[Durham INC] 2040 Long Range Alternatives Transportation Plan Input Sought

Fri Aug 31 09:55:55 EDT 2012

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

News Release

News Media Contact:

Amy Blalock

Sr. Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 x 11253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov 

http://Facebook.com/CityofDurhamNC 

http://Twitter.com/CityofDurhamNC    

For Immediate Release: August 31, 2012

Public Input Sought on Alternative Analysis for Regional Transportation
Plan

Multiple Opportunities for Residents to Provide Feedback in Durham and
Orange Counties

What:            Public Hearing, Public Workshops, and Comment Period
for the 2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan Alternative Analysis
Report

Who:             Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning
Organization (DCHC MPO)

When:           Public Hearing: 

*         Wednesday, September 12, 2012, at 9 a.m., Durham City Hall,
Committee Room, 101 City Hall Plaza, Durham

Public Workshops:

*         Thursday, September 13, 2012, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Town Barn
on Town Hall Campus, 101 E. Orange St., Hillsborough

*         Tuesday, September 18, 2012, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Durham
Station Transportation Center, 515 W. Pettigrew St., Durham

*         Thursday, September 20, 2012, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Chapel
Hill Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Chapel Hill

Public Comment Period Ends: 

*         Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Fast Facts:

*         The DCHC MPO, which programs state and federal transportation
projects for Durham County and parts of Orange and Chatham counties, is
requesting public feedback on the transportation alternatives for the
region that consider future highway, bus transit, rail transit, bicycle,
pedestrian and other transportation projects to be implemented through
the year 2040.  

*         The 2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) is the guide
for major transportation investments in the DCHC MPO area. The plan
recommends major transportation projects, policies, and strategies
designed to maintain existing transportation systems and serve the
region's future travel needs. The 2040 MTP is also designed to support
land use and air quality goals for the urban area, and must be prepared
in accordance with federal transportation and environmental
requirements. Projects must be in the 2040 MTP to receive state and
federal transportation funding in the North Carolina Transportation
Improvement Program.

*         As part of this plan, the DCHC MPO has developed
"alternatives," which are a combination of a transportation network,
which includes a set of highway, transit and other transportation
improvements, and a land use scenario that depicts the distribution of
population and employment for the year 2040. These alternatives are run
in the triangle regional model to produce a set of transportation
performance measures that describe how well the alternatives meet future
travel demand. This report provides background and a project detail to
understand the alternatives, and maps and tables of transportation
statistics to evaluate how well a specific alternative meets the future
travel demand. In addition to this report, the DCHC MPO will develop
some project specific analysis, such as a brief analysis on Southwest
Durham Drive, and will post those additions in this section over the
next two months.

*         Residents are encouraged to provide feedback and offer input
on the proposed alternatives in a number of ways to elected officials.
Public workshops are scheduled in Durham and Orange counties and
residents are encouraged to attend these drop-in sessions anytime during
the three-hour periods. A public hearing will also be held by the DCHC
MPO Transportation Advisory Committee, which is primarily comprised of
local elected officials. Persons with disabilities will be accommodated
at the public hearing, but are asked to request provisions at least 48
hours in advance.

*         The alternative analysis plans, maps, reports, and different
options to provide feedback are now available at the DCHC MPO website at
www.dchcmpo.org in the "Alternatives Analysis" section. 

*         After the public comment period ends in mid-October, the next
major step in the 2040 MTP development process is to use the evaluation
and comparison of the alternatives to create a single alternative that
best meets the MPO's goals and objectives and the fiscal constraint
requirements. This final alternative is called the preferred option, and
it will also go through a public review process similar to that of the
alternatives. 

*         Questions or comments can be sent to Andy Henry,
transportation planner with the DCHC MPO, by Wednesday, October 10,
2012. He can be reached by email at Andrew.Henry at DurhamNC.gov, by phone
at (919) 560-4366, ext. 36419, or by mail to City of Durham
Transportation Department, 101 City Hall Plaza, Durham, N.C. 27701.

About the City's Transportation Department

The Transportation Department is responsible for a broad range of
transportation services, which include traffic signs and signals,
transportation planning, parking operations, street lighting, the
taxicab administration and bicycle and pedestrian planning. The City's
Transportation Department also oversees the Durham Area Transit
Authority (DATA) public transportation system as well as the DATA ACCESS
service for persons with disabilities. The City of Durham leads planning
functions for the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning
Organization (DCHC MPO). The City's Transportation Department helps to
strengthen the foundation, enhance the value, and improve the quality
and sustainability of neighborhoods that are necessary for a strong and
diverse community. For more information, visit 
http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/op/dot.

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