Agenda - 03-20-2018 8-a - Minutes

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6 Eric Peterson said the Nash Street sidewalk project, about 10 years ago, was about 1 $100,000 per tenth of a mile, including curb and gutter. He said there is a wide window of cost, 2 as unexpected problems arise. He said retrofitting sidewalks is extremely expensive. 3 Town Commissioner Weaver asked if there are other options besides a full-blown 4 sidewalk. 5 Margaret Hauth said that depends on where you are, and getting residents to grant 6 easements. She said the Nash Street project was so expensive because it was in the NC 7 Department of Transportation (NCDOT) right of way on an NCDOT street, and everything had 8 to be completed to NCDOT standards. She said Orange Grove Road, Orange High Road, and 9 NC 86 are all state roads, and it may be worth checking with adjoining neighbors to explore 10 alternatives. She said curb and gutter are expensive, as storm water becomes an issue. 11 Commissioner Marcoplos said he drives Orange Grove Road a lot, and he would like to 12 see an area wide enough for bikes and pedestrians to co-exist. 13 Margaret Hauth said it is all about costs, and Orange Grove and St. Mary’s roads are 14 very old. She said NCDOT does not claim ownership of the right of way, but rather claims 15 maintenance right of way from the back of one ditch to the other, as most property lines go to 16 the middle of the road. She said there is no room to put in any improvements unless you get 17 easements from residents, and that drives up the cost. 18 Commissioner Rich said the County does not build sidewalks, and does not have a 19 sidewalk plan, but they need to see what a plan looks like before partnering any further. She 20 said she would like to know Hillsborough’s plan as well. 21 Margaret Hauth said Orange County has a high level plan, and she said the interests 22 overlap outside the city limits. 23 Tom Altieri, Orange County Comprehensive Planning Supervisor, said there is just the 24 Comprehensive Transportation Plan at the Durham Chapel Hill Metropolitan Planning 25 Organization (DCHC MPO), and there is also one that applies to the rural areas with the 26 Triangle Area Rural Planning Organization (TARPO). He said it is part of the County’s transit 27 plan as relates to access to bus stops, but the primary question is one of maintenance. 28 Margaret Hauth said the Town has no intention of putting a sidewalk on both sides of 29 every existing street in Hillsborough. She said new sidewalks are required in new 30 developments. 31 Commissioner Rich asked Tom Altieri if he could highlight past conversations with DOT 32 about Orange Grove Road. 33 Tom Altieri said there is a small project to add fencing on the bridge overpass, and DOT 34 would encourage people to walk closer to the fence. He said that project will go in very soon, 35 and DOT said the bridge is not safe to walk on. He said the fence will make it safer, but DOT 36 did not want to be seen as encouraging walkers. 37 Craig Benedict, Planning Director, said when the County did the Orange Grove Road 38 Access Management plan, the County lobbied DOT to put in a pedestrian bridge there, but it 39 was a bridge to nowhere, due to a lack of sidewalks to which to connect, and that was ten years 40 ago. He said if bus stops exist, a request can be made to build sidewalks to connect 41 neighborhoods to those bus stops. He said transit tax funds can be used for this purpose. 42 Commissioner Rich asked if Orange County would maintain the sidewalks. 43 Craig Benedict said that would have to be determined. He said what he just mentioned 44 addresses the capital side of the costs. He said before DOT would allow access to its right of 45 way, it would require a maintenance entity. 46 Stephanie Trueblood, Hillsborough Public Spaces Director, said one other project that 47 has arisen in the past, which may be more low-hanging fruit than Orange Grove Road, is 48 making a connection on highway 70 between Eno Haven and the Orange County Sportsplex. 49 She said there is one very small piece of missing sidewalk, and she thinks adjacent property 50