AGENDA #5a
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Response to Petition for Transit Service on Rogers Road
DATE: April 14, 2004
This memo responds to a request for Transit service to the Rogers Road community.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
At the February 23 Council meeting, Mr. Robert Campbell presented the attached petition to the Council, requesting Chapel Hill Transit service in the Rogers Road community (Attachment 1). We believe that there are several factors for the Council to consider regarding this request.
The primary mission of the Chapel Hill Transit Service is to provide safe, convenient, affordable, reliable, and responsive public transportation service to residents and visitors of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and the University. Chapel Hill Transit’s approved service standard is to provide a bus stop within ¼ mile of 90% of Chapel Hill households. Rogers Road is not located within the Town limits. Its nearest point is approximately 0.28 miles (1,462 feet) from the Town limits. Residents of the Rogers Road community do not pay Town taxes and do not receive Town of Chapel Hill services.
Addition of fixed-route service to Rogers Road would require the Town of Chapel Hill to pay for the service for the first year. If Chapel Hill provided peak service such as that provided on the HS Route, the cost would be approximately $47,600 for four morning trips and four afternoon trips.
The closest existing fixed-service route to the Rogers Road community is the HS Route, which runs from the Homestead Road/High School Road/Seawell School Road area to Estes Drive, Airport Road, and Franklin Street. The Council approved the addition of the HS Route for the 2003-04 service year, in response to requests to serve Chapel Hill High School and Seawell School Road. The HS Route operates at peak times of the day, from 7:05 a.m.- 9:05 a.m., then again from 3:51 p.m.- 5:51 p.m.
Rogers Road is also outside the limits of the Shared-Ride Feeder Service. Shared-Ride Feeder Service is an extension of transit service to many areas of town that do not receive regular bus service. Trips are provided between designated bus stops in the Feeder zones and the nearest bus routes or to another Feeder zone. The nearest Feeder zone to Rogers Road is the Seawell School Road zone, which serves Seawell Elementary School, Chapel Hill High School, Smith Middle School, the P Lot, Airport and Homestead Roads, and Carr Mill Mall. Residents of Rogers Road can access Chapel Hill Transit service by linking to one of these Feeder zones, but the service itself does not extend as far as Rogers Road at this time.
Orange County Public Transportation (OPT) does not provide regular fixed-route service to the Rogers Road community. OPT attempted regular service to Rogers Road prior to 2002, but ended this service because of lack of ridership. OPT does provide Rogers Road residents with some transit options:
· OPT Demand-Response Service provides door-to-door service to Orange County residents who are elderly and/or disabled, and who have received medical certification that they must use this type of service, similar to Chapel Hill Transit’s EZ Rider Service. Service is provided to the nearest medical provider for a 50-cent fare.
· OPT’s Orange Voucher System provides door-to-door service to passengers who are not considered elderly or disabled. This service is income-based, and an income certification is required. Vouchers cost $100 per month.
· Residents can access OPT or Chapel Hill Transit via the Southern Human Services Center. Although OPT does not provide regular, fixed-route service to Rogers Road, OPT does have six scheduled daily stops at the Southern Human Services Center on Homestead Road. The OPT fare is 50 cents for in-town travel and $1 for between-town travel.
Chapel Hill Transit provides regular fixed-route service to:
· Southern Human Services Center through the A Route. Average monthly ridership for this route is approximately 15,000 passengers.
· Homestead Road via the HS Route. Average monthly ridership for this route is approximately 800. Ridership for the HS Route is traditionally lower than other routes because it operates only during peak periods with a smaller, 15-passenger bus.
More information about OPT service is available at www.co.orange.nc.us/aging/opt.
The Rogers Road community is currently located in Orange County, from which it receives its services. The community could receive regular fixed-route transit service from Chapel Hill Transit through annexation into the town limits. Municipal services, including transit, would be provided to the Rogers Road area on the same basis as provided within the existing municipal boundaries. For the purposes of potential annexation in this location, Rogers Road forms the jurisdictional boundary between the Town of Chapel Hill and the Town of Carrboro (see Attachment 2).
Each year, the Council reviews the Town’s long-term annexation strategy and adopts a resolution that all property between the current Town limits and the Urban Services area boundary is being considered for annexation into the Town limits. Rogers Road forms the western extent of the Town of Chapel Hill's Urban Services Boundary in this location.
The Urban Services Boundary of the Town establishes the intended future extent of town limits. In a Town-initiated annexation, the Council may make a resolution of intent to annex the property. The Town’s general policy, as reflected in annexation decisions in the last 20 years, has been to annex areas when they qualify under State law and when the Town can practically extend and finance municipal services to the qualifying areas.
The time frame for a Town-initiated annexation of the Rogers Road community is uncertain. Any possible annexation will be linked to population density and to the provision of water and sewer services. The Council is considering preparation of a small area plan for the Rogers Road area as one of its work priorities for 2004.
Residents of the Rogers Road community do not pay Town property taxes and therefore do not receive most Town of Chapel Hill services. The community lies beyond the approved standards for Chapel Hill Transit services. However, there are transit service options in place through Orange County Public Transportation for Rogers Road residents.
AGENDA #3a(2)
To: Mayor, Town Council Members and Town of Chapel Hill Transportation Dept.
From: ROBERT CAMPBELL [[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 8:26 AM
Subject: REQUEST FOR TRANSIT SERVICE TO THE ROGERS ROAD COMMUNITY
The Rogers Road community has endured many of the negative aspects of this town without benefiting from many of the positive aspects of Chapel Hill. We believe we are entitled to the same services that exist throughout Chapel Hill.
When the landfill was placed near our community we had to endure many years of substandard drinking water and lack of sewer and transportation services to our community.
It was only after the community endured many significant health issues did the County agree to provide water to our area. We still lack sewer service to our community which severely limits the marketability of our properties.
Our community lies within the heavily used transit route for the Orange County Landfill. As such our children have to compete with the constant flow of traffic to and from the landfill. This is further complicated by the lack of sidewalks in our area.
The purpose of this letter is to formally request the Town of Chapel Hill to provide Transit Service to our community. We believe that our children have a right to be able to safely reach the parks, libraries and community centers that are located in the town. Our adults can also use this service to travel to/from work daily.
As you have found the funds to provide free bus service to the rest of Chapel Hill, we believe we are entitled to some level of transit service for our community. I have personally witnessed several busses on the Airport Road route that arrive 3 minutes apart and have no passengers. These buses are severely underutilized. We believe one of these buses could easily service our community.
Please look into this matter for our community by requesting funding for transit service. Thank you and your staff for their help.
Minister Robert Campbell
1711 Purefoy Dr.
Chapel Hill NC 27516
(919) 933-6210 /H
(919) 960-3455/W
