According to the 2000 census, 12,510 Chatham County residents commuted to work in one of the eight neighboring counties. Chatham County Transportation Advisory Board Strategic Plan The Triangle Area Rural Planning Organization (TARPO) is an association of local governments in the.
Funding for Transportation
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC-MPO) is the regional organization responsible for transportation planning for the western portion of North Carolina's Research Triangle area. The DCHC's urbanized area covers all of Durham County, part of Orange County, including the cities of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough, and Northeast Chatham County (see Figure 2). Like TARPO, the DCHC-MPO is an umbrella organization consisting of the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC), the Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC), local governments and the state.
Each highway division office is responsible for the planning, design, construction and maintenance of all state highways within its region. This includes the road surface, signage, signals and maintenance of the surrounding right-of-way. Each highway division works with municipalities, CPOs and ZPPs within its region to plan and prioritize road projects on state highways.
The Secondary Road Improvement Program funds the improvement and maintenance of secondary roads, selected and prioritized in accordance with statewide criteria developed by NCDOT.
Environment Pollutants
Funds are allocated to each county annually from the Highway Fund and from the Highway Trust Fund. The 5310 Elderly and Persons with Disabilities Program, the 5316 Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) Program, and the 5317 New Freedom Program are discretionary grants that fund public transportation and capital projects targeting the elderly, persons with disabilities, low-income populations, and employment-related transportation .
State Policy
Other recommendations can be found in Appendix 7, but the formation of two parts of. legislation, the "Mobility Fund" and the "Sustainable Communities Task Force" can have significant funding and financial policy impacts on regional projects. The purpose of the Fund was to "provide transportation projects of national and regional importance that relieve congestion and increase mobility in all modes of transportation." The Department of Transportation will use the Mobility Fund to fund transportation projects, selected by the Department, of statewide and regional importance that relieve congestion and increase mobility on all modes of transportation.
The importance of this Fund and the criteria for funding is that it falls outside the established equity formula established since the 1989 Highway Trust Fund. The NC Board of Transportation and NC DOT recently recognized the importance of developing a balanced road network and transportation system. The policy requires planners and designers to consider and incorporate multimodal alternatives in the design and improvement of all transportation projects within a growth area of a municipality, unless certain circumstances exist.
NC DOT July 2009 The National Transportation Agency's Complete Street Policy, . www.bytrain.org/fra/general/ncdot_streets_policy.pdf).
Summary
NC DOT has established an advisory group to further refine implementation policies and develop improved roadway design guidelines. In recent years, NC DOT has developed and administered an SRTS grant program for planning, infrastructure, and non-infrastructure projects. Very few Chatham County youth walk or bike to school, which should be considered part of the transportation system.
Chatham has opportunities to influence transportation decisions that would otherwise be made solely by NC DOT. NC DOT relies on local input for long-range transportation planning and implementation through its. In addition to these processes, Chatham County has successfully accessed grants to help serve the public transportation needs of workers, low-income residents, older adults, and community college students.
The addition of the Chapel Hill Transit PX route reflected the growth of the county's transportation system, creating reliable fixed-route service for Chatham's main travel corridor.
Values, Goals and Strategies
The Chatham TAB is a viable means for public participation in transportation decisions
The Chatham TAB provides guidance/recommendations to BOC and county staff on policies and plans related to transportation
The Chatham TAB provides meaningful guidance/recommendations to BOC and county staff in prioritizing transportation projects that impact Chatham residents
The Chatham TAB collaborates with existing agencies to provide convenient and accessible transportation services
The Chatham TAB measure and assess status and quality of transportation system
The Chatham TAB provides credible education and information sharing on transportation issues relevant to Chatham County
The table to the right and the map .. below show the transportation options available to Chatham County residents, categorized by the type of trip an individual wants to make and some target populations. The text on the next page describes the four transit options that are... available: a) fixed route; b) response to demand, general public; c) demand/response, non-emergency medicine; and d) inquiry/response, human service or private. CTN Cross County Route: Travels from Siler City to Pittsboro, to UNC-CH and back, three times a weekday, with 8 stops each way, including park and ride at Wal-mart in Siler City and Lowe's Home Improvement in Pittsboro .
CTN Siler City Area: Provides paratransit service to the general public within the city and up to 2.5 miles outside the city limits. It is a voucher program where human service agencies, such as the Council on Aging, provide a voucher that requests CTN services on behalf of the client. CTN provides these services on a subscription basis to Central Carolina Community College, Chatham County Department of Social Services, Chatham County Health Department, Chatham County Partnership for Children, Chatham County Together, Chatham Trades, Family Resource Center , Laurels of Chatham, Lee County Industries , and Siler City Care and Rehabilitation.
Private Entities: There are several private entities that provide transportation services in Chatham County, such as Sister to Sister in Siler City and Thompson & Little Transportation in Bear Creek.
Multimodal
Small Construction Funds is a state program that provides up to 100% of the construction costs of transportation projects, up to $250,000 in costs, that cannot be funded in the state Transportation Improvement Program. Projects may be submitted by municipalities, counties, businesses, schools, industrial entities or NCDOT staff and are recommended to the Transportation Board by a Project Review Committee. Economic Development Funds is a state program that finances projects, costing up to $400,000 (unless waived by the NCDOT Board and Secretary), that contribute to further economic growth and development by attracting new businesses, new industries or by expanding existing businesses or industries that increase employment opportunities.
For the past three fiscal years, the state has allocated $5 million annually to each highway department. The High Threat Elimination Program is a federally funded safety program that requires the use of a systematic approach to adding eligible safety projects to the TIP. The North Carolina Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) is a federally funded program that identifies, reviews and addresses specific traffic safety concerns throughout the state to reduce the number of traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities by reducing the likelihood and severity of these incidents on public roads.
The Hazard Elimination Program, part of the HSIP, is used to develop larger improvement projects to address safety and potential safety concerns.
Roads
Funds not spent on economic development projects in each division will be used locally to increase safety, reduce congestion, improve traffic flow, reduce accidents or for system conservation. The maximum allowable contribution from Spot Safety funds per project is $250,000, with other funding sources (such as small construction or emergency funds) often helping to finance these projects. Chatham County Transportation Advisory Board Strategic Plan Public Access Funds is a state program that funds public school bus rides and public access routes.
The Secondary Road Improvement Program is a state program that funds the improvement and maintenance of secondary roads selected and prioritized according to state criteria developed by NCDOT. The High Risk Rural Roads Program (HRRRP), part of the HSIP, provides funding for construction and operational improvements on rural collector or local roads. The Governor's Highway Safety Program (GHSP) provides "seed" funding for highway safety projects or programs.
In addition, funds may not be used to replace or replace existing expenses, nor may they be used to defray the grantee's general operating expenses.
Transit
Chatham County Transportation Advisory Board Strategic Plan Management Program provides up to 85% of eligible costs for the administrative costs associated with the transportation of consolidated human service transportation systems and systems operating in urbanized areas where a consolidated statewide transportation system does not exist. First, the Elderly and Disabled Transportation Assistance Program (EDTAP) provides up to 100% of the cost of operating assistance for transportation for the elderly and persons with disabilities. Second, the Rural General Public Program provides up to 90% of the costs for general public service in rural areas.
Finally, the Transportation Assistance to Employment Program funds up to 100% of the cost of transportation to employment for low-income individuals and also supports the North Carolina Rural Vanpool Program. The Regional and Intercity Program provides up to 50% of net operating costs for intercity bus service in underserved areas of North Carolina that connect to the national intercity network and provides state funding for travelers. The Rural Planning Program is a federal and state program that funds up to 100% of the cost of regional feasibility studies and up to 90% for implementation plans or local planning studies.
The apprentice and intern programs provide up to 90% of the eligible costs for the work experience of selected recent graduates. apprentices) and postgraduate students (interns) in public transport.
Bicycle, Pedestrian and Others
Municipalities in the Chatham County Transportation Advisory Board Strategic Plan are eligible for the program, which covers 60-80% of project costs. The Transportation Committee for the 21st Century was established by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives pursuant to the G.S. Chatham County Transportation Advisory Council Strategic Plan. Ways to improve the state's transportation systems to promote economic growth and ensure the state can compete and participate in the global economy.
North Carolina currently has more than 2,500 structurally deficient bridges and ranks 41st out of the 50 states in terms of bridge deficiencies. The initial project funded by the Mobility Fund will be the widening and improvement of Interstate 85 north of the Yadkin River Bridge. 136-188, as enacted by this act, and shall report to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee on the development of the selection criteria.
136-176(b2) for the Monroe Connector/Bypass, twenty-four million dollars and the Mid-Currituck Bridge, fifteen million dollars is hereby transferred to the North Carolina Mobility Fund, as enacted by this Act, to be used for Phase II of the Yadkin River Bridge- the project.
