N.C. CAPITAL AREA
METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION
TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
June 21, 2006
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Wake County Commons
Conference Center Building,
Room 100A
4012 Carya Drive
Raleigh, North Carolina
AGENDA
1. Preliminaries
2. Adjustments to
the Agenda
3. Public Comments
This is an opportunity for comments by those
in attendance. Please limit comments to three minutes for each speaker.
Consent Agenda
All items on the consent agenda are considered to
be routine and may be enacted by one motion. If a Councilor requests discussion
on an item, the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered
separately.
4. Approval
of Minutes of April 19, 2006 TAC Meeting.
The minutes of the
April 19, 2006 TAC meeting, are enclosed as Attachment 4A.
TAC Action: Approval of minutes.
5. FY 2006-2012 Metropolitan
Transportation Improvement Program –
Amendment
#1 (Transit Amendment)
The City of Raleigh has been notified by the North Carolina
Department of Transportation – Public Transportation Division (NCDOT-PTD) of
the appropriation of $3,024,000 funds via Section 5309 for the purchase of
twelve (12) expansion buses for Capital Area Transit. Total funding for this project will be as
follows:
FTA
Section 5309 $3,024,000
NCDOT Funding $ 378,000
Local Funding
(Raleigh) $ 378,000
Total Project $3,780,000
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has notified the City
of Raleigh, Capital Area Transit, of the allocation of $380,174 in
discretionary funding (Fed Earmark ID #NC E-2006-BUSP-628) via Section 5309,
for the purchase of replacement buses.
Total funding for this project will be as follows:
FTA
Section 5309 $ 380,174
NCDOT
Funding $ 47,589
Local
Funding (Raleigh) $ 47,589
Total
Project $ 475,982
Attachment 5A is the appropriate MTIP adopting resolution and amendment.
TCC Action: Recommended TAC approval of this
amendment.
TAC
Action: Approve
Amendment #1 to the 2006-2012 Capital Area MPO Metropolitan Transportation
Improvement Program.
6. FY 2006-2012 Metropolitan Transportation
Improvement Program –
Amendment
#2 (Transit Amendment)
The Town of
Cary has been notified by the North Carolina Department of Transportation –
Public Transportation Division (NCDOT-PTD) of the allocation of $216,000 funds
via Section 5309 for the purchase of three expansion buses for the Town of
Cary’s C-Tran (Cary Transit) system.
Total funding for this project will be as follows:
|
I.D. No.
|
System
|
Description
|
Funding
|
|
FFY
|
|
TA-4901
|
Cary
|
3 Expansion Buses
|
FBUS
|
$216,000
|
2006
|
|
|
|
|
STAT
|
$20,819
|
|
|
|
|
|
L
|
$23,422
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
$260,241
|
|
Attachment
6A is the appropriate MTIP adopting resolution and
amendment.
TCC Action: Recommended TAC approval of this
amendment.
TAC
Action: Approve
Amendment #2 to the 2006-2012 Capital Area MPO Metropolitan Transportation
Improvement Program.
7. FY 2006-2012 Metropolitan
Transportation Improvement Program –
Amendment
#3 - Job Access - Reverse Commute (JARC) Grant
At the April 6,
2006 TCC meeting, an announcement was made regarding the Job Access Reverse
Commute (JARC) application process. A
change to the process was announced and it was stated that for 2006, if the MPO
desires to continue funding the project submitted and funded in 2005, it will
be allowed to do so using the previously approved process guidelines. Should the MPO desire to support a new
project, a set of criteria would need to be developed and a public call for
projects would be required. At the May
4, 2006 TCC meeting it was decided that since the deadline for project
submittal for 2006 is July, it will be more feasible to request an additional
year of funding for the existing project.
For the 2007
award, the MPO will have ample time to develop criteria for submittal and
selection of applications and to put out a public call for projects.
Attachment
7A is a copy of the JARC Application to be submitted
to NCDOT. Attachment 7B
is the appropriate MTIP adopting resolution and amendment to reflect the
additional year of funding for the Brier Creek service.
TCC Action: Recommended TAC approval of this
amendment.
TAC
Action: A.
Approve Joint Access Reverse Commute Grant Application for Service to Brier Creek.
B. Approve Amendment #3 to the 2006-2012 Capital
Area MPO Metropolitan Transportation Improvement
Program.
8. Capital Area MPO Bicycle and Pedestrian
Stakeholder Group – Education Initiative
At the February
meeting of the Capital Area Bicycle and Pedestrian Stakeholders Group (BPSG)
the decision was made to send a letter would to law enforcement agencies, the
DMV and NCDOT reiterating the need for increased statewide bicyclist and
motorist education efforts. The January 2006 bicyclist fatality in
Chapel Hill will be cited as evidence that more safety-oriented education is
necessary to prevent avoidable accidents. The letter suggests three items
to be emphasized in the campaign:
1. Drivers of
vehicles are required by law to limit their speed for safety
according to conditions
(including visibility) and must always be
prepared to slow or stop for vehicles or
persons moving slowly or stopped
ahead on the roadway.
2. Bicyclists are legally “drivers
of vehicles” and are fully entitled to use
public roadways by virtue of
being members of the public.
3. Bicyclists
operating at night are required by law to equip their bicycles with a rear-facing
red lamp or bright red reflector in addition to a white headlamp to ensure that they can be seen by other
roadway users.
The letter
recognizes that local organizations such as MPOs and RPOs, along with cities and counties will need to play a role
in a statewide education campaign and pledges the support and assistance of the
BPSG. The Capital Area Bicycle and Pedestrian Stakeholders Group plans to
partner with TTA and SmartCommute@RTP to create
motorist and bicyclist education pamphlets outlining the rules and
responsibilities of roadway users. The letter also suggests that local
educational efforts will be more effective if NCDOT and other statewide
agencies work concurrently to promote the message.
A copy of the
BPSG letter is included as Attachment 8A.
A copy of an educational brochure, produced by the Durham Bicycle and
Pedestrian Advisory Committee, similar to the brochure to be produced by the
BPSG (with the assistance of TTA and SmartCommute@RTP)
is included as Attachment
8B. A possible resolution which could
be adopted by the Capital Area MPO in support of the BPSG campaign request is
included as Attachment
8C.
TCC Action: Forwarded Bicycle Pedestrian Stakeholder Group
letter to TAC for endorsement.
TAC Action: Receive information on BPSG initiative and take
action as appropriate.
THIS IS THE END OF THE CONSENT AGENDA
Reports and Recommendations
of TCC
9. Consideration of Possible 2030 Long-Range
Transportation Plan Amendment - Southern Wendell Bypass
At the October 6, 2005 TCC meeting,
information was presented regarding a proposed development in the Wendell
area. At that time the following
information was presented:
The recent completion of US 64/264 (Knightdale) Bypass has spurred
interest in residential and commercial development in eastern Wake County due
to the much-improved travel service and regional access. Mercury Development and Pulte Homes have
recently proposed a large scale development, currently in the planning and
design phase, that is expected to include 450,000 square feet of commercial
space and 4,000 new homes. This proposed
development, to be located east of Lake Myra and north of Poole Road in western
Wendell, lies in the path of the proposed Southern Wendell Bypass, a future
roadway shown on the Capital Area MPO Long-
Range Transportation Plan. This
altered roadway alignment, as proposed by Mercury Development, would necessitate
a Long-Range Transportation Plan amendment and therefore trigger a conformity
analysis.
Several meetings were held between the MPO staff, representatives of
Mercury Development, the Town of Wendell and NCDOT. A public information meeting was
held on June 6, 2006 to inform land owners who might be affected by an
alignment change and obtain their feedback.
Attachment 9A
is a copy of the resolution adopted by the town of Wendell.
A map, questions asked, and comments received at the June 6 meeting were
presented at the June 8, 2006 TCC meeting and are being presented here as Attachment
9B.
The developer is required, by June 30, 2006, to submit a letter of MPO
concurrence with the proposed relocation of the roadway. NCDOT and the developer are working to extend
that deadline. This proposed realignment
may constitute a change to the Capital Area MPO’s
adopted Long-Range Transportation Plan and it is therefore necessary to bring
this item before the TCC and TAC for review and comment.
The information being presented today was shared with the TCC at its
June 8, 2006 meeting. The TCC has
forwarded this item to the TAC with a recommendation that the amendment process
be begun by opening, on June 26, 2006, a 45-day public comment period. A public hearing should then be held (on
August 16) to receive comments on this proposal.
TCC Action: Forward to TAC with recommendation to begin process required to make
Long-Range Transportation Plan amendment and open 45 day public comment period.
TAC Action: Open 45-day
public comment period on possible Long Range Transportation Plan Amendment to
begin June 6, 2006 and conclude with public hearing to be conducted on August
16, 2006.
10. FY 2007-2008 Unified Planning Work Program
Development Process and Schedule
Annually, the Capital Area MPO staff, working with the NCDOT,
Triangle J Council of Governments, TTA, Capital Area Transit, and the
Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro MPO, develops the work tasks and budget for the
Unified Planning Work Plan (UPWP). The UPWP addresses such items as staffing
and study needs as well as planning tasks for the upcoming year. The schedule
previously used did not coincide with budget schedules of the Capital Area MPO
member jurisdictions and agencies and in some cases may have precluded
appropriate response time from those entities.
The Capital Area MPO, in an effort to be more proactive in its
approach to UPWP development, and to allow ample time for local input, has
prepared a schedule which will better meet the needs of the members. The Capital Area MPO will begin development
of the UPWP during July with a proposed completion date for the draft UPWP of
November.
Attachment
10A provides an outline
of the UPWP development process and Attachment 10B
is the newly revised timeline for UPWP development.
TCC Action: Reviewed
the process and schedule for development of the 2007-2008 UPWP and set July 13,
2006 as the date for a full day “retreat” to allow staff and a subcommittee
comprised of TCC members to begin development of the UPWP.
TAC
Action: Receive information on UPWP development
process and timeline and provide direction to staff as appropriate.
11. NC
Turnpike Authority Study Report
In December of 2005, mayors of five Wake County towns requested
the Turnpike Authority conduct a financial feasibility study for construction
of the Western and Southern Wake sections of I-540 as a toll road. At their regularly scheduled meeting on June
13, 2006, the Turnpike Authority received the Preliminary Financial Feasibility
Study for the Triangle Parkway and the Western and Southern Wake Parkways. The report contains several components,
including:
A. A traffic and
revenue study,
B. Project cost
estimates, and
C. A financial
analysis
The Executive Summary portion of the report is enclosed as Attachment 11A.
The Turnpike Authority’s adopted policy requires local
government and/or MPO support in order to proceed further with more detailed
analyses on these turnpike projects.
TAC Action: Receive information on NC Turnpike Authority
Preliminary Financial Feasibility Study for discussion and action as
appropriate.
12. NC General Assembly 2005-2006 Session -
Senate Bills 1819 (HB
2828) and 1826 (HB 2829)
Two pieces of legislation, related
to turnpikes, were recently filed with the NC General Assembly for
consideration during the 2005-2006 session.
These items were filed to assist the efforts of both the NC Turnpike
Authority and NCDOT in furthering turnpike projects. Additionally, they are intended to encourage
regions across the state to invest in their mobility future and relieve some of
the transportation funding burden of the state by expanding interest and
consideration for turnpikes as potential mobility solutions.
The legislative items filed are:
Senate Bill 1819 (House Bill 2828) –
NC Turnpike Encouragement and Assistance
This Bill focuses on identifying sources to alleviate the initial
funding shortfalls for turnpikes, recognizing that tolls alone are rarely
sufficient to provide 100% of funding for a new turnpike. The
bill targets 1/8 of the loop budget to help create a small annual funding
stream or down payment to get good turnpike projects through the ramp-up stage.
It also includes an infusion of general fund revenues that exceeds the
targeted amount of the loop budget. Existing loop funds (the
remaining 7/8 of the loop budget) would also remain eligible for the
purpose of closing the funding gap for those loop projects under consideration
as turnpikes.
The text of this Bill is enclosed as Attachment 12A.
Senate Bill
1826 (House Bill 2829) – Turnpike Revenue Retention
This Bill clarifies that the majority of tolls collected on a section of
turnpike must stay where the revenues are generated in order to maximize usage
and acceptance of turnpikes in North Carolina. This bill is similar
in purpose to the language in last year's I-95 budget provision that retains any
future tolls on that interstate. The bill provides flexibility for the
Turnpike
Authority to develop a statewide system by authorizing up to 25% of toll
revenues generated on a Turnpike section to be spent on other Turnpike
sections along the same corridor or a nearby intersecting toll
corridor upon approval of the affected metro and rural transportation
planning agencies. The bill also clarifies that existing freeway lanes
would count as a free alternative if new express toll lanes were considered
for a roadway.
The text of this
Bill is enclosed as Attachment 12B.
TAC Action: Receive information on Legislative Bills for
discussion and action as appropriate.
13. Reports from the TCC Chair
Chip Russell, TCC Chair
14. MPO Staff Reports
Ed Johnson, MPO Director
15. NCDOT Reports
Scott Walston / Sarah Smith –
Transportation Planning Branch
Richard Greene - Division 4
Jon Nance /
Wally Bowman - Division 5
Terry Gibson
- Division 6
16. Other Business and Pending Items
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
PENDING ITEMS
Item #01 –
Comprehensive Transportation Plan (for Highways) – (Spring 2006)
Item #02 –
Capital Area MPO Organization Structure - (Summer 2006)
Item #03 -
Joint MPO Socioeconomic Data Collection/Forecasting Process – (Spring –Summer 2006)
UPCOMING MEETINGS
July 13, 2006
– Capital Area MPO TCC UPWP
Development Retreat
(Location to be
announced)
July 19, 2006
– Capital Area MPO TAC Meeting - Tentative
(4 PM-6PM, Wake
County Commons Conference Center)
August 3,
2006 - Capital Area MPO TCC meeting
(301 Hillsborough
Building)
