Agenda 12-02-19 Item 8-a - Minutes

Browse Search

20 1 planning framework to create a new Orange County Transit Plan that prioritizes investments, 2 funds service improvements, and improves the resiliency of the public transit network. 3 4 The proposed planning framework would be led by a Policy Steering Committee composed of 5 two (2) Commissioners serving as Co-Chairs, and one representative each from Chapel Hill, 6 Carrboro, Hillsborough, and Mebane. The County and/or municipal appointees should also 7 represent the interests of GoTriangle and the Durham-Chapel Hill Carrboro Metropolitan 8 Planning Organization (DCHC-MPO). 9 10 The Policy Steering Committee would be supported by a staff team which would be led by 11 County staff and include representatives from the same organizations as well as staff support 12 from the Triangle J Council of Governments, the Triangle Area Rural Planning Organization, 13 and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 14 15 Both the Policy Steering Committee and the staff team would provide direction and guidance to 16 a consulting firm responsible for analyzing data, facilitating public input processes, soliciting 17 feedback from specific stakeholders, and drafting the Transit Plan. The new Plan would outline 18 transit investment priorities through 2040. Specific consultant responsibilities detailed within a 19 request for qualifications would include: 20 • Creating an overview of services and capital improvements that have been made 21 possible through prior iterations of the Orange County Transit Plan, 22 . Affirming that recently adopted short range plans provide an appropriate, seamless 23 continuum of bus services, 24 • Establishing a process for how improvements are prioritized, so that priorities are 25 understood and supported by elected officials and residents, 26 • Identifying transit dependent populations in Orange County and strategies to serve 27 these populations, 28 • Reporting on public preferences regarding transit services and future investments, 29 • Creating performance measurement criteria that can explain how different existing 30 and planned services meet community goals and preferences, 31 • Creating a Regional Connections Opportunities assessment that examines: 32 o NCDOT studies and projects underway that could be modified to include a transit 33 component 34 o Remnant sections of the Durham-Orange Light Rail alignment that might still be 35 used as high-capacity transit corridors 36 o Travel market needs that link Orange County with Durham County's resident and 37 business needs to build, expand, and support cross-county line transit networks. 38 The Plan should also examine emerging transit needs and opportunities that 39 cross into Alamance and Chatham counties, 40 • Proposing year-by-year implementation recommendations for transit investments 41 through 2040, 42 • Creating a risk assessment to identify potential implementation barriers for new transit 43 projects, 44 • Examining transit recommendations through a racial and social justice lens, establishing 45 agreed upon benchmarks through which to achieve equitable outcomes,