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11 <br />The Board heard a report from TTA on regional transit initiatives. <br />Interim General Manager Don Carnell and Senior Transportation Planner Juanita Shearer- <br />Swink made this PowerPoint presentation. There were several handouts from TTA on the back table. <br />Juanita Shearer-Swink spoke about the likelihood of a population growth of 102% in the <br />triangle region by 2025. This has brought much traffic congestion and vehicle hours traveled is <br />projected to increase 2.7 times by 2025. She then explained the makeup of the Triangle Transit <br />Authority. The $5 vehicle registration tax and the 5% rental car tax are dedicated to TTA. The rental <br />car tax is dedicated to phase I of the Regional Rail Project. TTA has a ridesharing program and a <br />regional bus service. She outlined the changes in the bus routes. She spoke about prior TTA studies <br />and actions. Phase I of the Triangle Regional Transit Plan is 35 miles and 16 stations. It is envisioned <br />to operate with regional rail vehicles and be supported by regional bus and municipal bus systems. <br />They are in the process of completing the environmental impact statement that will lead to mitigation <br />plans with the local governments, finalizing the vehicles that will be used, and looking at a lot of issues <br />associated with operating in the North Carolina Railroad and the CSX Railroad corridors. TTA will be <br />building its own double tracks. The first 12 stations are anticipated to be online by 2008. The <br />remaining stations will be opened by 2011. The regional rail vehicles will be self-propelled and diesel- <br />powered. The total project cost is approximately $755 million. Approximately $51 million in federal <br />funds have been established for this project. The studies regarding phase II include an airport rail link <br />study, I-40 congestion management study, US 15-501 high capacity transit service, NC 54/I-40 transit <br />corridor study, center of the region enterprise study, and CAMPO NC 54 corridor study. Each project <br />will require inclusion in the appropriate MPO Long Range Transportation Plan. There will be local, <br />state, and federal funding. The projects anticipated to be in the rail corridors will require agreements <br />with the railroads. <br />Commissioner Brown asked how locked in TTA is to the type of train that would be <br />purchased for the regional rail. Don Carnell said that they are looking at a lot of different trains. One is <br />American made and the others are foreign made. Commissioner Brown encouraged the TTA to buy <br />American Trains. <br />Commissioner Brown made reference to the route between Durham and Chapel Hill and <br />asked about the retail establishments on 15-501. Juanita Shearer-Swink said that, based on the results <br />of the 15-501 major investment study, she does not anticipate tearing apart any of the retail along the <br />15-501 corridor. <br />Commissioner Brown made reference to the systems in Portland where they use the existing <br />streets and nothing is torn down. This is a very user-friendly system. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis agreed with Commissioner Brown about the system in Portland. He <br />made reference to the $188 million dollars from the State of North Carolina and asked where this would <br />come from. Don Cornell said that it is from NCDOT, specifically the Highway Trust Fund. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis finds it very troubling that the state is trying to tap into the County's money <br />when there is an untapped pot of money. <br />Chair Jacobs said that he would like to see some information on the diesel engine and what <br />kind of pollution will be produced per passenger compared to diesel cars. <br />Chair Jacobs said that since phase I only indirectly involves Orange County, that he hopes <br />that by the time they get to phase II that Orange County will be involved to a greater degree. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked that TTA speak to the funding for phase II and since there is <br />no funding for phase II, where do they think that money will come from. Don Carnell said that there <br />could be additional taxes or levies, increasing the percentages or dollar amounts that are allocated to <br />TTA, etc. Commissioner Gordon said that one of the things she wanted the Board to be aware of is <br />that they went to the legislature to get additional funding and the legislature denied the request. Some <br />of the money was supposed to solve the four-year cash flow program to support phase I and to expand <br />the bus system. She said that there is a significant expansion of bus service on March 18th. This will <br />be the last expansion until the rail system is open in 2008. She asked how you would explain to <br />someone from Orange County that what is being provided is adequate and their fair share considering <br />the amount of money that Orange County citizens are paying. <br />