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Great map, Third Strike! Watching this closely as it will end up within walking distance of my house. I'd actually use it quite a bit, but likely won't be living in this house when it's done. People are so tied to their cars here, I don't know what to expect in terms of usage.
I've finally made a virtual map out of the future transit lines in the Triangle. There's also one of the Charlotte region. This is still a WIP, so if there's anything I need to change, please let me know (I actually live in Charlotte, so I'm not completely familiar with this area; I'm just going off the maps from the Our Transit Future site). You can also enable and disable layers to make the viewing better, if you want. I also plan to add a layer for the high speed rail/intercity rail someday:
I have no clue if it will be financially successful or not, but it would definitely be a huge boon to the area for several groups of people.
I was at an Imagine Cary meeting some months ago and was surrounded by young professionals who all wanted to live in "walkable urban" neighborhoods. There was quite a discussion about their various attempts to try this in the Triangle.
One point I remember being made was that in addition to not wanting to spend 25% of their income on transportation, many came from places where public transportation is a given. They are used to the waiting and the crowding and all that is involved in public transportation.
Then there are the older folks. This area is attractive to retirees but the one thing we are missing is decent public transportation. It is not uncommon for people to live decades past when they should stop driving. Enough said.
From what I read, the middle class is shrinking and even those who are hanging on by their fingernails will no longer have the disposable income needed to maintain two vehicles. I don't know how folks working in the service industry, hovering around the poverty line do it. For the life of me, I can't figure out how $1500/month can cover rent, utilities, food, clothes, etc. as well as a car payment, insurance, gas, repairs.
A light rail sounds like it is so far off in the future. What are the estimate for when it might happen?
The fantasy continues. A light rail project is expensive to build and run. Payed for with borrowed money.
The bus service is not even fully realized for heaven's sake.
I took a bus last Friday. Bus stop consisted of a sign. No shelter or even a place to stand. When this area has a properly running,equipped,built utilized bus service then talk about light rail.
Chapel Hill has a great free bus system that gets tons of use. Many, though, not all bus stops in Chapel Hill/Carrboro do have benches and shelters. There's quite a bit of bus traffic between Chapel Hill and Duke/Durham as well. I think light rail in Durham and Orange has good support and potential for success. That said, I drive or walk most places in Chapel Hill/Carrboro, but I do occasionally take the bus. If I'm not in a hurry I'd just rather walk, though, and from my location most places I go in town are walkable within a 1 -3 mile range, so perfectly doable, if not quick.
I would enjoy taking a train to downtown Raleigh. I don't particularly like driving over there and would like the opportunity to leave my car at home.
When I go to Durham I'm usually either on the edges near Chapel Hill (15-501/I-40; Southpoint; old Southsquare area) but sometimes I do go down to the ATC or NCMLS. I would gladly take the train to downtown Durham (ATC area) and maybe the Southsquare station. I occasionally find myself around Duke so I might do that one, too. I do think there is a lot of traffic between Chapel Hill and Duke, though, so my traffic patterns are not indicative of the greater traffic patterns between CH and Durham, although it would be great to include Southpoint in there if they could.
There are some on the major streets that do, but even on those streets, the vast majority of stops are just signs. Along Franklin St-Main St, there are only a couple that are not just signs.
The bus service is not even fully realized for heaven's sake.
I took a bus last Friday. Bus stop consisted of a sign. No shelter or even a place to stand. When this area has a properly running,equipped,built utilized bus service then talk about light rail.
The busiest bus route in Raleigh (WakeMed Route 15) carries about 700,000 annual passenger trips. If Raleigh were truly serious about building a successful light rail line, New Bern Ave would be a good place to start.
We'll, unfortunately, in Wake County they only want to consider running tracks on corridors where there are existing freight lines. So New Bern ave won't get any rail. Or not many other places where many people live really. I know that in the future development will cluster around the rail lines, but personally, I am in favor of spending more to get a better system.
Last edited by Sherifftruman; 11-26-2013 at 04:36 AM..
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