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2035 Triangle Regional Transit Vision Plan


ChiefJoJo

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  • 4 weeks later...

It would help if the Triangle were reclassified as one metro area (as it should be). Bear in mind that the corridor with the highest commuter traffic in the state was cut in half a decade ago, perhaps to make it easier for the US DOT to deny the area funding for such projects.

Edited by Spatula
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Wake Transit's four alternatives are coming into focus.

(PDF file).

This is not supposed to be a route-level network design; this gives an idea of how much of what kind of service we can have given the constraints of our budget. Once we get that settled then the route design will commence.

I find myself actually unimpressed with the extent of the 15-mintue network that the BRT/Ridership scenario provides. Or, more to the point, with how it matches the urban geography of Raleigh. ITB Raleigh is mountains of density interspersed among valleys of quite low density residential. The BRT/Ridership scenario seems to expend too many resources crossing those valleys. The number of red lines crossing the posh leafy neighborhoods of the northwest quadrant of the Beltline seems off. Perhaps this could be recalibrated by moving some of those red lines to the southwest and southeast.

I'm also not as impressed as I thought I would be by the gains in bus service achieved by going with BRT over Rapid Rail. Anyway, y'all have a look and/or go to one of the meetings this week or next.

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Do you guys think voters are going to approve dedicated BRT lanes on Capital and Western? It seems to me like most voters would feel like that is some kind of affront to their car obsessed world view, especially the voters out in the suburban and rural areas of the county. 

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The North Carolina Department of Transportation is conducting a survey to find out what North Carolina residents think about various services provided by NCDOT.

North Carolina residents can take the survey here: http://go.ncsu.edu/ncdotsurvey

Results from this survey will be used to identify ways we can make North Carolina transportation safer, more efficient, and customer focused.

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I will be the Negative Nancy again (but it's all in reality) that this is another ABLR stunt (Anything But Light Rail). The argument that light rail doesn't work in sprawled out areas is just false again. I would like these people (who, by the way, probably have never used public transit except on a trip to Europe or NYC) to come visit an area where light rail serves a large metropolitan area with suburbs. Growth in the Vancouver suburbs of Richmond, Burnaby, and New Westminster (15-20 minutes outside of the city core) has all developed around light rail stations.  

 

It may be true that these things operate in the red most of the time; however, these are things that are critical to our society and economy. Light rail, at least at this point, is not.

but how can you quantify all of what could be gained?  it's not about how many people will ride.  it's also about how many people won't be on the roads and all that goes with that.  it's about spurring development around the light rail and healthy living for everybody.    is clearing some cars off of I 40 not critical to our society?  if you think it's bad today, just wait.  

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I was just in Charlotte last weekend and it's been interesting to see the utter explosion of growth around the rail corridor over the past few years.  It was great to basically stay in the heart of their downtown and take the rail outside my hotel to Southend at night.

 

I really wish that was a thing here.  I only had to get my car out of the deck once during the few days I was there.  Pretty good progress.

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I was just in Charlotte last weekend and it's been interesting to see the utter explosion of growth around the rail corridor over the past few years.  It was great to basically stay in the heart of their downtown and take the rail outside my hotel to Southend at night.

 

I really wish that was a thing here.  I only had to get my car out of the deck once during the few days I was there.  Pretty good progress.

 

It's going to be better when NoDa & Plaza (Gold Line) are also connected via rail when construction is done.

 

 

On the bright side, Durham is close to getting rail? That's going to be awesome. I dig Durham

Edited by AirNostrumMAD
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  • 2 weeks later...

Somewhere in my head, repeatedly targeting negative legislation at a specific area like this (school districts stuff being another big item) seems more like crime being committed than any sort of governing....are there no grounds on which to oppose targeted legislation like this?

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I'm not trying to be dramatic, but I swear the majority in the legislature hate the urban counties. Mecklenburg gets unfair singled out legislature to.

Hopefully in 2016 urbanites can muster up enough support. Though I'm afraid rural voters will come out in flocks also because of stupid crap like gay marriage

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There certainly is dislike of urban counties among some rural legislators, but that's not new. If Republicans had not won half the seats in the General Assembly from Wake, Mecklenburg, and Guilford, it would be much more difficult for rural counties to impose their will. Like it or not, the voting discipline among Republican legislators is very strong. If the Senate's proposal goes forward to final vote, I'm sure that the two Republicans who represent me in Wake will vote with the rural bloc.

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I'm not trying to be dramatic, but I swear the majority in the legislature hate the urban counties. Mecklenburg gets unfair singled out legislature to.

Hopefully in 2016 urbanites can muster up enough support. Though I'm afraid rural voters will come out in flocks also because of stupid crap like gay marriage

 

My main fear is that they've scared enough people out of the state to permanently seal the fate of its politics. I know three people who left in 2014, and I heard UNC's faculty retention rate was unusually poor in 2013/2014. Reminder that Thom Tillis, the speaker of the house during those years, won a statewide election without any help from gerrymandering. North Carolinians saw what was happening those years and decided that's what they wanted.

 

Sure, the youth vote didn't show up, but if what happened in 2013/2014 wasn't enough to motivate them nothing will be.

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Today's news is that the Senate has relented on the maximum sales tax rate for Wake, but it comes on two conditions: the referendum must take before January 2017, and no sales tax money can be used for light rail. Democrats in the Wake delegation accepted the compromise. If this is correct, light rail is dead once and for all. 

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Today's news is that the Senate has relented on the maximum sales tax rate for Wake, but it comes on two conditions: the referendum must take before January 2017, and no sales tax money can be used for light rail. Democrats in the Wake delegation accepted the compromise. If this is correct, light rail is dead once and for all.

But Durham is very close to reality, correct? That seems sort of odd. I wonder how/if that would change the urban development makeup of the triangle? If more people and developers would choose urban Durham over urban Raleigh or if it's a negligible difference.

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I'm not trying to be dramatic, but I swear the majority in the legislature hate the urban counties. Mecklenburg gets unfair singled out legislature to.

Hopefully in 2016 urbanites can muster up enough support. Though I'm afraid rural voters will come out in flocks also because of stupid crap like gay marriage

You're not being dramatic at all.....you are absolutely correct, and they don't try to hide it. That McCrory is the former Mayor of Charlotte is the only thing stopping much worse things from happening. 

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Today's news is that the Senate has relented on the maximum sales tax rate for Wake, but it comes on two conditions: the referendum must take before January 2017, and no sales tax money can be used for light rail. Democrats in the Wake delegation accepted the compromise. If this is correct, light rail is dead once and for all. 

 

Seems simple enough to work around. Light rail can be tied to some other form of tax. Of course if they tried creating a municipal income tax (which is what I'd prefer anyway) I'm sure the GA would go bananas.

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NC General Statute §105-247 says "No city, town, township, or county shall levy any tax on income". Adopted in 1939. Cities in NC can do only what the laws of the State allow them. Before Raleigh could even attempt a municipal income tax, the General Assembly would have to amend or repeal this law first. Good luck with that. 

Edited by ctl
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LOL Wake. If any county in North Carolina than needs to improve its transportation system, it is Wake County. It should be up to the voters in Wake County, if they want a 1/2 cent sales tax for transit. The present General Assembly is anti-transit other that roads.

McCrory had to work with the Democrats in Charlotte to get the Lynx line built in Charlotte.

We can not build enough roads to take care the growth coming, and our cities and counties should have a say on how they want to build a transit system in their own metro area.

Edited by RiverwoodCLT
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