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

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1 02 orangecounty. undue transportation burdens on minority population groups. Income, vehicle availability, and age are indicators that help equit & orang UITYe identify transit need. CONNECTION• counry. It is difficult to provide useful transit to residents in distant, Orange • • - harder-to-reach areas as the additional distance means thatthe to thriving communities cost per ride is much higher. There are several geographically- that enjoy the benefits isolated, high-poverty neighborhoods in Orange County which BUS STOP proximity to major are harder to serve with cost-effective transit (i.e., rural areas univ_rsities and _ of the research outside the town boundaries of Hillsborough, Mebane, Chapel preeminentworldbiotech Hill, Carrboro, and Durham). Providing residents with meaningful industry hubs. However, Orange County transit options requires supportive land use and housing policies also "has the largest income inequality for a that allow lower income residents to live closer to high-quality county with _ residents _ transit service. the state"despite being one of the healthiest People in households without vehicles are not necessarily counties in NorthCarolina. "transit-dependent" but are more likely to use transit because they do not have a car in their driveway, always ready to go. Children living in poverty are a useful Few people in and around Orange County live without a car, so indicator of -• - residents overall densities of zero- car-households is low. The highest represent 64% of Orange County's levels are found within and immediately around downtown population, . ', of white children Chapel Hill, where non-car options (transit, bike share and bike below the poverty •. and Black/ infrastructure, etc.) are most abundant. Beyond this area, there African American residents . •, are a few pockets where zero-car household densities are higher, and 11% of the Orange County population primarily rural areas between Hillsborough and Chapel Hill. respectively, , •, of Hispanicchildren As a demographic group, seniors (65+) are less likely to own and 24% of Black children are living in poverty. cars than the general population.The highest concentrations of seniors are on the outer edges of urban areas like Chapel Hill, prospects for the lives of Durham, and Mebane. Some areas with a higher density of older childrenthese positive. Research residents are home to retirement communities. indicates that children born into poverty Seniors'transit needs and preferences tend to be different from have a substantiallyhigher lik "' of those of younger riders. For example, seniors tend to be more remaining impoverished throughout sensitive to walking distance, because of limits on their physical lives. Orange County's of ability, or concerns for their personal safety but they are also Health states that •"• of • born into less sensitive to long waits for transit, typically because they poverty will remain in poverty unless there is use transit for other reasons than commuting to/from work. signin the system." ificant change Likewise, seniors are generally also less likely to be discouraged by slow or indirect routes. Because of these factors, transit Hispanic and Black - .- service designed to meet the needs of seniors tends not to meet likely to be impacted . transit inequality. the needs of riders who are employed, in school, or caring for Transportation decisionsoftenmosbenefit kids in school who find long waits to be intolerable. • _ whitety population Information about ethnicity or race does not alone tell us how who are heavily invested in driving. More likely someone is to use transit but we must avoid projects data are needed to fully understand resulting in disproportionate burdens and ensure the equitable resourceshow past transit planning has facilitated increased distribution of benefits. Rural parts of Orange County tend to access to transit have a higher percentage of white residents with fewer Black barriers further disadvantage ' st and Hispanic residents. Urbanized areas are more diverse and vulnerableandsolutions ' ' to neighborhoods have a more even mix of Black, Hispanic, Asian, rectify inequities. and white residents.