Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
21 <br /> <br />Commissioner Dorosin referred to the commuter rail idea, and said it would be helpful to <br />understand what this vision might be. <br />Travis Myren said multiple trains would run at peak times. <br />Commissioner Dorosin asked if the Orange County stop would be in Hillsborough. <br />Commissioner Marcoplos said the study would find out this information. <br />Commissioner Dorosin said he understands commuter rail to get people to and from <br />work at the beginning and end of the day. <br />Commissioner Marcoplos said a schedule designed to serve the short route, which <br />would share tracks with the trains running from Raleigh to Charlotte. <br />Chair Rich said sometimes freight trains can delay passenger trains, and asked if the <br />study would take those questions into account. <br />Commissioner Marcoplos said he hoped so. <br />Commissioner Dorosin asked if it would be same train running from Raleigh to Charlotte, <br />just with additional stops. <br />Commissioner Marcoplos said the train would be on the same track but would be a <br />different train. He said there is an $850,000 study, and Orange County is asked to put in <br />$75,000 as is Alamance and Johnston counties. He said Wake and Durham as well as the NC <br />railroad have also been asked to put in money. He said the NC Railroad caused some <br />problems with the light rail, but has voiced strong commitment to this project. He said the study <br />will provide much needed information. <br />Commissioner Dorosin asked if the study will be done by an outside consultant or <br />GoTriangle. <br />Commissioner Marcoplos said an outside consultant. <br />Commissioner Marcoplos said there is a notion going around that this is the transit plan <br />that they have been waiting for, and this is not that, but rather is just business as usual. He said <br />the actual transit plan will evolve out of this process. He said there is another notion that <br />Orange County will be subsumed by a regional transit plan. He said it would be crazy for <br />Orange County to break away from its regional partners, and the County can also continue to do <br />local transit work. <br />Commissioner McKee referred to the 50% non-federal share for BRT in Chapel Hill, and <br />asked if some of the unused overage of $3.8 million could be applied to this $8 million request. <br />Travis Myren said yes, and any resources that are available in this plan, or any future <br />plans, can be used to help pay for BRT. <br />Commissioner McKee clarified that this needs to be done by August. <br />Travis Myren said yes. <br />Chair Rich said she does not know how this can happen when the Board does not meet <br />in August. <br />Commissioner McKee said exactly. He said BRT has received less priority in recent <br />years because of the focus on light rail, and this is an opportunity to start pushing BRT towards <br />the front. He wants the public to be aware of what is happening, as the taxes still exist and the <br />revenue is sitting in waiting. <br />Commissioner McKee said the $500,000 for the for the transit planning goes to the third <br />party consultant, and asked if it is known to whom this person would be responsible. <br />Travis Myren said there would be a project manager with the Metropolitan Planning <br />Organization (MPO), and a local steering or policy committee. He said it will likely be like a <br />Nelson firm; broad based firm. <br />Commissioner McKee said he wants to make sure that the consultants involved with <br />creating plan B were not heavily involved with plan A. <br />Commissioner Bedford said since this commuter rail will be diesel, she would like to add <br />an environmental caveat, as relates to climate change.