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The growth is coming anyways with or without LRT and most of it with the help of developers - doesn’t it make sense to try and capture some of the trips with transit? I agree with you about light rail being not flexible but if there’s one place it makes sense in the Triangle, it’s the 15-501 corridor between Durham and Chapel Hill. I won’t defend the project but I also think some of the arguments against it are overblown when we consider what else our transportation spending goes towards. (As for cost, we have some problems to figure out why all of our construction projects - road or rail are way more expensive than other first world countries)
Anyways it seems that the project is dead at the moment so it’s a moot point haha
The problem with the "it's better than nothing" argument is it is very expensive and Durham taxpayers are going to take on huge expenses building and operating this thing. It is going to severely limit our ability to fund other priorities, like schools, subsidized housing, and public transit. It would drive up tax rates to a point that would drive development out of Durham county into surrounding areas. Durham is a small county and there is plenty of land to develop in Chatham, Orange, Person, and Wake counties. Durham's success has come from its affordability and high quality of life. This project's cost threatens that.
When this project started, state and federal funding was going to cover most of the costs. But since then, the bill has gone up dramatically and would continue going up with Durham taking on the increases. The current plan just isn't viable.
The problem with the "it's better than nothing" argument is it is very expensive and Durham taxpayers are going to take on huge expenses building and operating this thing. It is going to severely limit our ability to fund other priorities, like schools, subsidized housing, and public transit. It would drive up tax rates to a point that would drive development out of Durham county into surrounding areas. Durham is a small county and there is plenty of land to develop in Chatham, Orange, Person, and Wake counties. Durham's success has come from its affordability and high quality of life. This project's cost threatens that.
Blame the state legislature for limiting the amount of funding light rail can pull from different funding sources. For people who hate big government, they sure like putting a bunch of senseless regulations (saw a proposed bill today that would make cyclists register to be able to ride on the roads)
As for Duke - lets just get down to the root reasons. They don’t want poor/black people potentially coming to their campus. They’ll complain about trees, medical equipment etc..... but they’ve never wanted the project for some deeper concerns whatever that might be. They’ve had years to make their concerns known and GoTriangle seems to have made some good faith efforts to address those concerns. As long as the line goes near their campus they will just do what they have to do to stall it.
Blame the state legislature for limiting the amount of funding light rail can pull from different funding sources. For people who hate big government, they sure like putting a bunch of senseless regulations (saw a proposed bill today that would make cyclists register to be able to ride on the roads)
As for Duke - lets just get down to the root reasons. They don’t want poor/black people potentially coming to their campus. They’ll complain about trees, medical equipment etc..... but they’ve never wanted the project for some deeper concerns whatever that might be. They’ve had years to make their concerns known and GoTriangle seems to have made some good faith efforts to address those concerns. As long as the line goes near their campus they will just do what they have to do to stall it.
Haha I’m being slightly dramatic. But the optics certainly aren’t good for Duke with the people who do claim that’s the case.
I've heard that same argument over and over used for why Scottsdale, AZ will never have a light rail extension, to keep the "undesirables" out. But then I point out, those people can just take the bus (which already runs from Phoenix to Scottsdale) or walk or bike or whatever to get there now.
I would think the light rail would be a plus for DUMC and those that live in/near downtown Durham and work at the hospitals. Heck, you could work at the UNC hospital and live in downtown Durham if you wanted and just use the light rail.
Another thing to consider is this probably has an impact on the proposed Wake County commuter rail line. I bet the ridership projections depend on transfers between the two systems. Will be interesting to see the domino effects that ensure.
I’m so glad they are killing this. It’s a ridiculous waste of money and will keep costing Durham for years after it is built. Has nothing to do with racism.
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