Orange County NC Website
ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: September 4, 2018 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. 8 -h <br />SUBJECT: Right of Way Encroachment Agreement for Non - Utility Encroachments on <br />Primary and Secondary Hiahways — Simme -Seats <br />DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections and <br />Orange County Public Transportation <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />1. Example Picture and Dimensions of <br />Simme -Seat <br />2. NCDOT Encroachment Agreement <br />3. Location Map <br />4. Site Plans <br />1 <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: (919) <br />Theo Letman, Transit Director, 245 -2007 <br />Teleishia Holloway, Transportation <br />Administrator, 245 -2002 <br />Nishith Trivedi, Transportation Planner, <br />245 -2582 <br />Tom Altieri, Comprehensive Planning <br />Supervisor, 245 -2579 <br />PURPOSE: To approve a Right -of -Way Encroachment Agreement for Non - Utility <br />Encroachments on Primary and Secondary Highways authorizing Orange County, on behalf of <br />Orange County Public Transportation, to enter into an agreement with the North Carolina <br />Department of Transportation ( NCDOT) for the installation of eight (8) Simme -Seats at existing <br />bus stops. <br />BACKGROUND: The Orange County Department on Aging, in cooperation with the Orange <br />County Public Transportation (OCPT) Department, received a grant to improve its bus ridership <br />in the County. Over the past five years, additional bus routes have been created, in part, to <br />serve an older and rural population. However, few stops have adequate shelters, benches, or <br />even flat areas to wait for the buses. This has created a barrier to bus ridership. The grant <br />funds are to be used to purchase and install 15 Simme -Seats at strategic locations frequently <br />visited by older adults. Simme -Seats provide space for two persons to sit comfortably while <br />waiting for the bus. See Attachment 1 for a picture of a seat. <br />This project will benefit all Orange County residents. The new seats will be installed in the Town <br />of Hillsborough, on the Circulator Route, and along major bus routes between Chapel Hill, <br />Hillsborough, and Mebane. <br />The key benefit of this project is to make Orange County a more "age- friendly community" by <br />making buses more accessible and comfortable to all persons, especially those who are older. <br />The attached Encroachment Agreement (Attachment 2) addresses eight (8) Simme -Seats to be <br />installed in NCDOT right of way. The remaining Seats will be installed on government property <br />located outside of the right -of -way. This item was originally on the December 12, 2017 Board of <br />County Commissioners (BOCC) agenda and approved on the consent agenda. It is coming <br />