AGENDA #5a
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Information Report: Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro 2030 Regional Transportation Plan Schedule
DATE: June 14, 2004
This memorandum reviews the schedule for development of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro 2030 Regional Transportation Plan.
We plan to present the proposed draft Plan to the Council at the June 30 Council meeting, and request referral to advisory boards for comment. To meet schedule deadlines, we will ask the Council to authorize comments at its meeting on September 7, 2004, which will be submitted to the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee. Consideration of the Plan by the Transportation Advisory Committee is scheduled for September 8, 2004.
BACKGROUND
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area adopted a 2025 Long Range Transportation Plan in May 2003. Federal regulations require that the Plan be updated no later than January 2006. The recent designation of Orange, Durham and a portion of Chatham County as a non-attainment area for air quality requires that the Urban Area develop and adopt a revised Transportation Plan that meets the new 8 hour ozone standards by April 2005.
In order to meet both the April 2005 and January 2006 deadlines, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area has adopted a schedule for completing a 2030 Regional Transportation Plan (Attachment 1). The Council reviewed an earlier version of this schedule in November 2003. On January 26, 2004, the Council approved revised 2030 socio-economic projections for Chapel Hill for use in the development of the Regional Plan.
DISCUSSION
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee adopted socio-economic projections in February 2004. Since that time, regional staff have been reviewing the highway, transit, bicycle and pedestrian networks for use with the Triangle Regional Model. The Regional Model will be used to evaluate the impact of the 2030 land use projections on the adopted 2025 Regional Plan. The results of this analysis will be presented to the Transportation Advisory Committee on June 23, 2004. At that time, it is anticipated that the Committee will release the analysis as the draft 2030 Regional Plan for a 42-day public comment period. The Transportation Advisory Committee will hold a public hearing on August 11, 2004.
On June 30, 2004, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Capital Area Transportation Advisory Committees will meet to review the analysis and discuss efforts to coordinate the development of the 2030 Transportation Plans for both Urban Areas. During the public comment period, regional staff will revise the draft Plan as needed to improve mobility and meet the air quality standards.
We expect to present the analysis of the draft 2030 Transportation Plan to the Council on June 30, 2004, and ask the Council to refer the Plan to advisory boards for review and comment. We propose to bring advisory board comments and staff analysis back to the Council on September 7, 2004. The schedule for the development of the final 2030 Plan anticipates adoption by the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee on September 8, 2004.
After adoption by the Committee in September, the Plan will be reviewed by State and federal transportation agencies. Their review is expected to begin in September and be completed in February or March 2005. The Transportation Advisory Committee is scheduled to adopt the final 2030 Plan in March 2005.
ATTACHMENTS