AGENDA #4i
TO: Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
FROM: J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director
David Bonk, Long Range and Transportation Coordinator
SUBJECT: Calling a Public Forum on a Sidewalk Construction Plan
DATE: September 27, 2006
Adoption of the attached resolution would schedule a Public Forum on October 9, 2006 regarding the development of a Sidewalk Construction Plan for 2006-07.
It has been the Council’s practice to select sidewalk projects for construction through an annual process that includes considering advisory board recommendations and citizen requests. To prepare the Sidewalk Construction Plan the Town staff prepares a draft program of projects. The Town Council invites citizen input through a public forum and seeks input from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board and the Transportation Board. For 2006-2007, we recommend that the Council also refer the report to the Active Living by Design Committee.
Since 2003, more than three miles of sidewalk have been constructed or reconstructed with Town funds, including more than two miles constructed or under way during 2006 (Please see Attachment 1).
Since the adoption of the 2005-06 construction plan, the Town has received one new request for sidewalk construction. On September 11, 2006, Gimghoul neighborhood residents requested that the Town consider the construction of brick sidewalks on both sides of Gimghoul Road.
On February 16, 2006, the Town Council adopted a Sidewalk Construction Plan for 2005-06. The resolution approved the following list of seven sidewalk projects located on Town-maintained streets for construction as funds allowed. The table below lists the projects and their status.
|
Project |
Status |
|
McCauley Street (south side), Brookside Drive to Pittsboro Street |
Completed |
|
Bolinwood Drive, (east side), missing piece from Greenway to apartments |
Completed |
|
Longleaf Drive (north side) Willow Drive to Churchill Drive |
In construction |
|
Cameron Avenue (north side), north east corner at Merritt Mill Road |
Construction fall 06 |
|
Cameron Avenue (south side), southeast corner at Merritt Mill Road |
Construction fall 06 |
|
Hillsborough Street (south side) Bolinwood Drive to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard |
In Design |
|
North Street (one side) from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Henderson Street |
In Design |
Five of the seven sidewalk projects on the 2005-06 Construction Plan have either been completed or will be constructed this fall. The projects at Hillsborough Street and North Street have been designed but have not gone to construction.
This list of projects was developed as a result of an annual process designed to identify and prioritize sidewalk projects throughout the community.
FUNDING
For the 2006-2007 Construction Plan, we estimate that approximately $120,000 in Financial Year 2003 bond funds will be available for allocation. If the Town chooses to sell the Financial Year 2006 bonds as scheduled, an additional $600,000 would be available for sidewalk construction. Please see Attachment 2 which identifies the potential funding sources available to the Town for the annual construction plan.
During 2006, we have used a combination of residual sidewalk funds from the Capital Improvements Program, Financial Year 1996 Streets and Sidewalks bond funds and Financial Year 2003 Streets and Sidewalks bond funds for sidewalk construction.
Funds have also been set aside from the Financial Year 2003 Streets and Sidewalks bond to meet the 20 percent local match requirements for two projects that will receive 80 percent federal funding from the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Surface Transportation Direct Allocation program. We anticipate these projects will begin construction in the next two years:
With completion of the two projects described above, the Town would have approximately $120,000 remaining in uncommitted funds from the Financial Year 2003 Streets and Sidewalks bond.
On June 26, 2006, the Town Council adopted a projected Capital Improvement Program for 2007-2008 through 2020-2021; this identified the following projected schedule for future bond issues for sidewalks:
|
FY 2006 |
FY 2008 |
FY 2009 |
|
$600,000 |
$600,000 |
$800,000 |
Tonight’s Council meeting includes a separate agenda item which seeks authorization to issue $600,000 for sidewalk construction in accordance with this schedule.
If the Council provides that authorization, approximately $720,000 would be available for sidewalk construction projects in a 2006-2007 Construction Plan.
DISCUSSION
The Town Sidewalk Request List with the Town’s adopted ranking system is provided as Attachment 3. It includes all the potential sidewalk projects which have historically been identified by staff, citizen requests and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan. The priority list is used as a basis for preparing the annual construction plan. We have applied the ranking system to the request from the Gimghoul neighborhood and added it to the list; we will make recommendations on the request as part of the plan preparation process.
The following is a list of longer-term pedestrian and bicycle improvement projects included in the adopted 2006-2012 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program. The main source of funds for the projects is the Federal Highway Administration through the North Carolina Department of Transportation. These projects include new sidewalk construction for which a local match contribution from the Town is anticipated. The projects are scheduled for construction in 2009 and beyond. Town funds are not presently allocated for the local match requirement.
NEXT STEPS
Adoption of the attached resolution would schedule a Public Forum on the sidewalk and bicycle facilities construction plan for October 9, 2006. We propose the following schedule:
|
October 9, 2006: |
Public Forum with preliminary staff recommendations. |
|
|
|
|
October 2006: |
The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, the Transportation Board and the Active Living by Design Committee consider the forum comments and preliminary staff recommendations. |
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|
|
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November 20, 2006: |
The Council to receive advisory board recommendations and consider projects for funding. |
We recommend adoption of the attached resolution which would schedule a Public Forum for October 9, 2006, as part of the 2006-2007 annual construction plan preparation process. We will bring a list of recommended projects to the Forum.