Hillsborough and Enterprise, Hillsborough and Home and Hillsborough and Brooks. I wonder sometimes what the mode split on Hillsborough is and if it’d be possible to build a continuous bus lane there, since there are so many buses that use the corridor.
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I have said repeatedly and still maintain that the long term vision for Hillsborough St. along the NC State area should be a transit mall. There are tons of bus routes that go through here and a huge bike/ped modeshare, but biking is super dangerous and the buses constantly get stuck in traffic. It’s not really a good way for anyone to get from point A to B anyhow (much less so after the redesign, which has been great for the pedestrian experience, admittedly).
Every year during Packapalooza it is closed off along this segment and the world doesn’t end. There aren’t many driveways along it. The traffic nearby is fine.
The buses getting stuck along here at peak hours are bad, but the bike situation is particularly egregious. IMO the redesign was too recent to do any major construction work, which would probably be required for dedicated lanes due to the curb bump-outs. So, I say, ban the cars. There’s no need for them there.
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Interesting idea. I wonder how many blocks would be closed - starting at Pullen and the Bell Tower I presume, and then up to … Brooks? Dixie? Further? That prompts a second question, do you see Clark as the alternative? Clark is great, except it doesn’t connect with itself, lol, and the opposition the plan would get from residents along Clark. Indeed, after the recent tragic death of the professor crossing Clark, the idea would certainly raise safety concerns.
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It’s a great idea, my greatest concern is that things like this will happen more and more as car traffic redirects to other streets. In order to make it work, measures to curtail bad driving on the alternate routes would be needed.
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Kill someone with your giant pickup truck and get charged with a misdemeanor? AYFKM?
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that would be amazing. i hope one day they do!
Could be a “BRT Lite” corridor with level boarding, queue jumps and the occasional bus only passing lane.
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I have long thought about what would be involved in moving eastbound car traffic onto the existing Founders Drive, already used by Wolfline, and making the current eastbound lanes of Hillsborough into what amounts to a median busway. It’s always seemed a shame for Founders to be there but only accessible to Wolfline.
It would certainly involve rebuilding the Brooks Drive roundabout, or replacing it with a traffic signal. It wouldn’t help west of Dan Allen or east of Chamberlain - but this is probably the most congested part of Hillsborough and I think it would help quite a bit.
Aside, but I’ve also thought about the same approach for Faucette Drive along Western. I’m eager to see the 30% designs (when they’re ready.)
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wouldn’t this just move the busses away from people using them? (on campus)
People who live along Wade Ave would fight tooth and nail to prevent removing through-traffic from Hillsborough. All that traffic is just going to go somewhere else. Wade Ave is an abomination from an engineering standpoint and the last thing we need is more traffic on it.
They certainly would, but I still feel like there is less traffic along Hillsborough St. than it appears because it really does move so slow when it gets busy. Maybe someone with some hard numbers can prove me wrong.
But, like I said, to take a jaunt around Clark/Wake/etc during Packapalooza next year when it’s closed off again for the day – traffic is fine.
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I hope that the relevant authorities don’t let a vocal minority on Wade Avenue obstruct efforts to provide safer transportation options for all. Safety should never be a zero-sum game.
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Yeah, but in this specific instance they too have a legitimate concern about safety. In 2023, AADT for the middle section of Wade Ave was 33000 which is roughly double the Hillsborough number. The only ITB streets with more traffic than Wade in 2023 were Capital and S. Saunders. But Wade is hilly, has residential driveways, no median, etc. It was created in the 1960s by tacking together a number of streets that were never designed for that kind of volume.
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GoRaleigh must be doing something right. Per the American Public Transit Association, ridership increased 42% over last year 
And Charlotte had a 9% increase, which is nothing to sneeze at
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10 routes with 15 minute frequencies will do that, regardless of the price of the ticket.
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GoRaleigh is working with a consultant firm to build seating or shelters with seating for 200 stops in the next few years. There will still be roughly 200 more stops in need of improvement.
I’m unsure of the list of stops being improved first.
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7 posts were merged into an existing topic: GoRaleigh Bus Station
I’ve been playing with GoRaleigh GTFS data for too long and now I want to discuss some proposals I’ve come to and things that have surprised me:
- Crabtree Valley Mall is the second busiest transit center, besides GoRaleigh Station, in terms of trips per day.
- Either extend the 6 to Brier Creek or the 70L to Crabtree Valley Mall. Right now to get from West Raleigh to Brier Creek is a 3 seat ride, and I don’t see any satisfying justification for this. The 70L started running all day; it’s not a peak express anymore and it’s good to enable more destinations in less time.
- Extend the 24L to Crabtree Valley Mall. Right now the only way to get from North Hills to Crabtree is to go downtown and back out. The 23L goes close to North Hills but it doesn’t actually go to North Hills, limiting lateral motion.
- Straighten out the 24L and give it normal span, with the existing density at North Hills and the future coming, the 24L does and will serve as a very important connector.
- Extend the 10 to WakeMed and a transfer with the 15. This increases the integration with the existing network, and stops leaving this as a stranded route.
- Either separate the 20A and 20B into separate bi-directional routes, or give them the same frequency and span.
- Create an Enhanced Transfer Point at Millbrook Road and Capital Boulevard, where the 23L and 24L can wait for trips on the 1. Guarantee this transfer, the 24L/23L will wait for the closest in time 1 trip, and note that in the timetable.
- I would eventually want to do something with the 21. Long term I’d consider potentially splitting it into multiple routes. As a one way loop, it’s really bad for getting to the farmers market or Dix Park but very good at getting back. I think it’s ridership is only so high because of the destinations it serves.
Anyways, just some thoughts.
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I don’t think 15 minute service to Brier Creek is warranted at this point, so extending the 6 is out. IIRC the 70L used to run to Crabtree, before the 6 was extended to Pleasant Valley. Definitely remember changing to the 70L at Crabtree at some point. Maybe that was weekends only, this was a while ago.
Anyway, my pet idea in this part of town is extending the 4 out Duraleigh to Pleasant Valley. Main reason for this is that there are a ton of relatively affordable apartments along Duraleigh, and many aren’t even within walking distance of any bus route at all. I have personally been acquainted with someone who lived there but lost their ability to drive and became isolated as a result. This gets them not only access to buses, but also direct service to downtown.
Perhaps another part of this could be a possible solution to Brier Creek access: a further extension where the 4 carries on past Pleasant Valley, takes over the route of the 70L, and brings 30 minute frequency to Brier Creek.
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I have a lot more thoughts, here are a few.
The 2 has to extend to WakeMed North. Having a facility like this without direct service to downtown is kind of ridiculous. I believe this has been planned for a long time - over a decade - but why the heck haven’t they gotten around to it? Among all the heaps of service increases, extensions, and even sometimes dubious new routes (cough 26 cough) they couldn’t find the money? 
As for the 21 - I think the South BRT down Wilmington Street will bring better, frequent service to Walnut Terrace and probably make the 21 as we know it obsolete. At that point the 21 becomes a route down Lake Wheeler Road. I would extend it over the beltline and take over the part of the 7L and 11 that are along Sierra and Lineberry.
The 11 then drops its loop on Lineberry and instead turns left at Tryon & Trailwood, extending to Crossroads. This one is maybe a bit of a stretch. If 15 minute service to Brier Creek is not warranted, then 15 minute service to Crossroads probably is not either.
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