During a recent visit to Albuquerque and Santa Fe, I had the opportunity to ride the ART (Albuquerque Rapid Transit) and New Mexico Rail Runner. The Rail Runner was comfortable and convenient. The ride between Albuquerque and Santa Fe is scenic too, which is a bonus to the transportation aspect. Otherwise, it was very similar to other commuter lines I’ve been on in South Florida (Tri-Rail) and Dallas-Fort Worth (TRE).
I was most excited about riding ART. Albuquerque has a fare-free transit system, which has its trade-offs. Some may see lack of fare as a welcome mat for “undesirables” but I see it as a simple way to make jobs, school, and services more accessible to everyone. Additionally, the two interlined routes were direct and connected major destinations such as Old Town, Downtown, BioPark, University of New Mexico, and Transit Centers (including Rail Runner downtown). The stations were simple yet distinctive. No seating was included but with the frequency of the buses,
I didn’t see this as a problem. Also, there are bus-only lanes and signaling throughout much of the route which meant the bus could go pretty fast.
Overall, this makes me even more excited about Raleigh’s BRT system. The City of Raleigh is on the right track with TOD zoning. Land use is key to ensuring the system is successful.
Neighborhoods near and in downtown Raleigh need more small, incremental, and recreational third-places like this one in Jeffersonville, IN. There are many surface lots along New Bern Avenue that could use this sore of treatment.
I think once the BRT system is up and running there will be pressure to redevelop the New Bern Ave facility. Hopefully along with the Federal Court building.
41% is astounding. Consider the grocery store, gym, school, doctor/dentist, restaurant, mechanic shop, bank, real estate agents, construction, utilities, landscape maintenance, and retail employees that aren’t included in that 41%.
Is SAS still remote?
Just goes to show you where the tech workers live, doesn’t it? It also helps explain why household incomes are so high in Cary as well. I suspect that there’s a cut-off in population in that ranking too. Might Morrisville, Apex, Wake Forest, Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina be a high percentage too if they weren’t smaller cities?
The most impressive tower going up in the Triangle since the Eastern in North Hills. The last downtown Raleigh tower to go over 20 stories was the FNB tower nearly FOUR YEARS ago.
Partially due to how nonsense our zoning system works, asking for 20 stories is easier than asking for 23 or 27 stories because you have to request zoning for 40 stories. A huge difference.
