AGENDA #10

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:       Review of Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro 2025 Transportation Plan Alternatives

 

DATE:             April 8, 2002

 

This memorandum reviews the analysis of the 14 transportation alternatives currently under consideration by the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area for inclusion in the 2025 Regional Transportation Plan. The attached resolution would provide the Transportation Advisory Committee with recommendations for developing three final alternatives for evaluation.

 

BACKGROUND

 

The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee is developing a 2025 Regional Transportation Plan. The process of developing the 2025 Plan includes the evaluation of alternative transportation scenarios that include different combinations of roadway, transit, bicycle and pedestrians improvements. The overall goal of the 2025 Plan is to maintain regional transportation mobility and meet federal air quality standards.

 

Federal regulations require that the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area adopt a final plan that meets air quality standards by February, 2003. The timeline below summarizes the anticipated schedule. A detailed schedule is included as Attachment 1.

 Once the draft Plan is adopted by the Transportation Advisory Committee, federal and State agencies require 6 months to analyze the air quality impacts. Failure to adopt a Plan by February, 2003 could lead to the suspension of all federal transportation funds to the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area.

 

It is expected that the Transportation Advisory Committee will identify three composite alternatives for further evaluation on April 10, 2002. The results of that analysis and a recommendation on a final preferred option is anticipated to be reported back to the Committee in May, 2002. The Committee is scheduled to approve a preferred alternative for public comment in June, 2002 and approve a final preferred alternative in August, 2002.

 

In February, 2002 the Transportation Advisory Committee released the results of the evaluation of 14 transportation alternatives. The Council reviewed those alternatives on March 3, 2002, (Attachment 2) and prepared preliminary recommendations for the Transportation Advisory Committee. The Council also requested staff gather additional information on the most feasible of the 14 alternatives and provide a more detailed evaluation of their impacts on Chapel Hill.

 

DISCUSSION

 

Because of continuing staff vacancies at the City of Durham, the Urban Area lead planning agency, we have been unable to obtain additional detailed information about the alternatives discussed by the Council on March 3, 2002.  Although it is impossible to assess the impact on Chapel Hill of any of the alternatives without the more detailed analysis, we offer the following observations about general impacts of the 14 alternative scenarios.

 

Our assessment of the alternatives is based on several principles that are consistent with Council actions in the past and the Town’s 2000 Comprehensive Plan. These principles include promoting the use of alternative modes of transportation, minimizing the need for roadway improvements, maintaining regional mobility and improving air quality.  Please refer to Attachment 3, the table taken from the March 3, 2002 Council memorandum, summarizing the regional impacts of each alternative under consideration.

 

Those alternatives that included fixed guideway service generated the highest proportion of daily trips made by public transit. Alternatives 9-14 included one or more fixed guideway corridors and produced a higher proportion of regional trips being taken by transit.

 

Alternative 12, which included fixed guideway corridors along US 15-501 and NC 54, produced comparable reductions in network congestion to those alternatives that focused on highway improvements, 4 and 5, at a lower projected cost. We also note that Alternative 12 also produced a higher proportion of trips taken by transit.

 

The provision of intensive local transit services appears to maximize the investment in fixed guideway corridors. The difference between total local transit ridership in Alternative #3, Moderate Highway/Moderate Transit and #8, Moderate Highway/Intense Transit is about 6,000 daily transit trips. Both alternatives #12 and #13 included fixed guideway corridors along US 15-501 and NC 54, but #13 used a moderate local bus network while #12 included the intense bus network.  The number of local transit trips increased by approximately 14,000 between Alternatives # 12 and #13.

 

Alternative #6, which included both highway improvements and the provision of high occupancy vehicle lanes had the biggest impact on lowering the percentage of the overall roadway network experiencing congestion. We note that none of the alternatives evaluated included high occupancy vehicle lanes and fixed guideway corridors. The impacts of both types of transportation improvements should be evaluated in a single alternative. It is possible that the introduction of high occupancy vehicle lanes along I-40 might impact the projected ridership on a fixed guideway corridor along NC 54.

 

RECOMMENDED ALTERNATES

 

We recommend that Alternative #6, Moderate Highway, +1,+2, HOV be included in the next phase of evaluation. Highway Moderate includes several roadway improvements, listed in Attachment 2. The +1 and +2 designations refers to additional roadway improvements added to the Moderate Highway. These include improvements to Jack Bennett Road in northern Chatham County and a new two lane facility between Seawell School Road and Homestead Road in Carrboro. We suggest that intensive transit rather than moderate transit be included in this Alternative. This Alternative includes both roadway improvements and high occupancy vehicle lanes and can be used for comparison with more transit intensive alternatives.

 

We recommend that Alternative #12, Moderate Highway, Intense Transit, US 15-501 and NC 54 Fixed Guideway, be carried forward for further evaluation. This alternative is focused on public transit improvements and includes investments in fixed guideway corridors. The analysis of Alternative #12 has produced improvements in transit ridership and reductions in roadway congestion comparable to those alternatives that include more extensive roadway improvements.

 

We also believe that a third recommended alternative should evaluate the impact of including high occupancy vehicle lanes in Alternative #12. This new alternative should also include an evaluation of the additional fixed guideway corridors previously recommended by the Council. These include a connection between the Gateway Station and the Horace Williams property and fixed guideway service along US 15-501/Franklin Street from I-40 to Carrboro and along NC86/US 15-501 South from I-40 to the Southern Village. This revised version Alternative #12 would assess the benefits of implementing high occupancy lanes along I-40 from I-85 to the Johnson County line in conjunction with fixed guideway corridors along US 15-501 and NC 54.  It would also assess additional transit improvements in Chapel Hill.

 

NEXT STEPS

 

It is anticipated that the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee will select three alternatives for further evaluation on April 10, 2002.  The Committee is expected to receive an analysis of these three alternatives in May, 2002 and identify a single final preferred alternative in June, 2002. In June the Committee will also open a 60 day public comment period on the preferred alternative. We expect the Council could hold a public forum on the preferred alternative on June 17, 2002.

 

 The Committee is scheduled to approve a final preferred alternative in August, 2002. Federal and State agencies will analyze the preferred alternative for air quality conformity. It is expected that this analysis will take approximately 6 months. Approval of a final 2025 Plan is expected by Transportation Advisory Committee in February, 2003.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

Manager’s Recommendation: That the Council approve the attached resolution providing the following recommendations to the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee on 2025 Plan alternatives to be carried into the next phase of analysis:

 

 

-  high occupancy vehicle lanes along I-40 from I-85 to the Johnston County line in Wake County.

- a fixed guideway corridor between the Gateway Station and the Horace Williams property

- fixed guideway corridors along US 15-501/Franklin Street, from I-40 to Carrboro and along NC85/US 15-501 between I-40 and the Southern Village

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

1.      2025 Transportation Plan Schedule (p. 6).

2.       March 3, 2002 Council Memorandum (p. 7).

3.      2025 Transportation Plan Alternatives (p. 83).

 

 

 

A RESOLUTION PROVIDING THE DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE WITH RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE ALTERNATIVES TO BE EVALUATED AS PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE  DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO 2025 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN (2002-04-08/R-9)

 

WHEREAS, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee is preparing a 2025 Transportation Plan; and

 

WHEREAS, as part of the development of the 2025 Plan the Transportation Advisory Committee is analyzing alternative transportation scenarios; and

 

WHEREAS, 14 alternative transportation scenarios have been identified and analyzed; and

 

WHEREAS, the Town Council has reviewed the analysis of the 14 alternatives;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council recommends the following alternatives to the Transportation Advisory Committee for further evaluation.

 

1.      Alternative #6, with the addition of the Intense Transit network.

2.      Alternative #12

3.      A new alternative, to include the same elements as existing Alternative #12 and adding the following:

 

- high occupancy vehicle lanes along I-40 from I-85 to the Johnston County line in Wake County.

- a fixed guideway corridor between the Gateway Station and the Horace Williams property

- fixed guideway corridors along US 15-501/Franklin Street, from I-40 to Carrboro and along NC85/US 15-501 between I-40 and the Southern Village

 

This the 8th day of April, 2002.