Agenda - 11-01-2022; 5-c - 2022 Orange County Transit Plan Update

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1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: November 1, 2022 Action Agenda Item No. 5-c SUBJECT: 2022 Orange County Transit Plan Update — Public Hearing DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: 1. Draft 2022 Orange County Transit Plan Tom Altieri, Comprehensive Planning Update (Excluding Appendix) Supervisor, 919-245-2579 2. Revised Financial Summary Travis Myren, Deputy County Manager, 919- 245-2308 Nish Trivedi, Transportation Services Director, 919-245-2007 PURPOSE: To hold a public hearing, receive the Policy Steering Committee, Staff Working Group, and Orange Unified Transportation Board recommendations, close the public hearing, and consider taking action on the 2022 Orange County Transit Plan (OCTP) Update. BACKGROUND: In 2012, the Orange County Board of Commissioners along with the Durham- Chapel Hill Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO) and GoTriangle adopted the first Orange County Transit Plan. This Plan was funded using a newly-adopted Article 43 Half- Cent Sales Tax, and it included investments in new and expanded bus service and new capital infrastructure projects such as the Chapel Hill North-South Bus Rapid Transit Project, the Hillsborough Train Station, and the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit (DO LRT) Project. The Plan was updated in 2017 to meet federal requirements associated with the DO LRT Project. In March 2019, the DO LRT Project was discontinued. This project was central to the Transit Plan as the Plan's primary investment, representing a critical partnership between Durham and Orange counties, and serving as the transit infrastructure around which other transit services and growth strategies were planned. In response to the discontinuation of the DO LRT project, Orange County staff began the process of creating a draft framework to create a new Orange County Transit Plan that prioritizes investments, funds service improvements, and improves the resiliency of the public transit network. At its November 17, 2019 meeting, the Orange County Board of Commissioners approved the planning framework for updating the Orange County Transit Plan. The framework included a Policy Steering Committee (PSC) composed of two (2) Commissioners serving as Co-Chairs, and one representative each from Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, and Mebane to lead the process. The County and/or municipal appointees are intended to represent the interests of GoTriangle and DCHC MPO. The PSC is supported by a staff team led by County staff and including staff representatives from the aforementioned municipal jurisdictions, as well as DCHC MPO, Triangle J Council of