Triad Regional Transit

[JerseyBoy]

On my way to Wilmington with some friends a few weeks ago, I was driving on 40 near Miami Blvd. in Durham and noticed a TTA bus pass by me filled to the max with people going to work at RTP. The fact that the Triangle has an ever growing amount of northerners moving here, would be my guess why TTA is more successful than PART. Coming from the New York area where public transportation was plentiful and would take you anywhere you could imagine, it's a real eyeopener for me to see how much you have to use your car to get around here.

[twincity]

officials and planners met yesterday about adding train service between WFUBMC/Thruway and eventually Hanes Mall. the Thruway station is envisioned to be opposite the shopping center on the eastern end. not too sure where that would be?

http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellit...d=1173352748739

[JerseyBoy]

My guess is that the Thruway station would be on the vacant lot near the Towers shopping center (the one with Space Savers). It would be amazing if we could get that lot turned into a mixed-use development with a train station there, which I have a haunch will happen.

[TheDash]

that would be so cool, i have been wandering what there going to do with that lot....

[Creasy336]

I am curious to know the cost of implementing a basic shuttle train to link Winston-Salem with Greensboro. On this train any passenger from Forsyth County and surrounding areas would be able to catch the train in Downtown Winston-Salem and ride to Downtown Greensboro, there they could connect with any amtrak train that stops at the station seemlessly. The same leaving back. One station at Kernersville could be added also. This would help our region get a jump start on transit, and help reconnect Winston-Salem to passenger rail in the state.

[suburban george3]

Part is reporting record ridership for the month of August; 28,000 passengers. They anticipate continued increases. FOX 8's article didn't show any overflowing busses, and when I've seen the PART busses, their lucky to have 1 passenger. PART has to bleeding major bucks!!

FOX 8 article about PART

On an aside, I am seriously contemplating riding the Mountaineer express to visit some friends in Boone... for $16 bucks roundtrip, it'd be a bargain!!

[JerseyBoy]

My thoughts exactly Suburban George, I never see anybody riding those buses. Though the ones I've seen the low-ridership on are the buses running from Winston to PTI. Maybe their Boone and Mount Airy routes do well? I wish PART would seriously consider having buses that go to the Triangle and Charlotte, if they did they would have one dedicated rider.

If you do decide on getting that pass, you might want to consider buying one from the Transportation Center in downtown Winston for $50 that gives you unlimited rides (if you plan on using it three or more times).

[cityboi]

P.A.R.T. regional bus ridership hit a record. If the numbers keep going up regional rail could be very realistic.

http://www.myfoxwghp.com/myfox/pages/Home/...-US&layoutC

[JerseyBoy]

Suburban George just posted that article.

[cityboi]

Suburban George just posted that article.

he beat me to it

[JerseyBoy]

Here is the site of the projected Thruway light rail station that I think will get developed into a mixed-use center of sorts if and when the line gets approved:

[suburban george3]

Maybe their Boone and Mount Airy routes do well? .

I've had to travel North on US52 into VA several times during morning rush since this was posted and have noticed the Mt.Airy bus coming into W-S. I will have to say that it appeared crowded on most occasions.

[FriskyDingo]

My thoughts exactly Suburban George, I never see anybody riding those buses. Though the ones I've seen the low-ridership on are the buses running from Winston to PTI. Maybe their Boone and Mount Airy routes do well? I wish PART would seriously consider having buses that go to the Triangle and Charlotte, if they did they would have one dedicated rider.

If you do geting that pass, you might want to consider buying one from the Transportation Center in downtown Winston for $50 that gives you unlimited rides (if you plan on using it three or more times).

Doesn't PART have an express bus to Duke and North Carolina Medical Centers? So there is at least one to the Triangle...

[JerseyBoy]

PART does offer service to Duke and UNC Medical Centers, but they run vans not busses between the Triad and the Triangle.

[orulz]

I've seen a full-sized PART transit bus in Chapel Hill several times before; I don't know whether that is normal or unusual.

[cityboi]

The North Carolina Railroad said today it will study the costs to build track for commuter rush hour rail service on its existing line from Goldsboro to Greensboro. Greensboro already has passenger rail service (AMTRAK, Carolinian) But if NCR goes ahead with plans Greensboro could have commuter rail service quicker than we thought. Certainly its will be great to have daily commuter train service connecting Greensboro with Raleigh. With the depot being downtown, just think what it would do to help attract more downtown development.

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...RSTAFF/71030026

http://www.ncrr.com (click on corridor maps)

Edited October 30, 2007 by cityboi

[rooster8]

Excellent. It's been discussed so much lately, it's nice to see some movement on this.

[Creasy336]

I've seen a full-sized PART transit bus in Chapel Hill several times before; I don't know whether that is normal or unusual.

Orulz, that bus you see takes Alamance County commuters from Graham to UNC-Hospitals via NC 54. From what I've seen the route is popular (everytime I've seen the bus in the morning alot of people were riding) despite the park and ride station being no more than a gas station for now.

Edited October 31, 2007 by Creasy336

[JerseyBoy]

http://triad.bizjournals.com/triad/stories...tml?jst=b_ln_hl

PART has ordered five Orion VII Next Generation clean-diesel transit buses from DaimlerChrysler.

Not too shabby if I must say so myself. Thumbs up to PART for buying environmentally friendly busses. The buses they currently use now are not that old, so are they planning to have the routes being serviced more frequently or are they planning future routes?

[cityboi]

hopefully they'll speed up the rail plan. The bus will compliment that.

[cityboi]

Could the city of Greensboro be preparing to offer trolley service (rail)?

A citizen wrote in the News & Record editorials about using the battleground rail corridor from downtown Greensboro through Northwest Greensboro for trolley/light rail service. (I mentioned the same thing in the editorials several years ago) The citizens said since the rail was already in place and its abandoned and would be very inexpensive to start a trolley. He mentioned about hearing about a plan to turn that into a greenway and ripping up the tracks instead....apparently those plans may have changed. Another writer who responded said he heard from the city that they are purchasing the right-of-way for a train/trolley system for public use on the existing existing tracks. I sure hope thats the case and if so Greensboro could be getting a trolley quicker than we imagined. A trolley line makes more sense then a greenway because the battleground rail corridor is surrounded by retail and commerce. A greenway wouldnt make since because there is very little residential along that corridor so who would use it as a walking path? But having a trolley line in this corridor would alow residents from far Northwest Greensboro to take a trolley to downtown Greensboro or maybe a downtown worker could take the trolley to Target on his lunch break. This trolley would be similar to Charlotte's first trolley (The Gold RUsh) but the difference with Greensboro's is that it would serve as more of a transportation service and the line would be longer. The Gold Rush in Charlotte was more of a tourist attraction.

Here is the reponse the person in the News & Record got

"I'm fairly certain Greensboro is not planning to pull those existing tracks up. In fact, it's already in the works to make a train/trolley system for public use using the existing tracks. Just found out last night"

Edited January 27, 2008 by cityboi

[Creasy336]

I've looked at the rail line many times with similar thoughts. It connects downtown with Greensboro College and Battleground Av near Cornwallis. I encourage Greensboro to use the line as a trolley with the intent of it one day becoming light rail. When light rail service begins add a spur to UNCG to help spur development along Lee St/High Point Rd.

Edited January 27, 2008 by Creasy336

[JerseyBoy]

This would be great, if this is indeed the truth! I'm glad mass transit is finally catching on in the Triad. Do Greensboro's city council and county commissioners favor rail transit? This will be the ultimate deciding factor in whether this gets built or not.

[cityboi]

Ive already emailed the transportation department and expressed the need to use that line for trolley/light rail service.

Certainly Greensboro really needs to jump on this....in fact this is something the city could do once they own all the right of ways. All the city would need is a few trolley cars and a manitenace building for those cars. The line could be called "The Greene Line" in reference to General Nathaniel Greene. That would be perfect since the line connects downtown with the Guilford Courthouse Miltary Park. It also sounds similar to Boston light rail line which is called "The Green Line"

Edited January 27, 2008 by cityboi

[orulz]

If this is true, that's fantastic news!!

When I first read about the Battleground Rail-Trail, I sent this e-mail to Susan Schwartz at Action Greensboro. My e-mail was dated 6/29/2005. I believe you and I discussed this quite a bit as well, citiboi. It seems this idea has been rattling around in a few heads other than ours. Hopefully, something comes to fruition here, as that's far too valuable of a corridor to just nix the rail and convert it to a trail.

I would like to state how much I love Greensboro and how great of a

place I think it is.

I've read in the news about the proposed downtown loop greenway, and

I understand your organization has had a significant hand in planning

this project. I would like to express my opinions regarding the

greenway; if you are not an appropriate person to contact regarding

this I would appreciate it if you could help me out and let me know

who I should be e-mailing.

The project seems very worthwhile, but I have one serious misgiving.

That is, the plan to replace the railroad parallel to Spring St west

of downtown with a trail. An unfortunate consequence of the

"rail-trail" movement has been that many people see any railroad,

particularly an infrequently used one, and instinctively think

"Trail!" However, the potential that this railroad holds is simply to

enormous to toss it out for a trail that could be built almost as

easily without removing the rails.

As population, congestion, gas prices, and even transit ridership

increase nationwide, more and more cities are looking to rail-based

options for public transit. This corridor represents the ONLY

available right-of-way to northwest greensboro; it has a bridge

underneath the busy Norfolk Southern mainline; and it terminates very

close to the downtown depot, so it has nearly unlimited potential for

development as a streetcar/light rail transit facility in the future.

Even though the Battleground Ave corridor might not seem very

transit-friendly right now, remember that Charlotte's South Blvd

light rail line was originally a freight line through an industrial

area. The line sat unused for several years until the trolley began

operating on it (with a very limited budget, mind you) - and take a

look at the South End neighborhood now. What a difference!

The rails were never removed in Charlotte's case. You may say that

"when it's necessary the rails can be put back in," but to the best

of my knowledge, there is not a single example in the country of a

rail-trail being reactivated for rail use. Not for lack of proposals,

mind you, but due to resistance. Once people are used to seeing a

trail instead of the rails, they will think that they're getting

screwed with any proposal to share the right-of-way or reroute the

trail, and opposition will mount. If the rails stay in, people will

get used to the idea that something might roll on the tracks, and not

be nearly as hostile towards it.

For an example of a successful trail project in which the rails were

never removed and remain in use to this day, check out Carrboro, NC.

If a railroad is officially abandoned, even for one week, it becomes

orders of magnitude more difficult to cut through the red tape and

reactivate it for any rail-related use whatsoever. Instead, I think

that the city should buy the railroad and file for an exemption,

until an alternate use for the tracks is found. Exemption is an

official certification that no rail traffic will run on the tracks.

Even school buses don't need to stop when crossing an exempt

railroad.

I believe an alternate routing for the trail can and should be found.

Perhaps one that shares the right of way with the tracks, or runs

alongside a street like the north, east, and south segments of the

path.

Thank you for reading,