On a different note (and I know this isn’t technically in Raleigh, but it impacts most GoTriangle routes), it looks like GoTriangle has narrowed down the location of their new Regional Transit Center to two sites, according to the agenda for their October 28th Planning & Legislative Committee meeting. The final two sites are HUB RTP and the old Nortel site.
Both sites appear to have scored a 4.02 out of 5.00 based on the following five factors:
- Reduced travel time to and from I-40.
- Improved access to goods, services, and potential development.
- Ease of acquisition and constructability.
- Access to employment.
- Connections to future BRT and commuter rail.
Personal opinion: anything that’s not adjacent to the NCRR corridor is a mistake. Even if the commuter rail project falls through, a regional Piedmont/Carolinian stop could be placed there to improve access to the whole Triangle region. I get the appeal of having it on the HUB property (and I wouldn’t be too surprised if RTP tries to throw in an incentive to get them to do that), but that’s like a three-minute bus ride away on a route that already exists. Plus, I know there are plans in place for the Nortel site. They may not be quite as transformative as the plans at the HUB site, but I still think this is a no-brainer.
No one is going to want to hop off a commuter train and take a three-minute shuttle bus to the transit center so they can transfer to yet another bus. Folks will just Uber instead. Do it right and eliminate the unnecessary second transfer.