Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
30 <br /> 1 b. Orange County Annual Transit Work Program <br /> 2 The Board received a presentation and considered action on the Orange County Annual Transit <br /> 3 Work Program (AWP). <br /> 4 <br /> 5 BACKGROUND: In 2011, the Orange County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) authorized a <br /> 6 referendum for a half-cent sales tax to expand public transit in Orange County. The funding is <br /> 7 limited to public transit improvements identified in the Orange County Transit Plan approved by <br /> 8 the County, the GoTriangle Board, and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning <br /> 9 Organization (DCHC MPO) Board. All three boards must approve any material changes and <br /> 10 amendments to the plan. This plan was recently updated due to the discontinuation of the <br /> 11 Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit project in 2019. <br /> 12 <br /> 13 An Interlocal Implementation Agreement (ILA) approved by the three boards in 2013 outlines the <br /> 14 roles and responsibilities of each agency for the administration of the funding. It does not <br /> 15 specifically address the development of the annual Work Program. A new ILA was approved by <br /> 16 Orange County BOCC in February 2023. The new ILA provides a specific process for the <br /> 17 development of the Work Program including approval by the BOCC ahead of approval by the <br /> 18 GoTriangle Board. <br /> 19 <br /> 20 The Staff Working Group (SWG) met on February 15, 2023 and released the draft FY24 Work <br /> 21 Program for public comment. DCHC MPO currently serves as the Staff Working Group <br /> 22 administrator. Orange County is represented on the SWG by Transportation Services Director <br /> 23 Nish Trivedi, with Deputy County Manager Travis Myren as the alternate. The DCHC MPO and <br /> 24 Go Triangle staff are also represented on the SWG. <br /> 25 <br /> 26 The Orange County Transit Plan and ILA are approved to get projects implemented quickly. <br /> 27 Several of the bus operating projects were approved with the FY23 Work Program, and, <br /> 28 unfortunately, additional bus operating improvements and expansions for Orange County specific <br /> 29 projects were not included, with the exception of Mobility-on-Demand. Any new FY24 Work <br /> 30 Program County projects would require an amendment to the Orange County Transit Plan. If <br /> 31 Transit Plan and Work Program approvals take place concurrently, no additional amendment <br /> 32 approval will be necessary. If not, a Transit Plan Amendment would need to be approved by the <br /> 33 BOCC. <br /> 34 The public comment period closed on March 28, 2023 and all public comments (Attachment 2) <br /> 35 are incorporated into the Annual Work Program. The Annual Work Program will be submitted to <br /> 36 GoTriangle Board for their annual budget and approval. <br /> 37 <br /> 38 Nishith Trivedi, Transportation Director, made the following presentation: <br /> 39 <br /> 40 <br />