Special Topic: "Making Transportation Decisions at a Local Level"

I attended the "Special Topic: Making Transportation Decisions at a Local Level" presentation a smaller section of the larger "Sketching Chapel Hill" Series, and I thought that I'd share some details that were discussed by Martin/Alexiou/Bryson Consulting.  The firm presented a 50 minute PowerPoint concerning both the CTP for the greater area, the Long Range Plan and the shorter 7 Year Transportation Plans for the area, followed by Q&A. Also, on the consulting firm's website, there are some interesting bike lane sharing plans for NCSU that are pretty cool to check out.

The firm presented several items of interest.  One that was batted around quite a bit in the Q&A was the Eubanks Modernization Project to add bike lanes, sidewalks and widening to accomodate better bus traffic.  It was a bit unclear what the time frame on the project was, but according to the Durham/Chapel Hill CMPO, it was unranked and costs not determined.  Another project that was mentioned in Q&A was the Bicycle Apartments, and it opened the wider conversation of higher density housing near downtown and Historical District in conjunction with emphasizing access to local transit services and sustainability focused on alternative transportation resources, and how those priorities fit into larger area discussions.  It seems that improving Bicycle and Pedestrian facilities along major corridors in Chapel Hill remains a priority, but lacks an accurate time frame.  I hope that CH2020 and other initiatives will help push those improvements (like the modernizations) along so we can have safer thoroughfares for the community.

Audio of the presentation can be found here, and the PowerPoint here.  The PowerPoint includes a breakdown of highway and transit costs and where that money comes from.