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Approved 2/18/09 3 Paul Guthrie agreed and elaborated that the Board pay attention to the vibe or feedback, is there an audience and 111 then at what point and how do you shape the final report or recommendation that attracts the most attention and 112 success. You get a topic or idea you may want to reach out and get a sense of where people are on it. 113 114 Karen Lincoln related that in the past boards approached the BOCC for support for projects at planning retreats. She 115 has not been asked to prepare anything this year for such a retreat. In the future there is perhaps the possibility for 116 the OUTBoard to request a work session with the Board of Commissioners to discuss needed projects, etc. 117 118 Nancy Baker asked that there be a pedestrian connectivity as part of the comprehensive transportation plan. She 119 informed the members that Hillsborough had just finished up their pedestrian connectivity plan and thinks it would fit 120 right into the comprehensive plan. 121 122 Paul Guthrie suggested that the connectivity plan start out in regions or areas where there are currently connectivity 123 issues and then, as the County becomes more developed and urbanized, go to a comprehensive countywide 124 connectivity plan. But start with pieces where there are critical issues. Hillsborough is a great example because 125 there are some very critical issues of connectivity for pedestrians. 126 127 Pat Strong suggested that the board might want to consider the comprehensive transportation plan as it relates to 128 funding. Even though the CTP doesn’t have funding restrictions per say, if you are going to the trouble to develop an 129 elaborate multimodal plan, you want some degree of insurance of funding and you must understand the state of 130 affairs as far as funding is concerned. His idea is that the General Assembly Special 21st Century Transportation 131 Committee will resume meeting and those meeting are open to the public. During the course of the year about half 132 are held in Raleigh and the other half dispersed through the State. He has attended many and there are times during 133 the meeting that the subcommittee chair will ask for public comments. He thinks it would benefit the Board to have 134 someone in regular attendance at these meetings. That individual could come back and report on what was heard 135 and its implications. There will be a number of Bills introduce in next years session because it is the beginning of the 136 first year of the bi-annual budget. There will be a lot of talk about funding and budget changes and local options for 137 transportation. They are charged with coming up with a plan and a proposed budget for changes in the 138 transportation laws and funds. 139 140 Paul Guthrie asked about getting information from the North Carolina Railroad Commission on the report they issued. 141 He commented on the separation of rail that the big problem is they don’t want to interrupt the freight traffic. Also for 142 the first time they mentioned putting in a system from Goldsboro to Greensboro. 143 144 Karen Lincoln will give the Board the handout and possibly do a PowerPoint in the future if requested. The study 145 looked at what would be needed to upgrade the corridor for commuter rail. It has come up with the costs of what 146 would be needed then it has a proposal including costs per mile for each segment. She also mentioned that North 147 Carolina Railroad owns a 200 foot corridor so they are in a position to put in more rail. 148 149 Nancy Baker commented that Paul is the perfect choice for being the rail expert and also that in addition to forming 150 groups that members be chosen to be experts on certain topics and that a separate list of experts be created. 151 152 Sam Lasris put up the following items: First, periodically the Planning Board would do a ordinance review and since 153 the transportation has not been updated since 1990 he suggested the OUTBoard form a group to tackle the 154 transportation part which will help when getting into the comprehensive transportation plan; Second, he suggested 155 doing the same with the Economic Development Design manual which was created only by staff. It has very little 156 about transportation and should be updated. He suggested that adding sidewalks to the manual it will make it easier 157 going forward. It also ties in with objective of tying land use and transportation. The path would be to give the 158 outcome of the committee to the Planning Board who would in turn give to the Board of Commissioners. 159 160 161 Bryn Smith would like to see a committee on non asphalt infrastructure, buses and shelters, fleet development, 162 researching new transportation for future strategies. To include both public and private. 163 164 Nancy Baker suggested that Bryn and Al be up on all issues for public transportation. Nancy poled members for a 165 volunteer for the airport. Bryn Smith volunteered. 166