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57 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> ORANGE UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION BOARD <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: April 21, 2021 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 4.c. <br /> SUBJECT: US 15/501 Study — Phase 2 <br /> DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1. Phase 1 Summary Report Nishith Trivedi, Transportation Planner, 919- <br /> 2. Phase 2 Scope of Services 245-2582 <br /> PURPOSE: Review the US 15/501 Corridor Study and provide comments that will be <br /> submitted to Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO). <br /> BACKGROUND: November 11, 2020, DCHC MPO completed the US 15/501 Corridor Study <br /> addressing all public comments following the MPO's public review period and public hearing. <br /> The study focuses on a small segment of the regional corridor from Ephesus Church Road in <br /> Chapel Hill t o University Drive in Durham. The Study's summary report is provided <br /> (Attachment 1) for your reference; key highlights include: <br /> • Study Purpose and Scope — Convert auto-centric state highway to multimodal corridor <br /> • Corridor is broken into unique segments addressing different issues. <br /> o Segment 1 — Ephesus Church Road to 140 interchange <br /> 0 1-40 interchange and surrounding quadrants <br /> o Segment 2 — 1-40 to US 15/501 Bypass <br /> o Segment 3 — US 15/501 Bypass to Chapel Hill Road <br /> o Segment 4 — Chapel Hill Road to University Drive <br /> • Travel profile focuses on bi king, walking, transit, job, housing, environmental sensitivity, <br /> and vehicular traffic. <br /> • Public Process — Mobility tour, visioning exercises, website, public workshops, steering <br /> committee, corridor analysis, qualitative screening, multimodal alternatives screening, <br /> quantitative screening. <br /> • All alternatives focused on transit, bike/walking, jobs/housing and v ehicular, final <br /> alternatives selected were based on individual segments. <br /> o Segment 1 — 6 travel lanes, center turn lane, outside dedicated bus lanes, side path <br /> on both sides including grade separated pedestrian crossing at Eastowne Drive. <br /> 0 1-40 Interchange — Grade separated bike/ped connecting New Hope Commons to <br /> Eastowne Drive and Patterson Place to Gateway, improve auto safety. <br /> o Segment 2 — 6 travel lanes, inside dedicated bus lanes, wide (14') outside <br /> shoulders, side paths on both sides <br /> o Segment 3 —4 travel lanes, landscaped median, side paths on both sides <br /> o Segment 4 — 2 travel lanes, on-street parking, dedicated sidewalk and bike lane <br /> • Implementation — 50 projects identified and split into short (0 — 10 years), mid (10 — 20 <br /> years) and long (over 20 years) term strategies. <br />