Agenda 05-07-24; 6-b - Approval of the Orange County US 70 Multimodal Corridor Study (MCS)

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138 US 70 Multimodal Corridor Study 6.2.3.2 Safe Streets for All (SS4A) Grants The SS4A Implementation Grant is federal funding allotted for designing and implementing roadway safety improvements.These projects can include: system-wide, low-cost roadway safety treatments, identifying and correcting common? risks across a network, installing pedestrian safety enhancements, and speed management strategies. A total of$5 billion is available for the five-year SS4A grant program (2022-2026) for regional, local, and Tribal initiatives that prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. To qualify for an SS4A grant, the applicant must have an adopted comprehensive safety action plan such as a Vision Zero plan or Safety Action Plan. At the time of this report, the municipalities within the study area do not have adopted plans to qualify for this grant; however, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro MPO (DCHC), of which the Town of Hillsborough is a member, is in the process of developing a Vision Zero Action Plan in 2024/2025.This US 70 Multimodal Corridor Study should be used to help inform the DCHC Vision Zero Action Plan, and future SS4A grant awards could be a suitable funding mechanism for recommendations in this plan. 6.2.3.3 TPM Bus and Bus Facility Grant Program (TPM) In February 2024, FTA announced the availability of$1.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2024 funding to support state and local efforts to buy or modernize buses, improve bus facilities, and support workforce development for agencies with low/zero emission buses in their fleets. GoTriangle and Orange County Transit both have low/zero emission buses within their fleets;thus this grant option is available to implement bus stop enhancements served by these buses. For the current (2024) iteration of this grant program, project applications must be submitted by April 25, 2024; however, there have been annual awards through this program since 2016. Tracking this grant availability should be a priority for all jurisdictions/agencies affected by the transit recommendations in this plan. 6.2.4 Private Development Interests There are multiple recommendations (ie, A.9.2, 13.11.2, C.11.2, etc) that encourage jurisdictions to codify policies that require developers along US 70 to either construct sidewalk along their frontages, dedicate ROW for future construction, or pay in lieu as new developments are permitted and constructed. Each jurisdiction should develop a policy that details the level of these requirements tailored to their specific community, but which would result in implementation of the recommendations through private funds.This way, while built in pieces, the outcome is a consistent and connected US 70 corridor within each jurisdiction. 6.3 Implementation Priorities The adoption of this plan is the first step toward ensuring a more accessible and connected US 70 corridor for multimodal users. Additional action is required by each involved municipality, Orange County, and DCHCMPO to fully realize the multimodal corridor vision supported by the plan recommendations. Recommended actions detailed in Chapter 5 are focused around plan goals for the corridor as a whole,with specific actions included for each segment.These specific recommendations should inform and be incorporated into future plans and project priority efforts for each jurisdiction to encourage implementation. These efforts could include Vision Zero or Safety Action Plans, localized pedestrian or bicycle plans, or NCDOT prioritization (SPOT) scoring discussions.As outlined in Section 6.1 above, understanding how to incorporate the plan recommendations into larger NCDOT projects or bundling similar improvements, such as bus stop upgrades, pedestrian signal upgrades at multiple intersections, or bicycle lane markings can also improve chances at obtaining funding, which could move a project, or set of recommendations, up in local priority. 129 Implementation and Funding