I think there is some acceptance already, given that the voters authorized a sales tax increase to help fund the project. The fact that North Raleigh and Wake Forest aren’t included in the initial design of the project doesn’t help, so the appeal of the system outside of the Garner-Durham corridor will be a bit of a hurdle… GoTriangle needs to do a better job of selling the project, highlighting the benefits of not driving. They also need to show how a system like this is needed now and although expensive, will cost a lot more in the future when it will be sorely needed.
Literally just put up big signs that say: Light Rail: Fewer Car Commuters Means Less Traffic For You. The average voter isn’t thinking critically.
1 Like
“if you took the train you would be home now” on one of those electronic signs.
1 Like
There is an express bus that does exactly that, which can skip traffic by running on the shoulders, written into the transit plan. It’s probably not too far fetched to put stations at some of the interchanges along the way.
Really, I think that developing our freeways into a defacto BRT network by implementing BOSS (Bus On Shoulder System) and figuring out a way to put stops at major interchanges (without breaking the bank) would be very economical and a huge win for our area.
But I’m guessing that won’t be good enough for some because it is a bus.
4 Likes
I’m not joking when I say this: tell them transit will allow them to access downtown nightlife so they won’t need to drive home. Go ahead and order that extra glass of wine, baby!
2 Likes
Took a long time to catch up on this thread (damn work trip to Nashville 
). I don’t think anyone has thrown this out there so I will do it myself… Assuming some type of rail system is ever built between Raleigh and Durham, why not have a BRT from the Morrisville station directly into RDU? Is that connected enough to make us all happy? Sure it is a transition, and a delay of sorts, but it DOES offer a direct connection to the airport from the existing rail line. Just thought I would throw this out. (Disclaimer. I am a HUGE rail supporter. Build it and I will hand over my car keys)
4 Likes
Looks like that’s sort of in the works? GoTriangle has a really vague, handwavy provision for it in its publicity materials (scroll to the bottom of the page), though I haven’t seen anything more concrete than this, yet.
1 Like
They aren’t. People who drive in cars now, and will drive in cars in the future, are better off when their drive includes fewer other drivers. It’s not like any sort of rail system is going to make the Interstates ghost towns. They will still have way too many cars on them, just not that many more to make the experience worse.
1 Like
I think there’s a lot of potential for TOD at the proposed Garner stop, actually. I mean, obviously it wouldn’t be nearly on the scale you’d get in a big downtown, but much of the area is greenfield (quite literally, in fact), so a transit stop would have the potential to pretty radically transform that area, and also revive Garner’s historical downtown main street that has basically been forgotten and neglected but could easily be re-purposed into something really cool.
6 Likes
I think sometimes folks can sometimes get hung up on means as opposed to ends. A lot of people, myself included, really like the aesthetics of light rail, and there are a lot of cities that have light rail and it works great for their specific circumstance. But there are also a lot of cities that don’t have that specific means of transport, often for all kinds of perfectly good reasons. With cities, you’re always adding onto a lot of existing infrastructure, and that’s going to shape any future plans.
For the short to medium term, I think buses and the commuter rail should be the priority for Raleigh because those are, frankly, the best fit by far for the mix of infrastructure we inherited. Looking out on a longer time horizon, maybe light rail could be part of the mix someday. But there’s no utility in adding light rail for light rail’s sake. Rather, the question is, what are the public transit needs that are currently being under-served? (At the moment, that’s basically everything, unfortunately.) And then, what’s the best tool for meeting those needs?
So I would say, identify the need that’s being under-served, and then figure out whether light rail is the best tool for meeting that need, rather than decide whether light rail is the tool we want and then try to figure out what problems it can be employed to solve.
5 Likes
I saw this tweet today and thought it was funny:
4 Likes
4 Likes
That’s a really great video, and I love what GO Transit is doing to promote their system. It reminds me of something that’s been on my mind for awhile — how to market a transit system to increase ridership.
Something that seems to be lacking in my eyes is an educational campaign to bring more public awareness about the services that transit agencies provide. Just knowing where the bus goes, and how often are essential to getting people to ride even occasionally. I’ll admit to a great amount of ignorance about bus routes and schedules on my part, but transit is hardly an option where I live.
I’d really like to see an aggressive but well-coordinated campaign by transit agencies to target new ridership, as I think it could go a long way in attracting by-choice riders. Things like placing ads in local newspapers or on roadside billboards that highlight a specific route, or encouraging local businesses to offer discounts to transit commuters, could be steps in this direction. Even other, more creative methods could be used, such as this rap music video from GoTriangle, which, while admittedly rather cringe-worthy, attracts attention and serves an educational purpose.
I’m sure this is already taking place to some degree (the music video is clearly an example of that), but I feel that there’s a big opportunity for further active marketing of the system.
3 Likes
Seeing that tweet really reminded me that the anti-transit argument relies heavily on shifting goalposts.
To the transit critic, no city is ever quite dense enough. No bus lines are ever good enough to start talking about rail. Of course, that’s part of the hustle.
Rinse/repeat into the heat death of the universe.
2 Likes
How crazy is this business with Duke being the blocker for the Durham - CHill light rail? I am surprised there has not been more uproar and anger towards them for this. Been a big black eye on their brand IMO. https://energynews.us/2019/02/26/southeast/deadline-looms-for-duke-university-to-act-on-north-carolina-light-rail/
4 Likes
I think, overall, Duke supports the idea of light rail. The problem is, the plan, as draw, could seriously effect the hospital if the chiller line or water line gets damaged.
2 Likes
Oh, there is. Duke’s student papers have been regularly publishing thinkpieces and editorials on it in the past few weeks.
Article 1 /Article 2 / Article 3 / Article 4 (the Daily Tar Heel, News and Observers etc. have similar pieces recently published, too)
EDIT: the N&O’s latest piece on this is basically required reading for how Duke’s dropping the ball.
The unfortunate thing is that this is a local infrastructure issue, at the end of the day. Compared to things like the UNC/Duke game, campus protests on confederate memorials, ICE raids etc., light rail isn’t exactly something that is on people’s minds here.
3 Likes
The way I read it, they arent asking duke to sign off on the construction plans at this point, but rather just to commit to donating their land that will be required for right of way. That would allow the project to move on to the next phase in terms of securing state and federal funds. This would also demonstrate that Duke’s administration clearly believes that the light rail will be a good thing, and that they believe their issues can be resolved, and that they believe GoTriangle will be a good faith partner in those negotiations. Either at least one of those items must be missing from Duke’s perspective, or else they are negotiating in bad faith and never really intented to agree to it in the first place without unreasonable concessions.
3 Likes