Triangle rail proponents are determined to push through a Triangle transit tax to help build rail — a transportation tool that requires the high-density population seen in cities like New York and Chicago — in an area that doesn’t have it and has already voted with its feet and buying decisions for an urban-suburban lifestyle. Cost for this ill-fated rail plan? According to the News & Observer, more than $50 million a mile. (emphasis is mine):
Wake officials see their first light rail running south from Triangle Town Center andI-540 through downtown Raleigh and west to, at least, the State Fairgrounds.
Where it goes from there – and when – is up in the air. There’s no agreement on when the trains would reach Cary, RTP, the airport and Durham – or what kind of trains they would be.
Durham Mayor Bill Bell wants to complete the Durham-Raleigh link with light rail, which costs more than $50 million a mile. But transportation planners say the sprawling RTP and nearby suburbs would not have enough riders to justify frequent light-rail stops.
The key to addressing the Triangle’s very real transportation challenge is to build and maintain roads and create a robust and flexible bus system that can adapt to changing ridership patterns and growth.
This Carolina Journal TV story from late January delves into the push for Triangle rail and looks at the Charlotte system, which rail supporters hold up as a model.
