The Orange County Board of Commissioners decided to recommend the route along N.C. 54 to the future Hillmont development for the proposed light rail from Chapel Hill to Durham.
The Transportation Advisory Committee of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization will meet tomorrow to vote on the light rail route.
The Orange County commissioners recommended Commissioner Alice Gordon, who will represent the board at the meeting, to support the Hillmont route over the alternative route through Meadowmont.
Durham and Chapel Hill have already passed similar motions.
The compliance of Orange County will allow the committee enough time to apply this August for a federal funding program.
A third alternative route along U.S. 15-501, which was brought up during the last board of commissioners’ meeting, was not discussed extensively Tuesday night. If the commissioners had seriously considered this alternative, a new long-term analysis comparing this route to the first two would have taken place.
Commissioner Barry Jacobs said that was one of his main reservations about considering the U.S. 15-501 route.
“Why would I support this motion, if in fact, it will derail the process immediately?” he said.
But commissioners said tonight’s recommendation is not set in stone.
Triangle Transit presenters said the application for the federal grant only requires that the endpoints of the rail be completely finalized so the county’s motion will not exclude the proposed U.S. 15-501 from future exploration.
Further discussion involving about transportation expansion, including a discussion of light rail versus busing options, will continue next week.
“I don’t think we’re going to see light rail for quite a while, the first 20 years will be busing,” said vice-chairwoman Pam Hemminger.
In particular, they will have additional discussion on whether to include a referendum for a half-cent sales tax to increase transit revenue on November’s ballot at next week’s meeting.
“We want to see this come to a public vote. If we’re adding a million people to Orange County, widening the roads is not an option. Traffic is pretty bad as it is, it’s only going to get worse,” said Stewart Boss, a UNC student involved in a newly-formed transit coalition.
Notable:
The Board unanimously approved a resolution acknowledging Feb. 28 as Spay-Neuter Day.
The proposed amendment banning carry-concealed weapons in public parks will be reexamined to accommodate concerns of the need for concealed weapons in potentially dangerous, isolated park areas.
The Board will also consider the exclusion of pocket knives from the list of banned concealed weapons.
Quotable:
“I have to look for what is good for Orange County as a whole. While I understand the light rail will be of certain good for the end points, it is not of tangible benefit to the majority of the residents of Orange county. I cannot in good conscience, to ask the residents of Orange County for a half-cent increase sales tax,” Commissioner Earl McKee said in reference to a possible transit tax referendum.
“Orange County is going to pay its share, but what does Orange County get for that? There are very few economic development opportunities that this alignment would provide,” Commissioner Steve Yuhasz said when discussing the proposed light rail alignment and transit tax.
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