{"id":20651,"date":"2013-11-18T11:39:12","date_gmt":"2013-11-18T16:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/raleighpublicrecord.org\/?p=20651"},"modified":"2013-11-18T19:36:56","modified_gmt":"2013-11-19T00:36:56","slug":"raleigh-responds-to-transit-panel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/news\/transit\/2013\/11\/18\/raleigh-responds-to-transit-panel\/","title":{"rendered":"Raleigh Responds to Transit Panel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A transit panel hired by Wake County doesn\u2019t seem to see the big picture, Raleigh officials said recently.<\/p>\n<p>A three-person panel hired by Wake County Commissioners spoke last week about the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wakegov.com\/planning\/transport\/pages\/transitplan.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Wake County Transit Plan<\/a>. While they said the plan has some merit, all said that the area was too small for rail and suggested enhancing bus service.<\/p>\n<p>Raleigh staff and officials this week said the need for a plan is necessary \u2014 despite current metrics.<\/p>\n<p>The panelists were commissioned after Wake Commissioner Paul Coble called for an independent review of the plan, to which he has long objected.<\/p>\n<p>While panelists Steve Polzin, Sam Staley and Cal Marsella said they worked independently, all three came to the same general conclusions, which were presented at a public meeting Tuesday.<\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><!--\nP { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link {  }\n--><\/style>\n<aside class=\"module align-right half type-aside\"><b>The Panel<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>County Manager David Cooke said the panelists were recommended to him by various, unspecified people. Two more experts were asked to be a part of the discussion, but were unable to attend. Panelists had about a month to review that plan, but Cooke said they were not supplied any specific information unless they asked for it. All of the information they needed, Cooke said, could be accessed online.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/ce.eng.usf.edu\/facultyandstaff\/stevePolzin.htm\">Steve Polzin<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Has a PhD in Civil Engineering, Transportation from Northwestern University<\/p>\n<p>Is currently the transit research program director for the Center of Urban Transportation Research (CUTR). <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tampabay.com\/news\/one-of-rails-biggest-critics-gets-millions-to-study-and-promote\/1054927\">In a 2009 analysis<\/a>, the St. Petersburg Times found that CUTR often criticized rail in favor for other modes of transportation, like Bus Rapid Transit and highway expansion.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sam Staley, Ph.D.<\/p>\n<p>Senior research fellow at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.independent.org\/aboutus\/person_detail.asp?id=1371\">Reason Foundation<\/a> and formerly the director of urban growth and land-use policy.<\/p>\n<p>Research fellow at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.independent.org\/aboutus\/person_detail.asp?id=1371\">Independent Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Managing director of the DeVoe L. Moore Center at Florida State University in Tallahassee.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Cal Marsella<\/p>\n<p>Formerly the general manager of Denver\u2019s Regional Transportation District and public face of the FasTracks program. Left in 2009 for the private sector when the program was in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/denver\/stories\/2009\/04\/27\/daily33.html?page=all\">a $2.2 million budget hole<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Polzin, Staley and Marsella said Wake County doesn\u2019t have the congestion or current bus ridership to warrant an investment in rail. But, they said there is plenty of room for improvement in the current bus system that could be enhanced.<\/p>\n<p>As ridership increases, new bus projects should be built with future rail in mind, they said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Too Small for Rail<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cYou don&#8217;t have a transportation crisis,\u201d said Polzin. \u201cYou have a transit opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Polzin said that the current system is working well and that the region has some of the lowest congestion rates and commute times in the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can assure you that the vast majority of metro areas would die to have your roadway capacity metrics and congestion metrics and performance metrics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Staley discussed layering transit systems and alternatives as the area grows. While he acknowledged the rapid growth in the Triangle, Staley said that the region hasn\u2019t reached the density that makes it a large urban area.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of people are thinking large. You\u2019re not there yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the grand scheme of things, the Raleigh-Durham metro area is still a medium-sized urban area,\u201d Staley said. \u201cYou\u2019re still very much in the beginning stages of growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Outgoing Wake County Manager David Cooke said that the panelists were right to compare the region to other areas, but those numbers are all relative.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re sitting in traffic, then it\u2019s relevant,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople aren&#8217;t going to necessarily compare it to Atlanta.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cooke said that crafters of the current plan looked at the area\u2019s demographics, where it\u2019s been, where it\u2019s going and what people here think is important. He said the panel isn\u2019t wrong in its assessment, but it offers another perspective.<\/p>\n<p>Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane reiterated that transit needs to be part of the plan if the area continues to grow as it is expected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know what this area is going to be population-wise and business-wise in 2030,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re planning for.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5896\"  class=\"wp-caption module image center\" style=\"max-width: 538px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5896\" alt=\"Rush hour commuter rail lines are part of the transit plan, in addition to expanded bus service.\" src=\"http:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/transitVisionMap.jpg\" width=\"538\" height=\"412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/transitVisionMap.jpg 538w, https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/transitVisionMap-336x257.jpg 336w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 538px) 100vw, 538px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\"> <\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Commuter rail lines are part of the transit plan, but are not scheduled to be implemented for a few years.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Transit has always been part of the city\u2019s 2030 Comprehensive Plan, which guides the future growth of the city. Some downtown companies such as Citrix and Red Hat are banking on enhanced transit coming to the area.<\/p>\n<p>McFarlane said that transit offers more choices to future residents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you don\u2019t plan for the future then your choices are limited,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re boxed in by other people\u2019s choices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Their plan is to get in front of the growth.<\/p>\n<p>Raleigh\u2019s Transportation Planning Manager Eric Lamb said that there was a lot of pragmatism in Tuesday\u2019s discussion, but thinks the discussion lacked vision.<\/p>\n<p>He said that the city recognizes the area is going to be a high-growth community, so planning for those services now and taking those first steps requires vision.<\/p>\n<p>Lamb agreed with the panel\u2019s suggestion to take incremental steps, such as protecting the right-of-way needed to eventually lay down rail.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat requires you have a plan that you know exactly where these things are going to go,\u201d said Lamb. \u201cYou have to develop the system plan for what you want to accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>On Board with Buses<\/strong><br \/>\nWhile there was some disagreement as to whether the Triangle had the need for rail, there was general consensus on a need to enhance the bus system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought they had a good point,\u201d Cooke said. \u201cYou have to build your ridership over time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Both Capital Area Transit and Triangle Transit have seen an <a href=\"http:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/news\/transit\/2013\/03\/14\/2012-bus-ridership-increases\/\" target=\"_blank\">increase in ridership<\/a>, but panelists said more growth is needed before rail should be considered.<\/p>\n<p>McFarlane said that the one thing everyone agrees with is the need to expand and enhance the current bus system \u2014 something the transit plan already addresses.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20014\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 336px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-20014\" alt=\"bus station 7\" src=\"http:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/bus7-336x224.jpg\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/bus7-336x224.jpg 336w, https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/bus7-771x516.jpg 771w, https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/bus7.jpg 1050w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 336px) 100vw, 336px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Karen Tam \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"> <\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cYou have to have to have a strong bus system to support future expansion of transit,\u201d said McFarlane. \u201cThat\u2019s something that we\u2019ve heard everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Funding, however, remains an issue.<\/p>\n<p>If approved by voters, the bulk of the <a href=\"http:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/news\/transit\/2013\/03\/28\/transit-advocates-wont-push-for-wake-tax-in-2013\/\" target=\"_blank\">half-cent sales tax increase<\/a> associated with the current plan would primarily be used to fund expanded bus service throughout the county. The remainder would fund a commuter rail system.<\/p>\n<p>Wake County Commissioners have yet to put the sales tax referendum on the ballot. Durham and Orange counties have both approved the increase, which will <a href=\"http:\/\/ourtransitfuture.com\/projects\/\" target=\"_blank\">fund their own bus systems<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact of the matter is, we\u2019re still going to need the revenues to effectively implement the bus service,\u201d Lamb said. \u201cWe are still going to need to have this conversation about additional revenue sources to fund better transit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Continued Discussion Unclear <\/strong><br \/>\nThe panel suggested county officials go back and look at the numbers to make sure they don&#8217;t have unrealistic expectations of cost and future ridership.<\/p>\n<p>Those involved in the plan want to keep the conversation about transit on the table.<\/p>\n<p>Despite calls from the public and other municipalities to hold a public hearing, this was the first public discussion on transit county officials have had since the plan was released two years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Commissioners have made no public announcement as to when they plan to continue the discussion or make any decisions.<\/p>\n<p>Raleigh Transit Administrator Dave Eatman said that many of Capital Area Transit\u2019s existing plans already meet many of the objectives that were discussed by the panel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we\u2019re ready to go no matter what happens in the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"DV-viewer-836263-wake-co-transportation-nov-12-ppt\" class=\"DV-container\"><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/s3.documentcloud.org\/viewer\/loader.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<script>\n  DV.load(\"\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/836263-wake-co-transportation-nov-12-ppt.js\", {\n  width: 600,\n    height: 400,\n    sidebar: false,\n    text: false,\n    pdf: false,\n    container: \"#DV-viewer-836263-wake-co-transportation-nov-12-ppt\"\n  });\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An independent panel of transit experts last week criticized a transit plan created for Raleigh and Wake County, saying officials here need to focus on buses instead of rail. Raleigh officials say the plan already focuses on buses and that rail needs to be part of the vision for the future. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24029,"featured_media":20012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,14],"tags":[1865],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20651"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24029"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}