2035 Triangle Regional Transit Vision Plan

[Third Strike]

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.

 

Don't let that scare you. Democrats and the youth vote have lower turnout during the midterms, especially when the president is a Democrat. Turnout during the 2012 was comparable to the 2008 election, but the 2014 election had roughly the same results as the 2010 (but with gerrymandered districts). Also keep in mind that NC is still one of the fastest growing states. Florida and Texas both have bat-crap insane legislature, but that doesn't stop their growth. Also, if it makes you feel more confident, the areas that are losing population are the rural areas. Growth in the Triangle and Charlotte are at an all time high, and there is decent growth in areas like the Triad and Asheville. The one thing we can hope for, especially for laws pertaining to transit and taxes, is that Cooper gets in office, and Republicans lose their veto-proof majority. That will hopefully curb some of the nonsense happening at the GA.

[kermit]

Since the Baltimore Red Line LRT project was cancelled yesterday by Maryland's republicon gov, there is now a DOLRT sized chunk of money sloshing around the FTA's 2016 projected budget for new starts.

Just sayin....

Edited June 26, 2015 by kermit

[sax1984]

In case anyone's interested, there are two pro-DOLRT petitions for the two counties to encourage elected officials to keep moving forward.  If you live or work in either Durham or Chapel Hill, you could sign either, I imagine.

Orange Wants Light Rail Petition

 

Durham CAN Petition In Favor of Light Rail

[Green_man]

I had previously thought that the General Assembly could not move any further backward... until now.  http://www.newsobserver.com/news/traffic/road-worrier-blog/article35979591.html

The State will now only contribute $500,000 spread over 10 years for the Durham Orange County light rail.  Instead of the previously agreed on $138 million (which was already a smaller share than Charlotte got for both its light rail projects: 10% vs 25%).  So unless they can find $137.5 million dollars, looks like the plan might be scrapped.

My favorite quote from Paul Stam (Apex, R): “Light rail is sort of a dinosaur of the 20th century or the 19th century,”

Edited September 21, 2015 by Green_man

[michaelef]

Paul Stams email: [email protected] and twitter @ paulskipstam. I've already informed him who I thought was the dinosaur. 

[Spatula]

The irony is that many people in Wake County voted for McCrory originally because they thought he spearheaded light rail in Charlotte.

[Silicon Dogwoods]

The irony is that many people in Wake County voted for McCrory originally because they thought he spearheaded light rail in Charlotte.

He did. But as Governor, he's a political eunuch. The General Assembly barely acknowledges his existence. He was forced to sign off on the budget because Charlotte and Raleigh need the JDIG money. Had he vetoed the budget over the loss of light rail funds, the JDIG money and the tax deal for the loser counties would have been in jeopardy.

The light rail poison pill was probably inserted by someone who wanted to extract revenge for not getting the Harry Brown soak-the-rich-counties-for-the-loser-counties sales tax plan passed into law.

I don't like McCrory but if you want to be mad at someone, he's not the right target. I'd check Stam, Brown (he's the head budget writer on the Senate side), Rabon, Bob Rucho, the usual scum.

Edited September 23, 2015 by Silicon Dogwoods

[Jones_]

 

I don't like McCrory but if you want to be mad at someone, he's not the right target. I'd check Stam, Brown (he's the head budget writer on the Senate side), Rabon, Bob Rucho, the usual scum.

I've been trying to say exactly this to my various left and centrist friends. I'd throw in Berger as he is the head architect/approver of every senate move you see as well. They are well on their way to making this State into their version of utopia. There is more work to be done dismantling primary and higher education, alternative energy, and environmental regulation, but neutering cities and rail transit is a gleeful start and low piece of fruit

Edited September 23, 2015 by Jones_

[ctl]

I will not defend McCrory but the only governor in recent years who could really impose his personal will on the General Assembly was Jim Hunt. Bev Perdue certainly couldn't, nor Mike Easley, nor Jim Martin. When citizens allowed governors to run for a second term and later gave governors a veto, there was an expectation that the balance of power between the governor and the legislature would become more balanced. Well, not much. Voters in NC must understand that who they elect to the House and Senate is far more important than who they put into the governor's office. 

[Silicon Dogwoods]

I will not defend McCrory but the only governor in recent years who could really impose his personal will on the General Assembly was Jim Hunt. Bev Perdue certainly couldn't, nor Mike Easley, nor Jim Martin. When citizens allowed governors to run for a second term and later gave governors a veto, there was an expectation that the balance of power between the governor and the legislature would become more balanced. Well, not much. Voters in NC must understand that who they elect to the House and Senate is far more important than who they put into the governor's office. 

This is the reason we need to remove redistricting from the politicians' hands. Otherwise, we just have cabals beholden to very few people. We had a cabal in the Marc Basnight era and now we have a cabal in the Phil Berger era.

At least Basnight didn't try to gut UNC, but still...

Edited September 23, 2015 by Silicon Dogwoods

[RiverwoodCLT]

NC light-rail funding cap draws bipartisan attacks

Raleigh

 Urban legislators from both parties are teaming up in a bid to repeal a new provision in state law, enacted last week, that bars the state Department of Transportation from contributing more than $500,000 to any light-rail project.

The limit, a late addition to the budget law, cancels DOT’s commitment to provide $138 million for the planned $1.5 billion Durham-Orange light-rail line. Critics, including Gov. Pat McCrory, said the measure undermined the spirit of the 2013 Strategic Transportation Investments law, designed to remove politics from decisions about where to spend transportation money.

“I’m not a big supporter of light rail,” Rep. Bill Brawley, a Mecklenburg County Republican, said Wednesday. “But what I am a big supporter of is to have a process to assign projects based on the ability of engineers to calculate the benefits – rather than the ability of powerful legislators to get enough votes to spend the money in their district.”

Durham and Orange county voters endorsed light rail when they levied a local half-cent sales tax to help pay for it, said Rep. Paul Luebke, a Durham Democrat.

 

“There are plenty of us who feel that urban areas should be able to make their own judgments about public transit, and it shouldn’t be dictated by the state,” Luebke said. “There’s a real effort going on by urban legislators from Durham, Orange, Wake and Mecklenburg counties to revive the light-rail funding, and I would say we have a good chance.”

Luebke and Brawley said the effort to repeal the $500,000 limit on light-rail funds includes Rep. Paul Stam, a Wake County Republican, who has said that the state should not spend money on light rail. Stam could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article36342390.html#storylink=cpy

Edited September 26, 2015 by RiverwoodCLT

[kermit]

It appears that the Senate could not be bothered to remove the LRT funding cap before they left town. http://www.wral.com/several-high-profile-bills-left-unfinished/14936802/#0aUVLGFFaE4L2Tae.99

This will leave the DOLRT in clinically dead status at least until next year.

 

[RiverwoodCLT]

The LRT for Durham and Chapel Hill is dead until cooler heads are in the legislature.  I hope we are in a minor set back.

 

[DanRNC]

NC trying as hard as it can to be a third rate hick state which it seems to be doing pretty well.

[BullDurhamer]

i know plenty of folks who have grown to hate what this state has become.  in fact, i know some that are relocating in part because they don't necessarily feel like it's a healthy place to raise their families.    i know that the prospect of sitting on I 40 for hours on end of the next many years with no viable alternatives coming isn't going to be high on my list of things to do down the line.  i guess they win and we're all screwed.  i can envision a 1000 year flood in the area in 50 years and a south carolina-like rotting infrastructure in place leading to miserly like they're experiencing in the palmetto state right now but on a much grander scale.  

 

but hey, as long as we can carry guns into bars i guess it's not all bad. 

[dmccall]

A plan for moving people around in 2035 that ignores the impact of driverless cars is completely worthless. Transportation is getting ready to dramatically change in a very short time.

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

How is transportation getting ready to change dramatically in a short period of time? RU referring to "ramped up" bus service in Wake county? As both heavy rail & light rail won't be seen in the Triangle for a very, very long time to come. Please share...?

[Green_man]

A plan for moving people around in 2035 that ignores the impact of driverless cars is completely worthless. Transportation is getting ready to dramatically change in a very short time.

Serious question, what are some examples of what that plan would look like?  Are there recommended infrastructure changes that accompany this that other cities have already planned for?

[DanRNC]

They will come up with every excuse to never address public transportation.

[Jones_]

Serious question, what are some examples of what that plan would look like?  Are there recommended infrastructure changes that accompany this that other cities have already planned for?

Yeah, a driverless car is still a car and all the same physics apply as far as speeds, stopping distance, and thus road carrying capacities....unless you add the capability to couple driverless cars into tandem setups and say, somehow add magnetic propulsion in high volume corridors thereby changing the carrying capacity physics. Self driving rubber on road cars, changes things very little unless we're talking shared vehicles...in which case you're talking about little train-buses all over, which might reduce the cars on the road some...but that involves as much of a mental shift for people as does just using existing buses and/or trains. 

[DanRNC]

Based on the N&O article, it appears that the Raleigh bigwigs have decided that the problem is insurmountable and are basically saying "screw it". BRT used to be thrown around but that's even gone. Like I said before, you may get some more buses but that's it. No real goal of improving development patterns that don't revolve around the good ol' automobile. The driverless car excuse is nothing but a smokescreen.  I am sure when they roll out en masse, the bubbas in NC will see it as another New World Order conspiracy.  

[dmccall]

Yeah, a driverless car is still a car and all the same physics apply as far as speeds, stopping distance, and thus road carrying capacities

The problem is that everthing in this statement is incorrect.

Edited November 3, 2015 by dmccall

[Jones_]

The problem is that everthing in this statement is incorrect.

Well, yes....what you cut out and quoted is 100% correct. The benefits are gained from optimized routing. Also, of course, if a road is restricted to just driverless cars, you'd get fewer wrecks, so a smoother overall network. But these are addenda to my statement, which didn't necessarily assume these things.  If you want to include changing how the system as a whole is operated, by all means, talk it up...but I think optimizing is minimal given the terrible road networks out there. And optimizing by cutting through neighborhoods and places not widely recognized as driving routes by people, but perhaps by the car, might get us to where we see restrictions on certain roads to say, residents only and emergency personnel....Fairview Road to Lake boone is a favorite cut through of mine from Glenwood to Crabtree Valley, but if enough people did it, the rich folks along it might be angry....And while avoiding wrecks is great and all, their contribution to the commuting problem is occasional. I don't think driverless cars are a substitute for mass transit. 

[kermit]

A plan for moving people around in 2035 that ignores the impact of driverless cars is completely worthless. Transportation is getting ready to dramatically change in a very short time.

If driverless cars are able to use road space more efficiently than human drivers then doesn't logic suggest that we stop spending any money on roads since we certainly have enough capacity for a fully automated road system.

The problem is that everthing in this statement is incorrect.

There is a driverless car than transcends Newton's laws?

[DanRNC]

I think you will hear more about driverless cars. Last year it was "BRT" which these libertarian groups said was essentially putting fancy paint jobs on existing buses. They have no interest in changing current transportation modalities at all. 

https://www.nccivitas.org/2015/three-reasons-the-future-is-conservative/https://www.nccivitas.org/2015/three-reasons-the-future-is-conservative/