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

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7 ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA The 2022 Orange County Transit Plan Update represents two years of review, study, outreach,consultation,and deliberation aimed at charting the best path forward for Orange County's transit future. It is the second update—the first was in 2017—since the plan was adopted in 2012.As the plan's Policy Steering Committee,we are pleased to present itto the Orange County community. The Plan Update allocates Orange County's transit tax district revenues over the next 20 years. It includes already programmed projects and investments described in previous versions of the plan as well as new projects to be funded with the revenue remaining after accounting for existing commitments. Our work on the update underscored the reality that current funding streams, primarily the half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2012, are simply inadequate to meet the critical transit needs of Orange County as a major employment hub. Accordingly, the update includes a vision for improving regional transit connections and enhancing transit service Salty Greene options beyond what current funding can support. These Next Generation projects will Orange County require further study and substantial additional funding. We hope the vision set forth in Board of County Commissioners these pages—with refinements over the coming years—will provide a clear basis for future appeals for funding and inspire collaborative regional planning, particularly with Durham, Chatham, and Alamance counties. Equity leads the values guiding the Plan Update. Past choices made by elected officials and public transportation agencies have deepened social inequity and racial injustice—in Orange County as throughout the United States. The investment commitments in this update acknowledge and address existing imbalances, and we expect future transit investments to go further to right historical wrongs. Environmental sustainability is another essential value.The time we spend in ourgas-powered automobiles is stealing a healthy climate future from our children. We must do our part to reduce carbon emissions by building a transportation infrastructure robust enough to provide viable alternatives to the car.This work includes building out bike path networks and safe sidewalks and other infrastructure to support nonmotorized transportation. Other goals and values rounding out the Plan Update include supporting economic prosperity, promoting greater quality of life through facilitating travel in the region, easing access to our region's wealth of colleges and universities, and ensuring transit service for as many residents as reasonably possible. Key to achieving these goals is the need to consistently and explicitly link transit planning to land use planning. The Plan Update recommends that all Orange County jurisdictions incorporate the Housing and Transportation Affordability Index as a planning tool.The H+T® Index treats the cost of transportation—like the cost of housing itself—as a critical element of the cost of living, and in this way, it refines our understanding of affordable housing. Planning that favors the proximity of housing to transit, moreover, offers a collateral benefit. Coordinated transit and land use planning enhances the county's ability to recruit world-class employers,with the promise of high-quality employment opportunities. The transit system outlined and envisioned an these pages can be imagined, in the words of the nonprofit Climate and Community Project, as "a strategic lever in the quest for climate, economic, and racial justice." We invite you to join us in advancing Orange County's work toward this better future. On behalf of the Orange County Transit Plan Update Policy Steering Committee, Sally Greene, Chair