AGENDA #11c

memorandum

to:                  Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager

from:            J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director

David Bonk, Long Range and Transportation Manager

subject:       Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan Alternatives

date:             June 25, 2008

PURPOSE

This memorandum provides a summary of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO) 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) land use and transportation network alternatives analysis.

BACKGROUND

Federal regulations require the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO) update the Long Range Transportation Plan every three years. At the November 6, 2006 Town Council meeting /agendas/2006/11/06/8/ and the November 20, 2006 Town Council meeting /agendas/2006/11/20/2a/, staff made presentations on the data and process for developing the 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan.  On December 6, 2006, the Town Council approved the socioeconomic data /agendas/2006/12/04/13/ .

On June 11, 2008 the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee released the proposed land use and transportation network alternatives for public comment and set a public hearing for August 13, 2008. While the  land use and network data was released on June 11, 2008 the analysis of the alternatives will not be released until early July, 2008.

DISCUSSION

The DCHC MPO Transportation Advisory Committee has approved the use of five land use scenarios (Attachment 1) to help guide the 2035 LRTP process. These include:

• Baseline: Current land use plans, policies and official actions
• Buildout: Assumes all available land is developed as proposed in land use plans, policies and official actions
• Constrained Growth: Assumes overall slower growth than current forecasts
• Travel Corridors: Increase population and employment in key corridors
• Transit Compact Zones: Increase population and employment in transit oriented areas or distinct notes.

In addition, the Transportation Advisory Committee has also approved alternative transportation networks that will be evaluated in conjunction with the land use scenarios. The land use data was paired with an alternative networks to determine the Alternatives to be modeled. (Attachment 2) The alternative networks include:

• 2030 Adopted LRTP- Current adopted plan
• Comprehensive Transportation Plan: Vision Plan to address population and employment buildout beyond the year 2035.
• Intensive Highway- Emphasize highway investment to address transportation needs
• Fixed Guideway- Light rail and other grade separated transit
• Bus Transit- Emphasize bus transit service to address transportation needs
• Moderate Multimodal: continue current investment trends with some shift to non-automobile modes
• System Preservation: Preserve effectiveness of existing transportation using Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), and Congestion Management Systems (CMS)-Transportation System Management (TSM) projects and policies.

NEXT STEPS

The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee will receive public comment on the various transportation alternatives on August 13, 2008. The evaluation of these alternatives will result in the development of one or more preferred alternatives. These preferred alternatives may incorporate elements of each of the individual alternatives currently being analyzed. It is anticipated that the Transportation Advisory Committee will release one or more preferred alternatives on September 10, 2008 for public comment.  (Attachment 3)

We will provide the Council with an evaluation of the preferred alternative in September, 2008. At that time the Council could provide comments to the Transportation Advisory Committee.

ATTACHMENTS

1. 2035 Land Use Alternatives – Table and Maps (106 KB pdf) (p. 3).
2. 2035 Transportation Systems and Land Use Scenarios (3.7 MB pdf) (p. 17).
3. 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan Preferred Option-Local Board Review (231 KB pdf) (p. 37).