AGENDA #4k

 

BUDGET WORKING PAPER

 

 

TO:                  W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

FROM:            Kathryn Spatz, Director of Parks and Recreation

 

SUBJECT:        Greenways Funding Through the State Transportation Improvement Program

 

DATE:             April 2, 2003   

 

 

At the Council’s February 19, 2003 meeting with the Greenways Commission, a Council member asked how the Council could help to get a Greenways project funded through the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

 

One of the goals of the Comprehensive Plan is to develop a funding strategy for the entire greenways program. We will work with the Greenways Commission to develop such a plan and present it to the Council in the fall of 2003.

 

The 2001 Orange County bond referendum included $1,000,000 for Chapel Hill Greenways. We do not know when those funds will be available for use.

 

Meanwhile, we believe it is important to get at least one project in the funding pipeline through NCDOT’s Office of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation, if the Town is to realize the goal stated in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan of building 6-7 miles of greenway trail by 2011.

 

TIP Process: The process to achieve State funding through the Office of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation begins with the development of a local transportation priority list, which the Council completed in 2002. This is then followed by the development of a regional priority list through the Durham/Chapel Hill/Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). In January 2003 the Council communicated its desire to emphasize three new projects to the MPO including:

 

• Chapel Hill Transit Vehicle Replacement
• Signal System Upgrade
• Transit Maintenance/Operations Facility Construction

 

Currently the region’s draft Transportation Improvement Program request shows 4 Chapel Hill greenway projects tied with 21 other projects (same number of points). There are 12 projects on the list that have higher point values.

 

At this time we believe that the Council has limited ability to affect the outcome of the TIP deliberations beyond what was communicated from the Council in January 2003. It is anticipated that the MPO will finalize the Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program in April or May, 2003 and the State will approve a final State Program in June 2003.  The next opportunity to secure greenway funding through the TIP process will be during the development of the 2006-2012 Program. Development of the priority list for that Program will begin in 2004.

 

Direct Allocation Funding: However, the MPO has indicated that additional funding of approximately $1 million will be available through the STP DA program beginning in FY2004.  We anticipate submitting 3 projects that we believe would be appropriate for the levels of funding that may be available. Projects funded through this mechanism require a 20% local match.