AGENDA #10
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Draft Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro 2030 Regional Transportation Plan
DATE: June 30, 2004
This memorandum reviews the draft Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro 2030 Regional Transportation Plan. Adoption of the attached Resolution would refer the Plan to Town advisory boards and schedule a public forum for September 13, 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 1, 2006. In order to meet both an Environmental Protection Agency deadline of April 2005, and a requirement to update the Regional Plan by January, 2006, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area has proposed to update the 2025 Plan and prepare a 2030 Plan. The schedule proposes that the Transportation Advisory Committee approve the 2030 Plan in September 2004.
The federal Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency to designate areas as non-attainment or attainment following the adoption of new ambient air quality standards. The Environmental Protection Agency has designated Orange County as part of the greater Triangle non-attainment area.
Areas that are designated as non attainment must develop and adopt a 20-year long range transportation plan that can reduce the amount of air pollutants and meet a future air quality “budget”. Non-attainment areas that fail to meet the air quality budgets are designated non-conforming and have all federal transportation funds frozen until such time as they adopt a plan that show conformity. The federal regulations require that the Triangle Region complete an air quality conformity plan by April 2005. The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization will update their existing 2025 Plans, including air quality analysis, to 2030 to meet this requirement.
Related federal transportation regulations require that regional transportation plans be updated every three years. The existing 2025 Plan must be updated by May 2006. The adoption of a new 2030 Plan will meet both the federal air quality requirements and the need to update the existing 2025 Plan.
DISCUSSION
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee adopted socio-economic projections in February 2004. Since that time, regional staff has reviewed the 2025 highway, transit, bicycle and pedestrian networks for use with the Triangle Regional Model. In order to expedite the development of the 2030 Plan the Triangle Regional Model will be used to evaluate the impact of the 2030 land use projections on the adopted 2025 Regional Plan. This comparison of the 2030 population and employment against the 2025 transportation network will allow for an assessment of the adequacy of the adopted 2025 Plan to accommodate 2030 travel demand.
Attachment 1 is the draft 2030 Plan. The Plan includes:
· A summary of the socio-economic forecasts, revenues, expenses and transportation projects.
· An assessment of 2002 and projected 2030 traffic volumes.
· A comparison of various criteria, such as vehicle miles traveled, vehicle hours traveled and total trips between the Triangle Region, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area, Durham County, Orange County, and Chatham County.
The Report, including color versions of the maps, is available on-line at the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area website, www.dchcmpo.org.
Attachment 2 includes four maps showing 2002 and 2030 projected daily traffic volumes. The maps include:
· 2002 Projected Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area Traffic Volumes
· 2030 Projected Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area Traffic Volumes
· 2030 Projected Chapel Hill Traffic Volumes
· 2030 Projected Capital Area Urban Area Capacity Analysis
The 2002 and 2030 Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro traffic volumes maps are comparable with the maps included on page 38 and 39 of the draft 2030 Plan (Attachment 1). These maps compare the projected traffic volumes for the 2002 base year to the 2030 design year.
The 2030 Chapel Hill Traffic Volumes map provides a detail of southern Orange County in 2030. The results of the 2030 analysis projects significant congestion along major corridors such as Fordham Boulevard, US 15-501, NC 54 and Estes Drive. I-40 is also projected to experience daily congestion. In the 2002 and 2030 maps traffic volumes are represented by the relative width of each line, while the projected level of daily congestion is represented by color coding. Red represents a facility with daily volumes 120% of its level of service E capacity.
The 2030 Projected Capital Area Urban Area Capacity Analysis map includes a detail of the Capital Area Urban Area. In order to allow a detailed view of the corridors in the Capital Area Urban Area this maps does not reflect different traffic volumes through the width of the lines. This map is coded with the volume to capacity analysis, illustrated in the colors, ranging from red (most congested) to dark green (least congested).
Over the next several weeks we anticipate that Chapel Hill staff, in conjunction with staff from other member jurisdictions will be reviewing the results of the analysis of the 2030 Plan and be considering modifications to the draft Plan to relieve congestion and improve air quality. Several errors in the summary of regional trips and the transportation model network have already been identified and will be corrected. We believe that a revised draft Plan could be completed in late July 2004. We propose using this revised Plan as the basis for our evaluation and taking the revised Plan to the Town’s advisory boards.
NEXT STEPS
The draft 2030 Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Regional Transportation Plan was presented to the Transportation Advisory Committee on June 23, 2004. The Committee approved the release of this analysis as the draft 2030 Regional Plan for public comment. The Transportation Advisory Committee will hold a public hearing on the draft 2030 Plan on August 25, 2004. The Committee agreed to hold open the public comment period until September 29, 2004, at which time it is anticipated that the Committee will approve a final 2030 Plan.
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. On June 30, 2004 it is anticipated that the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization will release a draft 2030 Regional Plan for their Urban Area.
After adoption by the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory 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.
MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION
Manager’s Recommendation: That the Council approve the attached resolution, scheduling review of the draft 2030 Regional Transportation Plan.
ATTACHMENTS
· 2002 Projected Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area Traffic Volumes (p. 52).
· 2030 Projected Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area Traffic Volumes (p. 53).
· 2030 Projected Chapel Hill Traffic Volumes (p. 54).
· 2030 Projected Capital Area Urban Area Capacity Analysis (p. 55).
A RESOLUTION SCHEDULING REVIEW OF THE DRAFT DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO 2030 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN (2004-06-30/R-19)
WHEREAS, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area has completed a draft 2030 Regional Transportation Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Transportation Advisory Committee has opened a public comment period on the draft Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Town of Chapel Hill will be developing recommendations on the draft 2030 Regional Transportation Plan;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council receives the draft Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro 2030 Regional Transportation Plan and refers the Plan to the Town’s Planning Board, Transportation Board and Horace Williams Citizen Committee for review and comment.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town Council sets a public forum on the draft 2030 Plan for 7:00 pm, September 13, 2004, in the Town Council Chamber, 306 North Columbia Street, Chapel Hill.
This the 30th day of June, 2004.