MLouis's blog

I was booking tickets today for a flight in March, and was once again reminded how difficult it is to use public transit to get to the airport. A few questions come to mind:

 Why does the "airport shuttle" not run when the airport is operating? I assume the first flights leave at 6 a.m., and the last appear to arrive at 11 p.m. And yet, the first TTA bus arrives to the airport at 6:39 a.m. (missing all the early departures out of RDU) and the last bus leaves at 10:09 p.m. (missing several of the late arrivals). And, of course, there's no Sunday service, adding to the difficulty of using the airport shuttle for any practical purposes. Who is the shuttle supposed to serve? Airport employees who work mid-day shifts? Airport tourists? 

 As a result of poor transit service, the real cost of flying jumps considerably, as one either pays $6/day (or more) to park, takes an expensive taxi in one or both directions, or opts for some even more expensive/difficult option. I know that the transit tax is supposed to improve bus service to the airport, but in the meantime I'm surprised that such poor service has been tolerated for so many years. 

 An article in the Chapel Hill News on Sunday gave me pause on the candidates for the Chapel Hill town council. When asked to speak on town spending, all resorted immediately to either vague plans for reductions or, astonishingly, proposals to charge for transit, which is by far the most effective service Chapel Hill offers.

Instead of deciding which items to cut, the candidates for the council should commit to a pro-growth agenda. Rezone the entire downtown core as TC-3-C, and consider removing the height cap for downtown. Allow people to build along the planned light rail corridor to Durham. Expedite the review process so every proposal doesn't get dragged down in years of bickering.