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to: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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from: |
Ray (Butch) Kisiah, Parks and Recreation Director |
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SUBJECT: |
Acceptance of $640,000 from the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization Surface Transportation Program Direct Allocation Program for the Morgan Creek Trail Project |
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DATE: |
March 9, 2009 |
Adoption of the attached resolution would accept $640,000 in funding from the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization Surface Transportation Program Direct Allocation (STP-DA) program to construct phase one of the Morgan Creek Trail and authorize the Manager to execute an agreement with NCDOT.
On May 26, 1998, the Council adopted the Chapel Hill Greenways Comprehensive Master Plan which recommends development of a Morgan Creek Trail from Culbreth Road to the Town line with Carrboro near Smith Level Road.
On November 27, 2000, the Council adopted the Report of the Merritt Pasture Access Committee to the Town Council. This Report recommends that the Town build a first phase of the Morgan Creek Trail in order to achieve public access to the Merritt Pasture.
In January 2006, the Council adopted an updated version of the Chapel Hill Greenways Comprehensive Master Plan which recommended development of a paved bicycle and pedestrian multiple-use Morgan Creek Trail from Culbreth Road to the Carrboro Town line at Smith Level Road. The Plan also recommended development of a side trail to access Merritt Pasture.
On October 9, 2006, the Council adopted the Report of the Morgan Creek Trail Conceptual Plan Committee, which recommended building a trail to access the Merritt Pasture.
In 2007 the Council authorized the creation of the Morgan Creek Preserve, a 100 acre natural area centered on Morgan Creek. The Preserve encompasses the area from the Merritt Pasture to Culbreth Road. The Morgan Creek Trail is an allowable use and would be located within the Preserve.
Project Description: The Morgan Creek Trail is proposed to be a 10-foot wide concrete trail that would allow pedestrian and bicycle traffic to continue from the current terminus of the Fan Branch Trail at Culbreth Road , west to the Carrboro Town line near Frank Porter Graham School. The Town of Carrboro could extend the trail further upstream along Morgan Creek. A side trail would provide access east to the Merritt Pasture.
The entire project within Chapel Hill’s jurisdiction would eventually involve the construction of over 1.5 miles of paved trail as well as the installation of five bridges and two new underpasses.
We have recently completed detailed design for the segment of the Morgan Creek Trail from the Fan Branch Trail south of Culbreth Road to a point just east of Kingswood Apartments. The design includes the spur trail to the edge of the Merritt Pasture.
Proposed Phase One Project: As proposed, the first phase consists of the section from a point just north of the Southbridge neighborhood to the Merritt Pasture. The proposed phase one project would include:
Of the portion of the trail currently designed, this proposed phase one does not include the easternmost bridge over Morgan Creek, a bridge over Wilson Creek, and an underpass of Culbreth Road. We propose leaving these amenities out of the phase one project primarily because of the estimated $2,000,000 cost and secondarily because of the need to wait about 6 months for Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) approval (see discussion of Regulatory Issues below). This section could be bid as a separate phase in the event that additional funds are secured and once FEMA approval is secured.
Regulatory Issues: The following are issues that still require resolution:
Concept Plan Issues: The proposed phase one plan closely follows the adopted Morgan Creek Trail Concept Plan with two exceptions.
The original concept plan called for a narrow, unpaved side trail to the edge of the Merritt Pasture. This trail was proposed to be narrow and natural surface because of the extreme site constraints found along the Fordham Boulevard entrance ramp to Highway 15-501. At the time of the Concept Plan preparation we thought that any extension of a paved path would be too difficult to achieve without incurring unreasonable financial and environmental costs. However, during the design phase we discovered a practical solution that would allow us to build a paved trail to the edge of the Merritt Pasture with only one short section of boardwalk. We now recommend extending the paving to the edge of the Merritt Pasture in order to reduce erosion, reduce maintenance needs, and allow the STP-DA funds to help pay for this section of trail. As originally conceived the side trail would not have been eligible for STP-DA funding.
We have added to the design a connecting trail from the sidewalk along Highway 15-501. This was added to allow residents of Southern Village to directly access the trail after crossing Culbreth Road at-grade. This was necessary since the original planned connection from Southern Village is now proposed to be built in a later phase.
Budget Issues: We estimate that the entire project, as currently designed, would cost about $3,200,000, although this number could easily change.
We estimate that the proposed phase one project would cost approximately $1,200,000. We think that at the time of bidding we would need to establish a budget utilizing revenues from a variety of sources. We propose the following preliminary budget (depending on actual bids received):
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Morgan Creek Trail |
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Current Capital Improvements Program |
205,989 |
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Proposed STP-DA Funding FY 2008-09 |
640,000 |
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Transfer CIP from Dry Creek Trail Project |
205,178 |
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Transfer CIP from Bolin Creek Trail Project |
148,833 |
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Total Morgan Creek Trail Budget |
1,200,000 |
Other than a budget amendment for the STP-DA program funds and its required matching funds, we do not need to increase the existing budget at this time. If the Council agrees to move forward with this project we would present a budget recommendation for construction and contingency at the time of bidding. We think that it will eventually be necessary to move funds from other trail projects in order to proceed with the Morgan Creek trail project.
That the Council adopt the attached resolution, which would accept $640,000 from the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization Surface Transportation Program Direct Allocation (STP-DA) program to construct phase one of the Morgan Creek Trail and authorize the Manager to execute an agreement with NCDOT.
We also recommend that the Council enact the attached budget ordinances, which would increase the Morgan Creek Trail project by $800,000, by establishing the STP-DA funding and moving matching funds from the Capital Project Fund for various capital projects to the Capital Projects Fund for 2003 Parks Bond Fund.
1. Map of the Morgan Creek Trail Project (p. 8).
