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18 <br /> <br />a public information process according to direction provided by Orange County. The contracting <br />process may flow through the DCHC MPO to provide regional context while a local oversight <br />group will guide and define local priorities. If this initial investment is approved, a more detailed <br />scope will be developed in cooperation with the County’s regional and local transit stakeholders, <br />and a more detailed cost estimate will be established. <br /> <br />2. Future Funding Flexibility <br />The FY20 Draft Work Plan does not spend all of the available estimated revenue. The Draft <br />Plan currently projects a surplus of $3.8 million for FY20. These funds will rollover to future <br />years and would be invested in the new transit priorities identified through the new Transit Plan. <br /> <br />3. Mobility on Demand <br />The recommendations for Orange County Public Transit include the initial investments to <br />advance a “mobility on demand” model to better and more efficiently serve the less densely <br />populated portions of the County. This model will also be leveraged to serve the commuting <br />population through the use of van pools and other smaller, more flexible modes of <br />transportation. <br /> <br />Proposed Participation in the Triangle Commuter Rail Feasibility Study <br />The Transit Plans adopted by Wake County and Durham County included initial investments in <br />a Commuter Rail Transit (CRT) project. Commuter Rail Transit uses existing railroad tracks to <br />provide passenger rail service focused on peak commuting times. The initial scope of this <br />project is envisioned to run thirty-seven (37) miles from Garner to downtown Raleigh, N.C. State <br />University, Cary, Morrisville and the Research Triangle Park continuing to Durham. The longer <br />term vision for this system would extend commuter rail service through Orange County to <br />Alamance County. <br /> <br />After the Draft Work Plan was developed, the GoTriangle Board of Trustees discussed including <br />Orange County in the initial feasibility study to extend commuter rail in the Triangle region. <br /> <br />GoTriangle has requested $75,000 in dedicated transit revenues to expand the scope of the <br />feasibility study to include Orange County. As a feasibility study, the study elements are <br />intended to provide policy makers with information to assess whether the project should <br />proceed and, if so, at what size and scope. These elements would include establishing the <br />purpose and need for the project, modelling ridership, analyzing capacity, developing initial <br />capital and operating and maintenance cost estimates, developing a stakeholder and public <br />outreach plan, assessing project delivery methods, and evaluating existing conditions. The <br />study would evaluate a total of six (6) commuter rail scenarios. Three of these scenarios would <br />include service extensions into Orange, Johnston and Alamance counties. If any of these <br />counties elect to participate, each County would be asked to contribute to the cost of the study. <br />The study is expected to be completed during the 2019 calendar year. <br /> <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: The Draft FY20 Work Plan recommends a total of $5.8 million in public <br />transportation investments to be funded with Dedicated Transit Revenues. The Board is being <br />asked to provide comments on these recommendations and to recommend the addition of <br />$75,000 in Dedicated Transit Revenues to participate in a Commuter Rail Feasibility Study. <br />Sufficient dedicated transit revenues are available to fund this addition. <br /> <br />Travis Myren made the following PowerPoint presentation: <br />