Chapel Hill Transit hosted two public meetings Wednesday to discuss the new route, which will connect the Eubanks Road Park and Ride stop with the Southern Village shopping center.
The proposed seven-mile bus rapid transit line is a response to Chapel Hill Transit’s North-South Corridor Alternatives Analysis Study to determine an alternative for the safer and quicker movement of people along this section of Chapel Hill. The study, which began in January of 2014, is the first step in obtaining Federal Transit Administration funding for the project’s construction.
At the meetings, Chapel Hill Transit introduced six alternatives for routes in the North-South Corridor.
Mila Vega, transit service planner at Chapel Hill Transit, said the demand for more extensive transit services already existed in Chapel Hill prior to the study. Though buses in this corridor circulate roughly every four minutes, at high-travel hours, there is not enough room for everyone waiting at the stop.
“The current system, the way it is now, cannot handle it,” Vega said. “We’re looking for a way to use or expand on existing roadways to add capacity to the system.”
Vega said if plans for the route move forward, the line will likely operate for longer hours, seven days a week.
“Right now we just want to see what the public thinks is a good fit and, so far, the public has generally been very supportive,” Vega said.
She said Chapel Hill Transit will use public input and calculations based on travel time and project costs to make its decision on the route. She said there are also technical and policy committees who will provide input.
