Agenda 11-07-19 Item 6-a - NC 54 West Corridor Study - Phase 2

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2 The primary recommendation of the study is the widening of NC 54 from NC 119 in Alamance County to Old Fayetteville Street in Carrboro to four lanes with a median and sidepath for bicycle and pedestrian travel. The study also recommends installing several roundabouts along the corridor to improve traffic flow and safety at major intersections. If the MPO Board were to adopt the study, staff would then implement the recommendations by working with NCDOT to develop a project for the widening of NC 54, which would include recommending local points for such a project in SPOT. On November 1, 2018, the BOCC received a presentation on the NC 54 West Corridor Study from Orange County Transportation Planning staff, which also included the Orange Unified Transportation Board's (OUTBoard) comments. All comments were addressed at the November 14, 2018 DCHC MPO Public Hearing. On February 5, 2019, the BOCC approved NC 54 West as a County Priority for consideration in DCHC MPO and Triangle Area Rural Planning Organization (TARPO) Strategic Prioritization of Transportation (SPOT) process. An update on the corridor was provided to BOCC August 3, 2019. On February 2019, Carrboro - through the DCHC MPO - requested VHB review and confirm Phase 1 conclusions through a phase 2 study to analyze trends and forecasts, transit alternatives as mentioned in the final report, widening impact on local roads, and other improvements not on NC 54. VHB will present the results of the Phase 2 analysis (Attachment 2). The following is a highlight of the findings: • Trends and forecasts were confirmed through StreetLight data. This is a subscription based third party cellphone data collection company that assists in the analysis of trips. • Adopted DCHC MPO Transportation Regional Model was deemed conservative in comparison to StreetLight. • It is a supplement to the original Final Report. All recommendations are carried forward, including bike/ped and transit. • All transit service providers were actively involved in the process, 3 additional park-and- ride lots in Orange County have been added to the recommendations. • Inclusion of a shared use path is optional and subject to NCDOT's new Complete Streets Policy. The MPO will consider taking action on the Study on November 13, 2019 following a public hearing. Transportation planning staff, in coordination with Orange County Community Relations, issued a public notice of all public meetings on the County website. No comments were received for Orange County. Two local jurisdictions have taken separate action on the study: • Graham City Council — November 6, 2018 — unanimously approved the study • Carrboro Board of Aldermen — October 15, 2019 — Unconditional rejection of Phase 1 (Old Fayetteville Road to Dodson Crossroads) recommendations. TARPO and BG MPO are working with local jurisdictions as they address their unique priorities. Those entities will take action on the study only after local jurisdictions have considered their portion of it. Orange County has prioritized the corridor to address multimodal, congestion, safety and mobility for all users. It has also submitted the project - NC-54 Improvements: Widen NC-54 from Orange Grove Rd to Old Fayetteville Road with multimodal facilities - to TARPO for SPOT consideration. However, the County has not taken formal action on the study.