2018 GDOT Annual Report

D I R E C T O R ’ S C O R N E R

the next several years and funded by the $25 million 2016 voter-approved bonds. Streetscape concepts were revealed in a series of public meetings in June. GDOT and GTA continue to make strides toward establishing a more sustainable transportation system by ordering ten all electric buses. They will be delivered later this year, making Greensboro the frst public transit agency in North Carolina with fully electric buses. GTA is applying for additional grants and funding opportunities to continue to replace our aging diesel feet with electric buses. We are also pursuing the installation of solar panels at the Depot and solar panels on the 17-acre Operations and Maintenance facility on Meadowview Street. The solar panels will be used to of-set the cost of recharging the electric bus batteries. Eforts are also ongoing to create multi-modal and sustainable transportation options through implementation of the BiPed Plan with the goal to build more than 100 miles of sidewalks over the next ten years and 75 miles of bike lanes over the next fve years. Creating a No. 1 ranked transportation system takes a long-range vision, a plan to implement, and community partners. The Greensboro Urban Loop was frst envisioned over 50 years ago. At 44 miles in length and a cost of over $1 billion, it is the largest public works project in the Triad. Greensboro conducted the environmental impact studies for the Urban Loop in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s and I will never forget attending those frst public meetings. At that time we were considering three alternatives routes for the loop which impacted thousands of residents and I thought the completion of the loop may never evolve. But 30 years later – and thanks to the leadership of NCDOT and local elected ofcials – the loop is almost complete. This past May, Gov. Roy Cooper, NC Transportation Sec. James Trogdon, NCDOT

Board Chairman Michael Fox and Mayor Vaughan broke ground on the fnal section of the Urban Loop. It will be complete by 2022. A big thanks to the numerous transportation professionals and elected ofcials who have been involved over the 50 year history with planning, designing, funding, and constructing this monumental transportation improvement project. Recent growth in downtown Greensboro has pushed our parking infrastructure to capacity and future developments around the Elm Street Center and around First National Bank ballpark are requiring GDOT to establish new parking inventory. Plans for two new parking decks, in the 100 block of South Davie Street and the 200 Block of North Eugene Street, are being developed. These decks are expected to be under construction within the next six months and will provide 1,800 new parking spaces to support new downtown development. The GDOT staf of more than 250 full-time and contracted employees is committed to providing a safe and mobile, multi-modal and sustainable transportation system for all who rely on the City’s Transportation System. The following annual report provides a quick snapshot of critical transportation initiatives GDOT staf have continued to advance this past 2017-18 Fiscal Year.

TRANSPORTATION

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