Agenda 09-03-19 Item 8-a - Minutes

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25 1 due to an investment from the Chapel Hill Transit partners. He said by August 2020, it will move 2 to 12-15 buses, and provide 8 minute or better service. He said buses that need replacing will 3 be replaced, and other routes that come into the corridor will likely be realigned to better serve 4 different areas in that corridor. He said this will all be worked out in the new short range service 5 plan, which will come online in August 2020. 6 Commissioner Greene referred to South Columbia Street, from Mason Farm Road to 7 Highway 54, and said it is a wide road, and asked if there is a reason there cannot be dedicated 8 lanes here. 9 Brian Litchfield said there was strong neighborhood push back in 2014, and he said the 10 initial LPA agreement stated that there would be no expansion beyond the current curb-to-curb 11 area of this stretch of road. 12 Commissioner Greene asked if the existing curb-to-curb is not wide enough to 13 accommodate a bus lane, as well as two lanes of traffic. 14 Brian Litchfield said his staff can look at this again, but it was expected that buses would 15 operate in mixed traffic in that area, as there are no stops. 16 Commissioner Greene said she has a lot of experience with this stretch of road, and it 17 seems like operating in mixed traffic here will slow down overall traffic dramatically. She said 18 the difference between being in a dedicated lane versus mixed traffic, is the difference between 19 a BRT and an express bus. She said the real benefit of BRT is that one can rely on its 20 timeliness, much like a train; and she cannot see this happening without a dedicated lane. 21 Brian Litchfield said 80% of the corridor will be dedicated lanes, with a small section of 22 Eubanks and Manning Drive through the James Taylor Bridge being the only parts which are 23 not. 24 Commissioner Greene said she imagines the scene after a basketball or football game 25 lets out. 26 Brian Litchfield said sporting events will be challenging in this corridor and the MILK 27 corridor, regardless of dedicated lanes. He said this topic will be part of ongoing conversations 28 with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the University of North Carolina (UNC). 29 Commissioner Marcoplos asked if there are there going to be platform stations at each 30 stop, even in mixed traffic areas. 31 Brian Litchfield said that is the current plan, but the stop at Manning Drive has to be 32 finalized with both UNC and UNC Hospital. He said the stations within the corridor are intended 33 to be level boarding stations, with the base of the bus door being level with the stop, avoiding 34 the need for any ramps. He said more of this will be work out as the design process moves 35 forward. 36 Commissioner Price asked if the project schedule has built in time for delays. 37 Brian Litchfield said some reasonable time has been built in, but a significant delay 38 would make the 2023 challenge difficult to meet. He said his staff is optimistic about the 2023 39 deadline, but will not really know if it can be a reality until the project moves past the 30% 40 design into engineering. 41 Commissioner McKee said finally there is a light at the end of the tunnel that is not 42 attached to a light rail train. He said in 2011 he argued strongly that this should have been the 43 second phase of improving Orange/Durham and the region. He said he also argued that the 44 third phase should have been an expansion to all points of the compass. 45 Commissioner McKee said he is pleased that they are here, and he is slowly getting 46 over how they got here. He said he will be as supportive of this, as he was opposed to light rail. 47 He said there will be opposition, and people will be inconvenienced, by both the construction 48 and the final product, in Chapel Hill, but the governments must address transit needs locally and 49 regionally. He said he plans to visit Richmond and DC later this week to learn more about this 50 process.