Check out Mitch Kokai’s Locker Room blog about the City of Raleigh’s decision to pay a consultant $250,000 to look at traffic issues. Mitch’s blog includes comments from JLF’s Michael Sanera, who questions the need. After all, Raleigh has a Planning department. Sanera is part of a WRAL story on the issue.

By the way, the Raleigh council just voted to expand the city’s Planning Commission.

From the News & Observer (emphasis is mine):

The Raleigh City Council voted today to expand Raleigh’s Planning Commission by one member, a move designed to end a stalemate over who should be appointed to the commission next.
For months, the eight-person council has been divided over two candidates nominated for one open seat on the 11-member commission, which advises the City Council on growth and development issues.

In October, the council announced a proposal to end the dispute by increasing the size of Raleigh’s Planning Commission by two members.

The council’s decision today to scale back its proposal to one additional member stemmed largely from concerns raised by the planning commission itself.

The planning commission unanimously recommended against expanding its numbers, arguing that Raleigh already has a much larger commission than other cities its size.

Mayor Charles Meeker proposed the compromise, saying that the council needed to find a solution that would break the stalemate.