You wouldn’t ever fly in half of an airplane.
You wouldn’t ever go to get half a haircut.
So why would you ever want to build a half-@ssed commuter rail line through downtown Cary when you could build a fully awesome one instead?
[Yes, I am deeply ashamed that I remember that ad campaign.]
They can vote unanimously all they want, but it’s not just their decision to make alone. And, there are a number of private homes in the ‘West’ proposal. Could be a definite deal breaker, as we all know.
This would be a very cut and dry case for eminent domain should it come down to it. The current town council of Cary is does not tend to be strongly swayed by NIMBY arguments.
…but when has Cary had to face a situation where NIMBYs are likely to come up?
Your idea’s definitely interesting, but I’d feel much better about poking holes in it if it the city officially considered it. The mayor’s post said a formal public review process would take place later in the year, so that’ll be something to look out for.
There was a pretty strong NIMBY backlash to making the downtown park a regional destination and incorporating private development in the master plan. Everything was approved unanimously. They have kind of made it clear that they are going to treat downtown Cary as belonging to the entire town, not just the immediately surrounding neighborhoods.
I realize all of my ideas/suggestions can be extreme and expensive. I’m basically looking for long-term solutions that can resolve multiple long-standing problems at once; hopefully they can be implemented incrementally.
The problem of grade crossings in downtown Cary is a sticky one. North Carolina railroad wants to have six main tracks between Raleigh and Cary, but federal regulations state that no new grade crossing can be built that has more than three mainline tracks. So it’s not a matter of “if” a grade separation will be needed, but when.
I just got email back from Weinbrecht. The mayor and Cary City Council had no role in the six sites which were presented to them for the vote. So, not a lot of transparency there. But, there will be a public comment period coming up soon. So, it’s not a lock at this point.
The fact that I couldn’t find any records of the actual discussion/meeting that Cary’s Town Council had (let alone how the six options were decided on) is raising some red flags for me about their transparency…
As to the eminent domain issue, if a government entity with eminent domain powers lawfully decides to condemn a property, there’s virtually nothing a property owner can do to stop them from condemning it. An eminent domain lawsuit (and I write about these frequently) isn’t about trying to prevent the condemnation; it’s about ensuring that the landowner gets full fair-market value for the land. (The DOT in particular is notorious for making low-ball initial offers to owners.)
If a mooted use of eminent domain would potentially enrage a large number of voters, then a government might back down rather than face the political blowback. This happened, for instance, when CSX was talking about taking a ton of land in Johnston County for a proposed depot. But if only a small number of landowners are going to be directly impacted, and the project itself is popular, then the city is simply going to take the land, and there’s not really anything the landowner can do to stop them.
Most of the properties at this proposed site of the new station are owned by investors and not individual families so I think it would be rather easier to purchase the properties that are needed.
Anything that makes the strip club go away would be phenomenally popular with the neighborhood and general public of the town. The only ones who would be likely to oppose it are the ones who are directly impacted.
I suppose you are right. But that strip club has been there longer than I have been living and/or working in the Cary area (25 plus years) so I think that most people are pretty much used to it by now. If that one closes down how far will people from Cary have to drive to visit the next closest one? hahaha
There is definitely precedent for eminent domain powers being very intentionally used in this way, and not all of it benign, actually. (“Oh, hey, funny coincidence, look what we need to condemn to build our new road!”) I’m quite sure that’s not what’s happening in this case, and this is just a pleasant coincidence from the city’s perspective, but, hey, always nice to drum up a little extra political support for this stuff.
I have the impression that the town and its government view the strip club as out of character, incompatible even, with their vision for downtown Cary. People are generally accepting of things that exist, but it is certainly a big factor contributing to the seedy vibe on Hillsboro Street and the lack of redevelopment energy on the west side of downtown when compared with what’s going on at East Chatham.
Put it this way, I am fine living on the same block as a bar, brewery, restaurant, store, whatever - but living next to the only strip club for miles in any direction? NO THANKS.
But, what’s amusing is whether the demolition of the strip club is the real reason for choosing the site for the new multi-modal station. (BTW: I wasn’t even aware of the strip club in that wedge.)
If NCRR insists on straight-as-an-arrow platforms, seems like that site is the only one that works without blowing up your budget on track reconstructions.
If they think that the footprint works with the platform requirements entailed, so be it. It just means that the head house is that much further to the tracks than they are at present.
I’m also guessing that it will have a fair bit of asphalt dedicated to the BRT terminus and turnaround.
But, I’m still of the firm belief that Harrison is going to need to dive under the tracks.
Blow that budget up.
With an estimate of $1.8 billion, I think it is altogether unlikely to avoid a budget explosion.
Care to elaborate? I’m not exactly familiar with Cary’s political landscape…
I am somewhat aware of the political landscape in Cary, and I haven’t heard anything to indicate this either. I do understand that there are some people who don’t like some decisions that have been made lately and that many of them have sour grapes over this, but transparency? Please explain.