@dtraleigh - probably this talk about Durham could go to the commuter rail thread…
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Good call. Thank you for looking out.
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@dtraleigh Thanks for parsing this.
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I remember reading that at the time, and thinking that it was an admirable proposal, but not well-executed given the placement of the train and bus stations. To think about a cross-platform transfer within an active freight corridor is going to be impossible with the current configuration at the Walker Warehouse.
However, taking a cue from @orulz four track map, then Track 1 and 4 would be passenger/house tracks while Track 2 and 3 would be through/freight tracks with an assumed outer platform configuration. That way, passenger consists would be able to dwell and not impede with any through freight traffic. And, there would have to be undertrack passages to either the passenger station or access the bridge to the bus station.
This also shuts down any future attempt for a resurrected DOLR-type proposal as LRT equipment is restricted by FRA regulation on a freight main line. If DOLR happens, it would likely be a BRT running at street level on Pettigrew (after Mangum and Blackwell/Corcoran get grade-separated at Ramseur and Pettigrew).
https://durhamnc.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3571/Durham-Traffic-Separation-Study-TSS-PDF
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Not to sound like a broken record player here, but I’m getting vibes that GoTriangle is trying to bite off more than they can chew, again, with their project scope…
It turns out they’re actually taking that idea to extend commuter rail from Durham/Garner to Hillsborough and/or Selma pretty seriously. Maybe a bit too seriously, too early, as staff have pointed out.
Full report here; commuter rail-related updates are on page 25-26.
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I think that they are just doing their due diligence by including the extreme geographic ends of the proposed system study. The resulting recommendation will likely be much smaller to start out with. Study Selma to Mebane, implement Garner to W. Durham, Expand to Clayon and Hillsborough, etc…
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I would expect that sort of due diligence if the project was in an earlier stage like a major investment study (but it wasn’t??).
I hope it’ll only result in GoTriangle studying a CRT expansion like you said. I’m just concerned because of the wording in the memo.
Chapel Hill’s bus rapid transit project team was asked by Orange County to look at extensions to Hillsborough earlier this year. They did it (and thoroughly proved the potential ridership increase wouldn’t be worth the cost increase), but it was very clear from their word choice that they were being cautious about expanding their scope.
Meanwhile, here… maybe I’m just being paranoid, but to me, GoTriangle is sounding less like they’re saying “so we got this other request; let’s look into it, but it’s not an urgent priority” as much as they’re saying “we’re doing THIS now since we can -ahh we don’t have the money and wait what are we doing again???”
I’m hoping that since our commuter rail system is basically being handed to us on a silver platter relative to other systems, this will be harder to screw up.
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I figured that since DOLRT bit the dust a commuter rail extension to at least Hillsborough and possibly Mebane would be on the table. Hillsborough probably even makes sense. The only reason that was excluded initially was that Orange was overextended with DOLRT to begin with. Its cancellation is a seismic shift in the transit plan and in that context re-examining the commuter rail’s western endpoint makes sense.
But Clayton? Selma? How that going to work? Is Johnston going to pass a 1/4 cent sales tax? Are they going to join GoTriangle? If they want this, they have to come up with money to pay for it from somewhere.
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I think I read somewhere in the past that there will be an Amtrak station built in Hillsborough so that would make sense extending the CRT out there.
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I’m guessing if a station is built at the proposed Greenfield Parkway layover yard/facility, a lot of people from Clayton will drive to it. It would be up to the town of Clayton to decide if it is worth their while to build a downtown station and encourage TOD.
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Correct. The Amtrak proposal for Hillsborough is moving forward, albeit at the typical pace one sees with transit projects like this.
https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/04/hillsborough-train-update-0416
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This is how Commuter Rail has looked in the US to this point. Though in the future (and particularly in Raleigh) it should look like this:
Image: TexRail (Fort Worth, TX - opened 2019)
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Do we actually think we will ever get any sort of rail in the Raleigh/Durham area? I feel like by the time our officials get their heads out of the sand… and actually do something… we will have flying cars or something at that point and we won’t even need it. I am just so confused why we don’t have this already or at least in the process of getting it. It makes complete sense. I guess they are waiting until we have so many people we are at grid lock
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That is what most cities have done.
I have friends and relatives (by marriage) in the MetroMess, particularly Ft Worth, and the regional rail is their exclusive way out to DFW now. They will go to Dallas for an evening or something, but by fair their most coming use it to and from the airport - I think my brother’s mother-in-law said with her senior discount its like $2 each way.
Dang, I wish we’d started building the regional and light rail in the 80’s.
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The problem is that we didn’t really need it in the 80’s. There is a strong argument that light rail is not warranted even today. Every study I have seen in the past several decades have pretty much rejected light rail from Raleigh to Durham. With that being said, I definitely think we need to do it soon so that Raleigh can begin to stop being so car-centric and plan and build those dense nodes around the train stations.
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We didn’t really need 540 in the 80s either, but we started it.
There were & are a lot of reasons to still oppose regional and light rail. But it would, I believe, spur development and provide the option of not being tied to your car. I love our family car, but I don’t like being totally dependent upon it.
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540 began construction in 1992 between 40 and Glenwood Ave. Actually it was decided that due to growth in Western Wake that they would indeed “need” it. Thus it was added in the mid 1980’s planning maps as a beltway around Raleigh.
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