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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: April 26, 2022 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 4-c <br /> SUBJECT: Orange County Transit Plan Update Presentation <br /> DEPARTMENT: Manager's Office, Planning & Inspections <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1. Memo from Renaissance Planning Travis Myren, Deputy County Manager, <br /> 2. PowerPoint Presentation 919-245-2308 <br /> Tom Altieri, Comprehensive Planning <br /> Supervisor, 919-245-2579 <br /> Tom Ten Eyck, Transportation/Land Use <br /> Planner, 919-245-2567 <br /> PURPOSE: To receive information on the Orange County Transit Plan (OCTP) Update process <br /> and draft recommendations for new bus operations and capital projects for any preliminary <br /> feedback and comments that may help inform a draft plan. <br /> BACKGROUND: In 2012, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) along <br /> with the Durham-Chapel Hill Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO) and <br /> GoTriangle adopted Orange County's first comprehensive Transit Plan. This Plan was funded <br /> using a newly-adopted Article 43 Half-Cent Sales Tax, and it included investments in new and <br /> expanded bus service and new capital infrastructure projects such as the Chapel Hill North- South <br /> Bus Rapid Transit Project, the Hillsborough Train Station, and the Durham-Orange Light Rail <br /> Transit (DO-LRT) Project. The Plan was updated in 2017 to meet federal requirements associated <br /> with the DO-LRT Project. <br /> In March 2019, the DO-LRT Project was discontinued. This project was central to the Transit Plan, <br /> was the Plan's primary investment, represented a critical partnership between Durham and <br /> Orange counties, and served as the transit infrastructure around which other transit services and <br /> growth strategies were planned. In response to the discontinuation of the light rail project, a staff <br /> team began the process of creating a potential planning framework to create a new Orange <br /> County Transit Plan that prioritizes investments, funds service improvements, and improves the <br /> resiliency of the public transit network. <br /> At its November 17, 2019 meeting, the Orange County BOCC approved the planning framework <br /> for updating the Orange County Transit Plan. The framework included a Policy Steering <br /> Committee (PSC) composed of two (2) Commissioners serving as Co-Chairs, and one <br /> representative each from Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, and Mebane to lead the process. <br /> The County and/ or municipal appointees are intended to represent the interests of GoTriangle <br /> and DCHC MPO. <br />