You guys are “RIGHT.” We should move “union” station!!! Im tired of seeing those people too!!! This is our country!!! Redlining is too slow and we need to be more agressive. Make downtown great again!
Nevermind the fact working class people depend on the convenience of downtown. Welcome to America!!!
Ummm. Nobody said to get rid of buses or bus stops downtown. In fact we need more transit options not less.
WTF are you talking about? No one mentioned moving union station.
I moved these posts here as I actually think this is an interesting topic. Interesting in that I don’t think we should move anything at all unless there’s a strong reason to do it in order to serve the public in a better way.
I’m actually thinking that GoRaleigh Station should have less bus traffic. I think that means that our hub-and-spoke system should migrate to include more cross town routes. This should reduce the number of routes coming in and out of downtown.
If it’s done in a way that can still get people to where they want to go in a time effective way then I think we’d be progressing in the right direction. At the same time GoRaleigh could actually keep all the buses inside the station at all times rather than overflowing on Hargett and Blount. I think we need other nodes around town too which BRT stops (like the one at New Bern and Tarrboro) could act as convenient transfer points, allowing riders options outside of downtown.
It’ll take awhile but once BRT is up and running perhaps it could be explored.
I agree with this take. I don’t think GoRaleigh is suitable as a central hub. Still think it should be a hub, but not one where almost every bus ends up.
We have buses overflowing to the point that it is impossible to move buses out of the bike lane on Blount Street.
I would just like it east of where it is now, and it would complement the new one to the west. And that valuable land could be turned into something better in its core and retain the historic buildings on the exterior. And it would eliminate the crap that goes on at all sides of the station currently, which would help that whole section of downtown along with the businesses struggling there. Just no political will to do it, so we’re going to just keep limping along there.
I wouldn’t put it past the city to actually do that and relocate Moore Square’s Finest© right in the middle of a low-income minority neighborhood.
IMHO, the city should have separate bus routes exclusively for the homeless shelters and a separate hub away from any residential areas, or require the shelters to provide their own transportation. I feel bad for those who have to ride the bus to their jobs or run errands and have to deal with Moore Square Shenanigans©
The problem isn’t the buses or the stations, it’s the lack of addressing the issues that persist in the area at and around the station. That’s what needs to be addressed. Moving the station isn’t going to solve anything.
Any bus station relocation plan whose justification boils down to “Get those people out of downtown” is a non starter. The bus station still needs to be downtown. It just needs better security.
Tearing down the 40 year old municipal parking deck, and putting in a bus station in its place, as well as relocating RPD HQ back downtown from Six Forks onto the municipal center block, achieves that.
That spot is also better for bus service because it’s close to the main north/south and east/west arteries through downtown (Dawson/Mcdowell, Morgan/Edenton) and cuts the walking distance between the bus station and train station in half.
First, it would have to make practical sense, which it does not (if you look at the routes). What Leo stated would make more sense given the existing station is planned to be the BRT Hub. Having three stations downtown may be beneficial following the completion of at least 2 BRT lines.
Just simply moving it to get rid of people you personally don’t want to see is not a favorable political stance for people who aren’t apathetic, self-indulgent, Trump-minded “liberals”.
I agree that relieving pressure on the GoRaleigh station is a worthy goal especially with frequency of service increasing on most routes.
From a user standpoint the hub is only needed to change from one subarea of service to another. To simply go downtown and return any stop near one’s destination will serve.
I go downtown a few times a month and have only gone to the station once in the past two years. Frequently go inbound on one route and return via another simply navigating the stops.
So your idea of more crosstown options that don’t dock at the station has merit. Also more transfer point options is a good idea. We have some of those already like Crabtree and the impromptu stretch of Pecan south of town where two loop busses and one from the station periodically meet for passenger exchanges.
Finally relocating all the various X routes along the Martin Street frontage of Moore Square would get them off Blount and Hargett. There’s about a half dozen of such routes and that wide stretch of Martin used to be a bus loading lane.
Dream Festival shuttle busses used that lane and it easily accommodated six busses at a time. Linear plaza is rarely used and could accommodate shelters. Those far flung express busses are mostly focused on commuter hour service and are not frequent traffic. Just need curb space.
That’s the LAST thing east Raleigh needs is that bus station moved there.
It mght be a good idea, but moving a bunch of people who perform ancillary functions (personnel, record-keeping, professional standards, etc) into DTR won’t have any impact on the crime rate. More feet on the street in DTR would, but that’s a separate question.
From a design standpoint I think we are at a point where redesign for downtown of today should be a priority. Redesigning the GoRaleigh Bus Station with secure, controlled entry and exit, similar to European transit hubs, would improve safety and support stable, predictable ridership. Features like paid restrooms, monitored access, and clear circulation are preventative, not punitive. They discourage long-term loitering and non-transit use, which helps reduce the station becoming a default hangout for homelessness-related activity, while still preserving access for riders who actually need transit. Clear boundaries and active management create safer, cleaner spaces for riders, staff, and the surrounding community
1000% While I don’t have the data, it sure feels like the GoRaleigh station has far more buses coming and going each day than the RUSbus station. So it’s a shame that it feels like such an afterthought. Buses regularly back up on both Martin and Hargett and people crowd out onto the sidewalk, disrupting car and foot traffic flowing in and out of that side of downtown. It’s not ideal.
Downtown deserves better and the people using the station deserve better. Even if we get fewer buses flowing through the GoRaleigh station via more spokes, its central location and proximity to RUSbus, Moore Square, and other important locations will make it important. A redesign, especially with the BRT happening (any day now!), would be welcome.