AGENDA #4i

MEMORANDUM

to:	Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
from:	J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director David Bonk, Long Range Planning and Transportation Coordinator
subject:	2009-2015 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Projects
date:	April 11, 2007

PURPOSE

The purpose of this memo is to begin the process of identifying projects to be included in the Town of Chapel Hill 2009-2015 Priority List to be used in the development of the 2009-2015 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).  Adoption of the attached resolution would schedule a public forum for May 7, 2007 to receive public comment and refer the item to the Manager, Town staff, and advisory boards for comment.

BACKGROUND

The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee has begun the process of developing the 2009-2015 Transportation Improvement Program. The Committee has requested that local jurisdictions prepare project priority lists for use in the development of the Regional Priority List.  The Chapel Hill 2007-2013 Priority List, approved on April 5, 2005, is provided (Attachment 1), with identification of projects that have been fully or partially funded.  The projects with full or partial funding in the adopted 2007-2013 Transportation Improvement Program are:

• Transit Capital Projects – partial funding for FY 07
• Upgrade Chapel Hill Signal System – funded FY 11
• Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/NC 86 Corridor (I-40 to North Street) bicycle and pedestrian improvements – partial funding FY 07 for section between Homestead Road and Estes Drive
• Old Durham-Chapel Hill Road (US 15-501 to I-40) construct bikelanes and sidewalks – funded FY 09 and FY 10
• Estes Drive Extension (Seawell School Road to Greensboro Street) add paved shoulders to accommodate bicycles – funded FY 07

The Council’s 2009-2015 Priority List and comments will be submitted to the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee for use in developing the Regional 2009-2015 Priority List and the 2009-2015 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program. The Regional List will also be submitted to the North Carolina Department of Transportation for use in developing the draft State 2009-2015 Transportation Improvement Program.

DISCUSSION

In order to develop the 2009-2015 Priority List, we recommend that the Council refer the 2007-2013 to advisory boards and Town staff to review and provide the following:

• Projects that should be deleted from the List (no longer priority projects)
• New projects to be added to the List
• Recommendations for any reordering of the priorities (moving projects up or down the List) 

NEXT STEPS

The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization has requested that local jurisdictions submit their project priority list for preliminary review by the regional staff and the Transportation Advisory Committee by the end of May 2007.

The Technical Coordinating Committee is in the process of developing the priority ranking methodology, which should be completed and adopted by the Transportation Advisory Committee in early May.  This will allow us to apply the methodology to Chapel Hill projects prioritized by the Council.

After receiving comments at the proposed public forum on May 7, 2007, staff will prepare a priority list for the Council’s consideration and approval on May 21, 2007. The Transportation Advisory Committee will approve the final regional priority list on June 13, 2007   

ATTACHMENTS

1. 2007-2013 Transportation Priority List (p. 4).