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REVIEW OF EXISTING APPROVED ALTERNATE ROUTES <br />Orange County/NCDOT and Town of Hillsborough bicycle related plans are summarized below. <br />Together, these plans support an alternate route utilizing New Sharon Church Road and Guess <br />Road to connect northern Durham to Hillsborough. <br />NCDOT/Orange County <br />The 2010 Orange County/NCDOT Bicycle Map (Attachment 3), reviewed and recommended by <br />the OUTBoard, and approved by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) supportsa route <br />other thanonly St. Mary’s to connect northern Durham to Hillsborough.The map depictsSt. <br />Mary’s Road to New SharonChurchRoad, toGuess Road, to the County line. <br />The Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) prepared by NCDOT for rural Orange County <br />was reviewed and recommended by the OUTBoard and approved by the BOCC in March. The <br />approved CTP Bicycle Map (Attachment 4) depicts a bicycle route along New SharonChurch <br />Road. <br />Town of Hillsborough <br />In 2009 the Town of Hillsborough adopted a Bike Lane and Recommendations Map as part of <br />its Community Connectivity Plan (Attachment 5). The Town’s map supports a route other than <br />St. Mary’s to connect northern Durham to Hillsborough. The map depictsSt. Mary’s Road to <br />New SharonChurchRoad(which would then connect to Guess Road and then to the County <br />line). <br />OUTBOARD ACTION <br />It is the OUTBoard’s prerogative to review and comment on the DCHC MPO’s designation of St. <br />Mary’s Road as a regional bicycle route from Hillsborough to downtown Durham. Thestaff <br />requests that the OUTBoard provide input to the staff to: <br />1. Endorse the St.Mary’s Road/New Sharon Church Road/Guess Road route as the preferred <br />bicycle route to connect northern Durham to Hillsborough; OR <br />2.Endorse St. Mary’s Road as the preferred bicycle route to connect northern Durham to <br />Hillsborough; OR <br />3. Opt not to endorse anyregionalbicycle routeconnectingnorthern Durham to Hillsborough. <br />The staff also requests that the OUTBoard provide rationale for its chosen route, such as <br />consistency with previously approved Orange County/NCDOT and Town of Hillsborough bicycle <br />maps, safety of the route vs alternatives, right-of-way width or grade, etc. <br />2 <br />8 <br />ReturntoAgenda