AGENDA #12
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Draft Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro 2004-2010 Regional Transportation Priority List
DATE: February 11, 2002
The attached resolution provides the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee with comments on the Draft 2004-2010 Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Regional Transportation Project Priority List.
In September, 2001 the North Carolina Department of Transportation initiated the development of the 2004-2010 Transportation Improvement Program. On November 12, 2001 the Council adopted a 2004-2010 Chapel Hill Transportation Project Priority List. (Attachment 1) The Priority List was submitted to the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee for their use in developing a 2004-2010 Regional Priority List (Attachment 2). The Regional Priority List will be used to develop the 2004-2010 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program. The Priority List will also be submitted to the North Carolina Department of Transportation for their use in preparing a draft 2004-2010 State Transportation Improvement Program.
The Transportation Improvement Program is required by federal transportation regulations to include projects that are anticipated to use federal and State transportation funds. Federal rules require that development of the Transportation Improvement Program is a cooperative process between the State Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Planning Organization. Federal rules require that each Metropolitan Planning Organization adopt a Transportation Improvement Program that includes projects to be undertaken within the Organization’s Urban Area boundaries. The State Transportation Improvement Program should include all transportation projects within the State, including those in individual Metropolitan Urban Areas.
The Federal rules mandate that the Metropolitan and State Transportation Programs include exactly the same projects, budget budgets and project schedules. Attachment 3 illustrates the process the Metropolitan Area and the State follow in developing the final Transportation Improvement Program. At this point the Transportation Advisory Committee is preparing to adopt a Regional Priority List. This List will be used in negotiations with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to prepare draft Metropolitan and State Transportation Improvement Programs.
The Transportation Improvement Program includes projected funding from a variety of sources. The federal transportation program provides North Carolina with funds through two principal programs, the Interstate Program and the Surface Transportation Program. The Interstate Program can only fund projects along the federally designated Interstate system. Surface Transportation Program is made up of different funding programs.
The bulk of the funds can be spent on different types of transportation projects, including roadways, public transit, bicycle and pedestrian projects. A portion, 10%, of the Surface Transportation Program is allocated for the Enhancements Program, which can be used for non-roadway projects, while the same portion of the Surface Transportation Program is allocated to safety projects. We note that the State has allocated approximately $3 million statewide from the Surface Transportation Program for bicycle and pedestrian projects and has imposed an individual project cap of $300,000.
Also included in the Transportation Improvement Program are projects using federal transit funds and Congestion Management Air Quality funds.
The draft 2004-2010 Regional Priority List includes only projects that have been partially funded or are being proposed for new funding. Chapel Hill has several projects currently fully or partially funded in the adopted 2002-2008 Transportation Improvement Program.
Table 1: Currently Programmed Projects, 2002-2008 Transportation Improvement Program
|
Project |
Project Schedule |
|
South Columbia-bicycle and pedestrian improvements, Fordham Boulevard to Manning Drive |
Right of Way, 2003 Construction, 2005 |
|
Weaver Dairy Road-roadway improvements, NC86 to Erwin Road. |
Right of Way, 2004 Construction, 2006 |
|
Homestead Road-roadway improvements, NC86 to High School Road |
Right of Way, 2003 Construction, 2004 |
|
Old Durham-Chapel Hill Road Bike lanes, |
Construction, 2003 |
|
Estes Drive- bicycle and pedestrian improvements, NC86 to N. Greensboro St. |
Right of Way, 2006 |
|
Erwin Road/US 15-501 Intersection |
Right of Way, 2002 Construction, 2004 |
We note that the Estes Drive project, NC 86 to N. Greensboro Street has only been funded for right of way purchase in the current Transportation Improvement Program. This project has been included in the Town’s Priority List and the draft Regional Priority List. We also note that the Council has requested that the North Carolina Department of Transportation suspend further design work related to the improvements to Weaver Dairy Road. The Council is also considering recommendations for implementing safety improvements along Weaver Dairy Road.
Table 2 compares the priority ranking of Chapel Hill transportation projects in Town’s Priority List and the draft 2004-2010 Regional Priority List. Note that only the first 36 projects in the Regional List have been given a priority number. The remaining projects have not been given a ranking number. The Regional Priority List was developed using a methodology approved by the Transportation Advisory Committee. This methodology assigns points to projects in 12 different categories. The ranking for projects with the same number of points is determined by whether the project had been ranked in the 1999 Regional Priority List.
|
Adopted 2004-2010 Chapel Hill Priority List (Attachment 1) |
Priority in Draft 2004-2010 Regional Priority List (attachment 2) |
Notes |
|
1) Transit Capital |
#2 |
Transit capital includes vehicle replacement and facility construction. |
|
2) Estes Drive Extension |
#4 |
Right of way purchase funded in 2002-2008 TIP |
|
3) Old Durham-Chapel Hill Road |
#5 |
|
|
4) Seawell School Road |
#12 |
|
|
5) Estes Drive, NC86 to Curtis |
#18 |
|
|
6) Culbreth Road |
#19 |
|
|
7) Morgan Creek Greenway |
#29 |
|
|
8) Franklin Street/Bolin Creek Greenway Pedestrian/Bicycle Access |
#30 |
|
|
9) Upgrade Chapel Hill Signal System |
Unranked |
New Project |
|
10) Estes Drive, Curtis to Franklin Street |
#20 |
|
|
11) Bolin Creek Greenway |
Unranked |
|
|
12) Pope Rd -Ephesus Church Rd. |
#22 |
|
|
13) Piney Mountain Road |
#23 |
|
|
14) Mount Carmel Church Road |
#24 |
|
|
15) Dry Creek Greenway |
#25 |
|
|
16) Manning Drive, Bowles to Fordham Blvd |
#26 |
|
|
17) Merritt Mill Road |
#7 |
|
|
18) Upper Booker Creek Greenway |
Unranked |
|
|
19) Country Club Road |
#27 |
|
|
20) Fordham Boulevard |
Unranked |
|
|
21) Bolin Creek/Little Creek Greenway |
#28 |
|
|
22) Old Mason Farm/Finley Golf Course Road |
Unranked |
|
Overall, 17 of Chapel Hill’s transportation projects were ranked in the top 36 regional projects, although only four Chapel Hill projects were included in the top 10 regional projects. Those include:
· Chapel Hill Transit vehicle replacement
· Estes Drive improvements, NC 86 to North Greensboro Street
· Old Durham-Chapel Hill Bike lanes
· Merritt Mill sidewalk
Although the Town submitted Chapel Hill Transit projects as a package, they were evaluated as individual projects. The vehicle replacement projects were ranked as the #2 regional project. We also note that other individual elements of the overall transit capital program have not been individually identified.
Our review of the draft Regional Priority List and Evaluation Methodology has identified several errors in the assignment of points.
§ Estes Drive, North Greensboro Street to NC 86 was not assigned points for reducing use of single occupant vehicles. This project includes both bicycle facilities and sidewalks and should have been given points in this category. We also believe that this project should be accelerated.
§ The proposed upgrade to the Chapel Hill signal system should include points for mitigating congestion and improving safety.
We also note that the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro 2025 Regional Transportation Plan is expected to be completed and adopted by August, 2002. The adoption of a 2025 Plan by the Urban Area may require a revision to the adopted Regional Priority List to include projects drawn from the Plan.
Transportation Board: (Attachment 4) The Transportation Board recommended the following comments to the Council:
· The proposed improvements to the Town’s signal system should be moved up the priority list.
· The Town should ensure that sidewalks are included in the design of the improvements to Estes Drive, from NC 86 to North Greensboro Street.
· The Town should support moving up in priority the Regional Rail project, North Raleigh to Duke and the U.S. 15-501 Fixed Guideway project.
· The Town should question whether projects are correctly evaluated to determine whether they should be awarded pointes for “reduces use of single occupant vehicles, provides for more transportation choices and promotes energy conservation” in the project ranking.
· The Board continues to support projects which focus on alternative means of transportation
Staff Comment:
We agree that the Town’s signal system project should be given a higher priority and have identified a correction to the ranking criteria that should result in a higher ranking. We note that sidewalks are part of the proposed scope for the Estes Drive project and believe that they will be included in the project design. We agree that the regional fixed guideway projects should be given a higher priority ranking. We note that the Transportation Advisory Committee has recommended that the environmental studies for implementation of the U.S. 15-501 fixed guideway project should be initiated as soon as possible.
We understand the Board’s concern about the number of projects given points for reduction of single occupant vehicles, provision of more transportation choice and promotion of energy conservation. We believe part of the appearance of over-assignment of points in these categories is that there are many more transit, bicycle and pedestrian projects listed. Of the 36 ranked projects in the list, 27 are primarily transit, bicycle and pedestrian projects. At the same time, we do not believe that projects whose primary objective is the expansion of roadway capacity should be given points for these factors.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board: (Attachment 5) The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board recommended the following comment:
· Regarding project #11, “NC 86 Bicycle Lanes (Paved Shoulders)”, funding for this project should come from highway/road improvement funds rather than from the Bike/Ped Section, as noted on the Priority List.
Staff Comment:
Funding for shoulder improvements typically come out of roadway funds and we agree that the table should reflect the possible use of those funds.
Greenways Commission: (Attachment 6) The Greenways Commission recommended that:
· The Bolin Creek Trail project should be moved as high as possible in the TIP.
Staff Comment:
We note that the Bolin Creek Greenway was included as priority #11 in the Town’s adopted Priority List, while the Morgan Creek Greenway was included as #7 priority. While the Bolin Creek Greenway was unranked, the Morgan Creek project was ranked #29 in the draft Regional List.
Planning Board: (Attachment 7): The Planning Board recommended that:
· The Town should continue to rank bicycle and pedestrian projects as high priorities.
Staff Comment:
The Town’s Priority List includes bicycle and pedestrian projects as high priorities and as noted earlier, a significant number of the top 36 projects in the draft Regional List are bicycle or pedestrian projects. Unfortunately funding for these projects is limited to the State bicycle and pedestrian program, which has a $3 million dollar annual budget and limits the cost of any individual project to $300,000. The other source of funding for these projects has been the Urban Areas Direct Allocation fund, which requires a 20% local contribution.
The Transportation Advisory Committee is anticipated to approve the Regional Priority List in March, 2002 and forward a copy to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. It is anticipated that the State will release a draft State Transportation Improvement Program in June, 2002. At that time the Urban Area will prepare a draft Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program which will be used in negotiations with the State. A final draft Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program is expected to be developed in the fall of 2002 and the Transportation Advisory Committee is expected to adopt a final 2004-2010 Program in February, 2003.
Manager’s Recommendation: That the Council approve Resolution A, which would provide the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee with comments and recommendations on the Draft 2004-2010 Regional Priority List. We have incorporated the comments from various Town Boards. We offer the following comments and recommendations for the Council’s consideration:
· Estes Drive (#4) should be given points for “reduces use of single occupant vehicles” and full funding accelerated in the 2004-2010 Transportation Improvement Program.
· Individual Chapel Hill Transit capital projects should be included and ranked separately.
· Chapel Hill Signal System Upgrade (Unranked) should be given points for “safety” and “promotes energy conservation”
· The Regional Rail project, Duke to North Raleigh and the U.S. 15-501 fixed guideway project should be ranked higher on the priority list.
· Projects that are primarily intended to expand capacity for single occupant vehicles should not be assigned points for “reduces use of single occupant vehicles, provides for more transportation choices or promotes energy conservation”.
· It should be noted that funding for NC86 Bicycle Lanes (#11) should include the use of highway funds.
· The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee should advise the North Carolina Department of Transportation that the Priority List adopted in March or April, 2002 may be revised upon adoption of the final 2025 Regional Transportation Plan.
1. 2004-2010 Chapel Hill Priority List (p. 9).
2. Draft 2004-2010 Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Regional Priority List (p.11).
3. Transportation Improvement Program Development Process (p. 15).
4. Transportation Board Recommendation (p. 16).
5. Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Recommendation (p. 17).
6. Greenways Commission Recommendation (p. 18).
7. Planning Board Recommendation (p. 19).
A RESOLUTION PROVIDING COMMENTS TO THE DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE DRAFT 2004-2010 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PRIORITY LIST (2002-02-11/R-13)
WHEREAS, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee has prepared a draft 2004-20108 Regional Transportation Priority List; and
WHEREAS, the Transportation Advisory Committee has opened a public comment period on the Draft Priority List
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the following comments be submitted to the Transportation Advisory Committee on the Draft 2004-2010 Regional Priority List.
· Estes Drive (#4) should be given points for “reduces use of single occupant vehicles” and full funding accelerated in the 2004-2010 Transportation Improvement Program.
· Individual Chapel Hill Transit capital projects should be included and ranked separately.
· Chapel Hill Signal System Upgrade (Unranked) should be given points for “safety” and “promotes energy conservation”
· The Regional Rail project, Duke to North Raleigh and the U.S. 15-501 fixed guideway project should be ranked higher on the priority list.
· Projects that are primarily intended to expand capacity for single occupant vehicles should not be assigned points for “reduces use of single occupant vehicles, provides for more transportation choices or promotes energy conservation”.
· It should be noted that funding for NC86 Bicycle Lanes (#11) should include the use of highway funds.
· The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee should advise the North Carolina Department of Transportation that the Priority List adopted in March or April, 2002 may be revised upon adoption of the final 2025 Regional Transportation Plan.
This the 11th day of February, 2002.