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CONTRACT K-2021-18: A CONTRACT BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, AND NELSON\NYGAARD CONSULTING ASSOCIATES, INC., TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL CONSULTING SERVICES IN AN AMOUNT NOT-TO-EXCEED $150,000 FOR UPDATING THE TRANSIT LONG RANGE PLAN AND TO PERFORM ASSOCIATED TASKS.
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BACKGROUND: City Council adopted the first Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) for the City of Norman on May 13, 2014. The CTP established a framework for transportation improvements that are planned, designed, and maintained to integrate vehicular, walking, bicycling, and transit use while promoting safe and efficient operations for all users in the community.
During the formation of the CTP, a Citizens Visioning Committee (CVC) Subcommittee titled Transit Capacity and Quality of Service was created to assist with providing a modest update to the 2008 Cleveland Area Rapid Transit (CART) plan and ensure transit's incorporation into the CTP. Based on the Subcommittee's work, action items were created to assist transit staff and the community in prioritizing service enhancements when funding became available.
A key change to public transit has occurred since completion of the CTP in 2014. During the course of fiscal years 2019 and 2020, the City and key stakeholders began and completed a transition of the operations of the City transit services from the University of Oklahoma (OU) to the City.
DISCUSSION: During the first few months of operation of the City transit service, and during the education campaign for the Public Transit Sales Tax election, staff heard from the community and Council about the need to update our long term vision for transit in Norman. Many of the assumptions for the basis of the 2008 CART plan, and the subsequent plan that was incorporated into the CTP in 2014, are now outdated and need to be re-evaluated. For example, the current transit transfer station in Norman is located on the OU campus, just east of the OU football stadium. The assumption ...
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