Planning & Transportation
NOTE: This is NOT a public hearing or a forum, nor is it a meeting, but public comments will be received. It is one-on-one with staff, Monday 8/29, 4-7 pm, CH Municipal Bldg. Attendees will get a chance to see DETAILS of the Durham-Orange Rail Transit Plan. Durham County residents (including 2,071 voters in the Town of Chapel Hill who live in Durham County) vote November 8 on a 1/2% sales tax to fund rail and bus transit expansion. Orange County has not yet set a vote.
http://www.dchcmpo.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=85&Itemid=35
The DCHC MPO has released the rail transit Alternatives Analysis for public comment. See Web page for report copies and opportunities for providing comments, and for a recent addendum (August 2011) to the report.
News release from the Town:
A public input meeting on the expansion of the Eubanks Road Park and
Ride lot will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, in the
Great Hall of the Seymour Senior Center, 2551 Homestead Road.
Park and Ride is an important component of Chapel Hill's
transportation system. To allow adequate time for the planning, design
and construction of an expanded park and ride lot in the north end of
Martin Luther King Boulevard, the six-month process will begin with a
feasibility study.
Chapel Hill Transit (CHT) desires adequate park-and-ride capacity
developed in an environmentally-friendly, financially-efficient manner
that supports transit-compatible redevelopment of adjacent properties.
The objectives of the study are to:
- Confirm the level of demand for park-and-ride spaces in the Eubanks Road facility for both CHT passengers and other users;
- Review the site suitability and configuration options
presented in the Eubanks Road Concept Plan in relation to an expanded
park-and-ride facility and formulate alternatives for park & ride
expansion in the planning area;
- Develop an effective access plan including determination of
impacts and service requirements so that transit service, walking and
biking access, and traffic needs are addressed;
- Understand financial strategies and implications of park-and-ride development;
- Define a variety of potential alternatives, test the
alternatives, complete NEPA requirements and select a preferred
alternative for environmental permitting, funding,
construction and operation;
- Define and manage an inclusive public and agency process to
develop consensus around the Eubanks Road Concept Plan, facility options
and study outcomes.
To be included in future notifications, send an email to transitplanning@townofchapelhill.org
with "Eubanks Notifications" in the subject line.
For more information, visit www.chtransit.org and click on "Projects."
CHT wants to hear from you! If you are unable to attend the
meeting, there are several ways to share your thoughts and suggestions:
1. Call CHT at 919-969-4900, press 1
2. Email us at transitplanning@townofchapelhill.org
3. Fax to 919-968-2840
(Attn: Transit Service Planner)
4. Mail to CHT, Attn: Transit Service Planner, 6900 Millhouse Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Date:
Wednesday, August 31, 2011 - 6:00pm to 7:30pm
Location:
Seymour Senior Center, 2551 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill
I've been encouraged to hear municipal staff and elected leaders in Chapel Hill talk about how broad, inclusive, and engaging they want the process of revising the Town's Comprehensive Plan to be. I've also seen some positive steps in this direction, but have also been frustrated about my inability to get information about what is going on with the process so far. Hopefully, this frustration will end when the public part of the process kicks off on September 27th (OP's birthday, coincidentally).
The town's "2020" web site lists ways that people can get involved including: Become a Stakeholder, Join a Working Group, Subscribe to our email list, Take a survey, Attend a Meeting, Tell someone about Chapel Hill 2020, and Tell us who's missing. This is a great start. I think this process is an opportunity to think more broadly about how to get residents more involved more effectively and creatively in our local government, and I bet we can think of some different formats and different venues for this to happen.
The Chapel Hill community
and the Town Council have asked for a new Comprehensive Plan to reexamine the
vision for Chapel Hill and to plan together for our community's future.
the new planning and visioning document will create a framework for the
community to guide the Town Council in managing Chapel Hill's future
over the next 20 years.
Chapel Hill 2020 is a plan that involves Chapel Hill, every community, every race, every age, every culture, every corner. What is in Chapel Hill 2020 will directly affect you -- your values, your ambitions, your family, your future. You have made Chapel Hill your town, and we want to hear from you.
First Meeting
Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
East Chapel Hill High School
500 Weaver Diary Road, Chapel Hill NC 27514
5:00 – 6:00 pm Project Open House
6:00 – 8:00 pm Stakeholder Meeting
Date:
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - 5:00pm to 8:00pm
Location:
East Chapel Hill High School
It's being reported that school overcrowding "threatens" a moratorium on construction of new homes in Chapel Hill and/or Orange County. Meanwhile, the number of "for sale" signs for existing homes in our neighborhoods are proliferating, as old listings languish and new listings appear.
I was unable to find (after an admittedly quick search) current stats for the number of houses on sale in the various school districts or for the average time a house sits on the market -- probably not numbers that local realtors consider very happy. (Did find reference to an approx. 9% vacancy rate for Chapel Hill, but not certain what that includes -- commercial? residential? both?)
However, it doesn't take a lot of scrutiny to know that there are an unprecedented number of existing houses for sale -- far more than are likely to be built new in the next year, I'd bet. And in the likely event that every one of those houses -- or even half of them -- were sold to families with children by September, the schools would have a difficult time accommodating them.
Pages
About Us
OrangePolitics is a not-for-profit website for discussing progressive perspectives on politics, planning, and public policy in Orange County, NC. Opinions are those of their authors. Learn more.
Community Guidelines
By using this site, you agree to our community guidelines. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior will result in moderation or eviction.
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by
WeebPal.
