We will not always be able to walk, bike or drive for transportation. Public transit is a great equalizer. Public transit provides connects for those who are not able to navigate our community in these other ways. We must plan a system that provides transportation for people with disabilities including thinking through how folks with these limitations will navigate that `last mile'. Describe the importance of transit with regards to economic opportunity. I am a long -time transit rider who has the great good fortune of being able to easily take public transportation to work every day in Chapel Hill. I would like more people to be able to do this — especially those who are dependent on public transit because they cannot afford to own a car. I have been working in support of a DOLRT system for our two counties for five years because I believe in it's promise to improve the lives of our neighbors. The DOLRT, like public transit itself, is a social justice tool. It will assist our lower resource neighbors to get to and from work much faster than they currently can with buses. For example, a commute from Alston Avenue in Durham to Patterson Place where many lower - income folks work will be nearly cut in half from 51 minutes to only 27 with the DOLRT opening many more economic doors for our lower resource neighbors. This decrease will give residents more free time to spend with family, get more education,