I would rather get simpler shelters on the platforms and spend that money to build longer busways, add more queue jumpers, install signal priority in more places, improve sidewalks along the route, or (better still) buy and run more buses.
That modular one looks like it could be built as long or as short as needed. Maybe extend the cantilevered roof out a foot or two.
Make the shelters adequate - get the riders out of the sun and out of the rain. Make them distinctive, even - but beyond that, spend money on things that provide transportation value. A solid, permanent, sleek shelter like that one in Richmond gives a good first impression, but in the long run, allowing riders to spend less time waiting there, and less time stuck in traffic on a bus, will have a larger impact on ridership.
I don’t know where to put this but I came up with a rough sketch of what I think south Raleighs southern downtown road layout should look like. Note blue = roads and yellow = demolished roads.
I’m not really a fan of roundabouts in pedestrian areas like Hillsborough, and a bunch of all-way stops in rapid succession is not my cup of tea. I want the Lake Wheeler edge of Dix Park to feel like the edge of Central Park. Maybe 12 stories instead of the sky’s the limit, but definitely urban, definitely a city. Stoplights would help create that image.
Given the urbanization of Hillsborough Street. We should have a free stop-on-demand hop-on hop-off trolley that goes down Hillsborough Street from the Capitol Building all the way up to Faircloth/Gorman Street.
Unfortunately, that route has been delayed until after the Blue Ridge/Hillsborough grade separation is finished. It’s now scheduled for FY23. This is mentioned on p165 of the FY 2021 Draft Wake Transit Work Plan, which can be found here.
“Also included in the [stimulus] bill is $1 billion for Amtrak grants to prevent, prepare for and respond to the pandemic. The bill includes $492 million for grants to the Northeast corridor, $526 million in grants for Amtrak’s national network and $239 million to assist states in making federally required payments to Amtrak for state-supported routes, the National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association (NRC) reported yesterday in a newsletter.”
I wonder if NCRR and our network will see assistance.
An interesting read that is strongly against mass transit especially if we should be worried about future pandemic events. I would still love to have both a viable mass transit here and also a great road system. Just have to shut down the mass transit pretty quick with the first signs of a pandemic event.
I agree. I’d like to see us take those first signs very seriously and we just jump on it, full force, contain while a lot of other areas of the country can continue to operate with caution. Preventative approach rather than reactive.
Did you read my comments with that posted article? It makes a better person who can read information on both sides of the argument and come out with their own conclusion. It’s clear that New York has suffered greatly probably in large part because of their subway system. And I still am for mass transit here in Raleigh.
It didn’t seem clear to me from this article. Other cities with even bigger subway and mass transit systems did not see this kind of spike (even if you consider China and Russia probably under counted their numbers even more than we have been). I think it had more to do with NYC being one of the biggest (if not the biggest) travel centers in the world, but I don’t have any more facts behind it than the Federalist does. I think Phil is also expressing skepticism of the source since they’ve advocated for less transit in the past but more due to ‘fiscal’ reasons (aka tax cuts for wealthy ).
).