Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Raleigh

Odd how that entire group is trying to call a bus line “racist” but doesn’t seem to have been able to get any minority representation to side with them. Perhaps they’re just out of frame?

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I wish I could sir. The most ridiculous part is that the vote was for a study to create TOD and new streetscape plan for the car sewer that is known as Western BLVD. Like, how is making a safer street and replacing fast food drive thru BS with housing Colonialism???

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Oh look it’s white people claiming to speak for Black people, how original.

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Yeah, saw something about this on Twitter and uhhh, WTF? “Students Need Housing” so where better to put new housing than the strip malls on Western rather than overrunning Method with mini-dorms?

Meanwhile, these “activists” have nothing at all to say about NCDOT spending billions of dollars on climate catastrophe.

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They ‘care’ so much about gentrification in black neighborhoods, and yet I don’t see any black people (or minorities period) standing with them. I seriously hate when my people are used for political theater like this. Not only can I guarantee they don’t give a fuck about my community…but the narratives that they’re pushing (BRT is bad) is actually detrimental to my community. Smfh.

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My apologies on behalf of these activists. That must be incredibly frustrating, especially when the ideas presented are this far off base.

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i didnt hear their comments. ill try to watch the video if i can to see if this is actually rascist. i rode the Raleigh city bus from the time i was born in 69 for about 17 straight years. you basically planned things on the hour if you didnt ride a cab or a bike. we had to. it was ok. there were a few funny attempts like the superloop to the malls and i remember the early connectors to perhaps grid things out a bit to make non-dowtntown transit connections/transfers an option. then i lived in reno, nv for about 10 years. (mostly white riders and then Hispanic as far as race on the bus) many of their routes were 15 min and several were 30-minute frequency and some ran to after 2 am. we had a terminal downtown of course, one at the mall and one at adjoining burb Sparks, NV. we had basically three terminals with connecting and satellite routes. this was all just bus…no brt or special dedicated lanes and i liked it. i dont know how many in raleigh would be ok with increased bus frequency, stop light priority and better bus stops versus all out BRT infrastructure. perhaps no bias one way or the other. i find it odd that race would be an issue vs just more bus or specifically brt though.

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This seems like the type of picture that would trend nationally on urbanist Twitter.

IMO, any improvements to the current bus system we have currently would be a win, BRT or not. So the fact that there’s groups like this actively fighting against that really annoys me. We need more bus frequency, longer operating hours, more stops, and additional routes throughout the city if we expect public transit to be a viable option for everyone in the future. This is something that could be mutually beneficial for all local communities, yet this potential progress is being framed as a race or political issue.

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Hell of a photo. Nice job!

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Also where can I find these hashtags? I see nothing on Twitter for #voteno2colonialism

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I found one member of the group’s Twitter. https://twitter.com/petersoncailin/status/1534352142387097605?s=21&t=gA8uY-XPWXIV14EwhZsiyQ

I really don’t understand how building a BRT line on a stroad that borders (not even THROUGH) this neighborhood is displacement. id love for them to show any hard evidence of this in other cities.

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It looks like there’s about 7 takings required for the Western Boulevard extension? That hardly constitutes a “community” IMO

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Completely forgot about the extension, but i agree, seems like a very weak argument when highways have actually displaced thousands.

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The 440 widening and interchange project is a bigger threat to that neighborhood than BRT, but crickets.

I know these types all too well. Self-styled leftists whose arguments are so convoluted they end up sounding just like conservatives. Every city’s got ‘em.

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Thank you! Although I should give credit…I was not at the meeting, photo is from Anna Johnson

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It looks like two of the properties might be fourplexs although the tax rolls list them as SFH, but still the number of people who will have to move pales in comparison to the number of people who will have access to new jobs and housing because of the project.

Where were these people before the LPA was selected anyway? At this point they should be advocating for relocation assistance, not the cancelation of the project, if they actually care about these people.

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Turning off replies for anyone that she doesn’t follow just shows she isn’t ready to defend this position.

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There would be a certain logic, not that I agree with it, if this group were focusing on the TOD rezoning. But trying this against the transit itself really is a head scratcher.

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