All of the money’s committed (finally!), every federal and NCDoT approval is ready, and over half the engineering work is done. So the public records give me good vibes about New Bern being able to happen. It’s just a matter of seeing construction start early 2022 (I think?), and how smoothly it goes.
if BRT is taking this long, how realistic is commuter rail in 10 years? I’d put the odds at 25:1 we will see it in that timeline. I’d wager it will take 10 years just to get a actionable plan together on paper for proposed stations and track agreements.
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I am supper excited about the Glascock changes because it puts a big big area of my neighborhood/side of town within a quick walk of a 15 minute frequency bus ride. Game changer.
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I anxiously await Kevin posts in transit threads because it’s like a tiny window into the world of GoTriangle (I’ve kind of gathered that you work there, but don’t really know what that entails).
I know the Wake Bus Plan update begins once the Wake Transit Plan is approved. What I don’t know is whether we’ll see it this year or not. Either way, looking forward to it.
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It because we’re always debating slow to do everything, yes democracy takes it time but not 10 years!!!
Thanks. I was trying to slightly customize the message for different threads - i.e. rail vs BRT vs future of transit and to reach more people for public feedback. It took a few more keystrokes than just linking the same content but I’m trying to engage the community to participate.
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I know it’s insane GoTriangle should be like other cities transit agencies and just apply for grants for large amounts of money.
That is literally what GoTriangle is trying to do.
They’re aiming to apply for the FTA CIG New Starts or Core Capacity pipelines (since they need more money than what the simpler Small Starts program offers). But they have to choose and document a locally-preferred alternative (LPA) and get that adopted by MPOs before they can even get accepted into the competitive process.
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Would just like to throw out that I currently live in one of the older/more affordable apartments off Oberlin/Wade Ave (the BRT/frequent network bus stop will be about a 5min max walk from my front door) and I would LOVE to be able to take this bus to/from downtown when nightlife activities return, and my roommate would LOVE to be able to take the bus to work at NC State, rather than walk or sometimes catch a bus whenever it decides to roll in, as is the current situation.
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Wade Avenue would be an underrated frequent bus corridor. The next thing I would do to enhance the “frequent grid” of transit is to replace the half-hourly route 4 with:
Capital-Wade-Ridge-Lake Boone-Blue Ridge-Duraleigh
With the new planned route 9 running frequently on Hillsborough Street, the need for routes 4 and 12 to overlap along Hillsborough kind of goes away. This does the following:
- Adds service to Duraleigh Road which has quite a few modestly priced apartment complexes
- Faster direct service between Rex Hospital, Lake Boone Trail, and downtown Raleigh
- Creates another east-west grid route downtown
- Better service to the Old Rex Hospital property which is bound to be redeveloped at some point.
The main thing standing in the way might be buses impeding traffic on Wade Avenue when they stop. I think integrating a stop with the interchanges at Oberlin and Glenwood would probably be not to hard, and stops at St. Mary’s and by the ped signal near Daniels seem like they would work okay too - but Dixie Trail and Brooks should probably have stops too, and those could be problematic. Maybe build right turn lanes that double as bus stops and queue jumpers.
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Interesting note: GoTriangle’s operations/finance committee released the agenda for their March 4 meeting. If you ever wondered “why can’t we build more things, faster???”, it’s a combination of money and politics. The upcoming meeting will go into more detail about the “money” half.
For context, from memory, only like 15% or so comes from passenger fares. THIS IS NORMAL for many American transit systems, since many places aren’t densely-built and walkable enough or rich enough to immediately start up services with trains every 5 minutes. Naturally, GoTriangle gets a lot of their cash inflow from regional taxes. Specifically:
So you’re tired of BRT and FAST being too slow, and want to flow even more money into GoTriangle to make projects go brrr? They wondered about that, too, and looked to see if they can take out a loan to finance transit projects. It turns out there are 4 kinds ways they could borrow money, but GoTriangle is only really allowed to use one of them:
The presentation goes into 4 ways they could pull off a limited-obligation bond (the only option possible), but this, too, runs into issues because the most obvious ways are either prohibited by the NC state constitution or could result in (for example) Wake County just deciding to not pay their fare share of loan repayments.
TL/DR: throwing money at a problem is hard when the General Assembly writes policies that are hostile to great transit.
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Looks like GoRaleigh is gathering input on possible bus service to White Oak shopping center in Garner. Saw this sign yesterday:
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Only the feds is how we get around it, though I’m interested in revenue bonds. Now the General Assembly bias towards transit there biased toward out transit, but not that other NC city that has light rail. Cause like I said the Republican General Assembly don’t want us to be big they want us quaint.
Click here if you don't remember (or know) what FAST buses are!
FAST is an idea to complement BRT and commuter rail using buses spiced up with BRT-like infrastructure. Some features that make BRTs just as user-friendly as trains can be extended to “regular” buses in major transit corridors; I think the idea is to encourage those sorts of investments through this study, a 
sexy public-private partnership.
If you’re more skeptical, you may recall the RTA has a history of advocating for road-centric commuting and maintaining the status quo (though that’s been changing recently, and they’re even coming up with an interesting policy proposal). Some GoTriangle leaders seem to think FAST buses are an overhyped pipe dream, too.
Not all roads are made equally, so VHB (the transit planner hired by RTA) suggests different upgrades on different corridors where buses currently (or will soon) run. Here’s where they think it’s the easiest to get started:
VHB and RTA want to build these upgrades in the corridors numbered above:
Aside for 2, 3, and 6, the other seven of the 10 corridors can support bus services that run directly alongside future BRT lines.
In the long term, the FAST network of frequent buses running on upgraded infrastructure is envisioned to look more like this:
The FAST study report is finally out! This describes how the Triangle can take advantage of BRT to make its “regular” buses even better by giving them exclusive lanes, priority at stoplights etc. This report is released not by the RTA, its member companies, GoTriangle, or an MPO. Instead, it’s released by…
https://www.ncdot.gov/divisions/public-transit/Pages/fast-study.aspx
Not only that, but NCDOT released a “FAST Playbook” for counties in and out of the Triangle to use, and they’re hinting at more changes to come!
This means NCDOT is starting to shift its policies to be more pedestrian- and transit-friendly. This fiscal year, 78.4% of NCDOT appropriations went to road-related projects versus 3% for explicitly transit-related ones. But what if some of that 78% could be used in transit-friendly ways? What if we could use “road” projects as an opportunity for a more walkable Raleigh and a more accessible Triangle?
And if transit-supportive design can be baked into NCDOT policies, maybe they could start to wean themselves off of their self-fulfilling prophecy of auto dependency?
It’s almost as if NCDOT is actually putting money where their mouth is, and is actually making their Statewide Strategic Plan for public transportation useful for something.
This report isn’t super new, but does offer some more details about this vision and how it could become reality.
Poole Rd. is recommended as one of the very first FAST corridors
Several of the initial 10 FAST corridors are selected as “superFAST corridors” that “could be implemented […] within next 18-24 months”. One of these is Poole Rd., running from New Bern Av. to New Hope Rd.
Here, VHB and RTA are thinking Raleigh and NCDOT can take advantage of the New Bern BRT to enhance (I assume) the GoRaleigh 18 bus using:
- Queue jump lanes
- Enhanced station access, better stop locations, and smoother boarding
- Floating bus stop
- Connection to New Bern BRT
What if you favor buses on Glenwood and replace curb parking on Morgan St. with bus lanes?
The report chose two early-stage routes for a “deeper dive” to use as examples for what a full FAST implementation could look like. Lucky for us, one of those corridors is Glenwood Av., which includes downtown Raleigh!
Here’s some infrastructure issues, opportunities, and solutions around Five Points:
…through Brooklyn Hill, Peace St., and Glenwood South:
…and finally, Downtown proper:
Replacing on-street parking on Morgan St. with contraflow and/or peak bus-only lanes would be pretty freaking sweet, right?
There's now a distinction between direct-access stations and direct-access ramps
Direct-access stations let pedestrians access buses on the highway. This is only recommended for early-stage corridors around Southpoint (and, in later-stage visions, near the SAS headquarters, WakeMed Cary, and North Hills).
…while direct-access ramps let buses access priority lanes on the highway. This is recommended in RTP near Miami Blvd., RDU, and Wilmington St. in the near future (and maybe near I-40’s exit 273 and Fenton in Cary, later on).
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This is a pretty big deals. State DOTs are notorious for 100% keeping their hands off of anything to do with transit. This is a huge step in the right direction. Let’s just hope NCDOT manages their money this time and doesn’t have to shut down again.
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This is useful for showing how rapid buses can branch off the North BRT.
Hmm, the cynic in me wonders if this is because NCDOT sees that peers like TxDOT are successfully dressing up freeway widenings as “transit corridor implementations.”
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That could definitely be an issue, yeah, and I hope it doesn’t get to that.
But North Carolina’s also not an endless plain of flat, featureless ranches and farms like Texas. I want to think it’ll be easier for NCDOT to snap out of talking points from careless journalists and libertarian think tanks, or at least realize that induced demand causes a self-fulfilling prophecy on road congestion.
I guess we’ll have to wait for the new Roadway Design Manual to see if the state will make good on their promise… 
EDIT: NCDOT also released their NC Moves 2050 strategic plan a few weeks ago. This is basically the state’s master plan that spells out its values and visions on how it wants to help move people and goods around for the next 10, 20, and 30 years.
But this update for our state’s multimodal transit game plan includes something new and helpful: an implementation plan. It suggests that “quick win” projects could become an early priority and get favorable STIP scores (translation: $$$) if they’re:
Sounds a little bit like projects suggested by the FAST study, no? 
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If you haven’t already, you have until this coming Sunday to comment on the Wake Transit FY22 Draft Work Plan. This mainly focuses on projects that will be implemented/initiated between July 2021 and June 2022, but the draft does also include a schedule for future implementations as well.
There are also two other open surveys regarding the Wake Transit Plan, but the deadlines for both of those are a bit further out.
They really do seem to take feedback into consideration (I’ve seen at least one change I asked for in previous years get implemented), so please take time to fill this out if you get a chance. I’m only seeing three public comments on there currently, including mine, so your input definitely counts. Thanks all!
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Thanks for the update! I would comment, but… well… I honestly don’t see much to call out that’s specific to thee FY’22 work plan that you already did. I wish they’d put more money into projects like the Capital Blvd. BRT corridor rather than holding so much cash in reserve, but this is not the right place to complain about that.
I will be commenting this on the survey on extending the Wake Transit Plan as a whole through 2030, though, which is one of the other two surveys you mentioned.
Speaking of that survey: there seems to be a lot of people commenting in favor of zero-fare transit pilots in the Wake Transit Plan update survey. The messages look very copy-pasted, which makes me think some neighborhood or local activist organization pushed people to do that. …not that I’m complaining; the more voices, the merrier?
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wouldn’t be surprised if David Meeker or someone associated asked a bunch of people to leave comments there. He’s been the biggest online proponent of the zero fare initiative.
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