"Making Transportation Decisions on a Local Level," a free information session of the Town of Chapel Hill's DESIGN Chapel Hill 2020 program, will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, in the Council Chamber of Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Chapel Hill 27514.

Monday's presentation will be given by Bill Martin and Miller Cochran from Martin/Alexiou/Bryson, planning and transportation consulting firm. The session will focus on how communities can make decisions about transportation planning and site development planning. In addition, the presentation will discuss the status of transportation in the Central West Focus Area, which includes Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and portions of Estes Drive. For more information about the Central West Focus Area process, visit www.townofchapelhill.org/centralwest

Bill Martin has 30 years of experience in transportation planning and engineering. He manages complex, multimodal transportation studies at the regional and corridor levels. He also manages the development of campus transportation plans that include the analysis of parking, transit, bicycle, pedestrian and traffic systems. He is considered an expert nationally in travel demand analysis and forecasting. He has conducted needs studies, feasibility analyses, and prepared patronage estimates for major public transportation investments, such as commuter rail and light rail transit systems in several states.

Miller Cochran has more than two years of transportation planning experience with a particular emphasis on transit, transportation modeling, and the connections between transportation and land use. He brings a cross-disciplinary approach to transportation issues and seeks creative solutions to complex problems using rigorous technical analysis. He is motivated by a desire to improve communities and neighborhoods, enhance quality of life, and design high-quality transportation systems.

Background reading that may help participants prepare for this session may be found at the Town's Complete Streets webpage:http://www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?page=1599

Also, be sure to watch the special topics presentation about Chapel Hill's Future Transit Network: http://chapelhill.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=1326. This presentation was given by David Bonk, Long Range and Transportation Manager, and Steve Spade, the former director of Chapel Hill Transit, on February 10, 2012.

Town staff had planned a full day "Sketching Chapel Hill" program with several special information topics, including a session on transportation. After its cancellation due to last week's inclement weather, the program concept has changed in favor of shorter, single topic events that may attract more interested residents. These programs meet an interest expressed by many participants during the Chapel Hill 2020 for continued civic education in such areas as designing public spaces, zoning rules, transportation system, landscape design, and more.

DESIGN Chapel Hill 2020 recognizes that the adoption of the comprehensive plan was not an end point, but a beginning. Now that the community's ideas have been articulated through the comprehensive plan, these ideas may be used toward designing our community. Look for more DESIGN special events coming soon.

For more information, contact Megan Wooley, Housing and Neighborhood Services Planner II, at 919-969-5059 orcompplan@townofchapelhill.org.

The Town of Chapel Hill Special Topics sessions continue for the community with a presentation on large crowd management at noon Wednesday, Oct. 17, in the Council Chamber of Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.

Chapel Hill public safety leadership has gained attention for its unique ability to manage large crowd celebrations. Police Chief Chris Blue and Fire Chief Dan Jones will discuss some of the strategies that Chapel Hill employs to manage such large scale events.

From Halloween to NCAA basketball championships, large crowds in downtown Chapel Hill can easily soar to the tens of thousands of people. Enormous crowds confined in a congested half-mile stretch of Franklin Street can present public safety concerns related to personal and property crime, crowd panic and large scale civil disorders. Additional concerns focus on alcohol poisoning, injuries and gang-related violence.

The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session.

Chief Blue began work with the Town of Chapel Hill in 1997. A UNC graduate who grew up in Chapel Hill, he is married with two daughters.

Chief Jones came to Chapel Hill from Florida in 1990 to become fire chief. He has 38 years of experience in the fire service, rising through the ranks. His wife and daughter are teachers, and his son-in-law is a police officer.

The Special Topics series began during the Chapel Hill 2020 comprehensive planning process as a way to share information with interested residents who want to know more about issues, trends and studies that affect the future. For past topics, see www.townofchapelhill.org/video

The public event will be aired live on Chapel Hill Government TV-18 and streamed on the Town of Chapel Hill website at www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?page=1850. For more information about the special topic series, contact Catherine Lazorko at clazorko@townofchapelhill.org or 919-969-5055.