OUTBoard minutes 091813 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Approved 10/16/13 route as part of that plan. He stated Orange County staff is suggesting that during the process of the adoption of the DCHC MPO CTP for the portion of Orange County in their upcoming plan that this could be reviewed for that region, and could be amended to reflect that change. He noted that the New Sharon Church Road route suggested by Orange County staff is about 1/3 longer than the St. Mary's route. Alex Castro referred to the new transportation prioritization on the state level and questioned how it affects recreational bicycling. (redirected to next agenda item) Ted Triebel commented that he frequently bicycles on St. Mary's Road and finds no problem with it. He noted that Guess Road is a problem. Annette Jurgelski noted that she lives on St. Mary's Road and she agrees that it is not a good road for bicyclists. Paul Guthrie expounded that the main concern that Jeff Charles has with St. Mary's Road is the safety issue and the lack of shoulder for improvements and the speed of the drivers on that road. Paul added that the issue is the combination of improvement limitations and the clear and present danger of the speed and number of automobiles. Dale McKeel responded that the first step if bicycle improvements are wanted to St. Mary's Road is to put it in a plan and hopefully the funding will follow. Sam Lasris asked about the rationale during the CTP process for New Sharon Church Road as the preferred regional bicycle route. Paul Guthrie suggested that a motion be made and then discussion can follow. The OUTBoard unanimously approved a motion to designate New Sharon Church Road as the designated route up to Guess Road as it is currently shown on the Orange County Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP). Alex Castro noted a reference to the map that was developed as the community bicycle map designating New Sharon Church Road as the designated route. (Rural Road Safety Coalition Popular Bike Routes). Bret Martin reviewed the prioritization process and changes. Bret clarified points from the last meeting regarding local input, which means the division engineers have to come up with objective, quantifiable scoring criteria for projects in their divisions and that has to be approved by the NCDOT Board of Transportation because that method hasn't been developed yet. He advised that division engineers are left to come up with their own methodology for determining local input points. Bret noted that the question for Dale McKeel is whether our division and region can adopt criteria similar to NCDOT Divisions 1 and 4 so that there is potential for bikeway /shoulder projects that are over 1 million, which used to be modernization projects, to be funded somehow. Bret added that he thinks it is possible for Orange, Alamance, Caswell, Rockingham, and Guilford County to get together and try to adopt new criteria. It is not going to be in place for the development of the current STIP which must be adopted by July 2015. Dale McKeel noted that this year there was only about a 4 or 5 week window to put something in place and noted that hopefully, if it is something the Board would like to pursue, they can make a motion and send it up to the elected officials, then it can be brought to the MPO. The OUTBoard unanimously approved a motion to pursue the quantitative scoring criteria such as what was used by NCDOT Division 1 and 4 that the state uses to score projects in the regional impact and division needs tiers. 105 AGENDA ITEM V: STATE AND MPO PROJECT PRIORITIZATION 106 i. Consider and recommend new projects in the Triangle Area Rural Planning 107 Organization ( TARPO) planning area boundary for the TARPO regional priority 108 list and 2016 -2022 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP); and