Agenda - 02-05-2019 8-a - Minutes

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15 1 for OPT, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and general system performance. 2 Findings included the following: 3 • There is opportunity to improve ridership on existing services. The Hillsborough 4 Circulator and the Orange-Chapel Hill Midday Connector serve approximately 64 and 15 5 average daily riders, respectively. 6 • Population density in Orange County outside of Chapel Hill and Carrboro is relatively 7 low. The majority of the county does not have the population or employment density to 8 support fixed-route transit. 9 • The most common commute destinations for north Orange County residents are to 10 Hillsborough, Durham, and Chapel Hill. 11 12 Public Outreach 13 Two phases of outreach were conducted as part of the SRTP—the first phase took place in 14 November 2017 to understand the needs of existing riders and non-riders, and the second 15 phase occurred in September 2018 to confirm future service priorities. Top priorities from each 16 of the outreach phases included the following: 17 • Improving weekday and Saturday service frequency and providing later evening service 18 • Improving local circulation in Hillsborough and providing connections to Chapel Hill 19 20 Service Prioritization 21 Typically, fixed-route transit service is best suited for areas with sufficiently high population and 22 employment density to provide adequate ridership to sustain the service. In rural or suburban 23 areas, like much of Orange County, frequent fixed-route service may not be the most effective 24 method of service delivery. Instead, multiple service types may be appropriate depending on 25 the 26 density of population and jobs, the distribution of community services, and potential connections 27 to surrounding areas and transit services. 28 29 As such, recommended improvements for OPT represent a combination of service types. 30 Recommendations were prioritized to provide access to jobs from rural areas, respond to public 31 feedback by expanding service hours and improving frequency on existing routes, and 32 improving connections between Mebane, Efland, and Hillsborough. A summary of these 33 improvements is provided in Figure ES-2, and the proposed system map is shown in Figure ES- 34 3. 35 36 The prioritized recommendations are intended to provide the maximum benefit within current 37 funding levels and provide a path for future investment should additional funding become 38 available. 39 40 Commissioner Marcoplos said he has spoken about a park and ride at White Cross 41 before, and asked if this fits into the local plan in any way. He said it would be particularly 42 helpful on UNC game days. 43 Theo Letman said that is more of a planning/capital question. He said it can be taken 44 up as a priority as staff progresses through the transit planning process. He said there are 45 limitations to what can be done in the short term, and he has listed priorities based on the 46 public's view of things, but that is not to say additional ideas are not welcome. 47 Commissioner Marcoplos said there is a UNC records storage building out there with a 48 lot of space around it, and many people driving on highway 54 are going to UNC. He said it 49 would be worth opening a conversation with UNC about a potential partnership.