Durham-Orange Corridor Rail Alternatives Workshop

Hey Gerry. I saw you there. I knew I recognized your name from somewhere, but I was a bit harried and needed to try to get my points across on the Meadowmont routing to the assembled staffers and Matt C before my early departure. (I left before Ed arrived.) Sorry I didn't introduce myself.I thought it was a really helpful session, and the staffers from Triangle Transit and consultants did a nice job presenting the voluminous information.

When the 1/2 cent sales tax is implemented we will see all sorts of expanded bus service between this area and major emplyoment centers in Durham.  There will be expanded (and new express) services in the 15-501 corridor.A major correction to your comment: The route will start out following 54 east out of Chapel Hill, but it will turn north when it reaches Durham County (near the Friday Center/Meadowmont) and head up to the 15-501 corridor.  There will be a stop in the 15-501 corridor in Chapel Hill and other stops near 15-501 in Durham.  What the proposal does not include is any stops on Franklin Street, but the traffic on 15-501 between Chapel Hill and Durham doesn't all come from Franklin Street - or even Chapel Hill.  Our whole region including Chatham and even soutehrn Alamance County accesses Duke and Downtown Durham via 15-501. Someone who needs to get from Pittsboro to Duke right now almost has to drive on 15-501 - there's no logical route that avoids it.  Likewise if you live in White Cross or Carrboro or actually jsut about anywhere in Chapel Hill.But after a light rail system is in place, we'll transform some of our local bus routes into feeder routes, so that commuters can take a feeder bus into the light rail station in Chapel Hill and take the train to Duke.  Alternately it will be possible to park-and-ride at several stops in the sytem (though presumably not from the UNC stop).  I doubt that such commuters will really be concerned whether their train passes Meadowmont instead of University Mall; they are only going to be concerned about how conveniently it gets them to and from Duke/NCCU/Downtown Durham etc. No matter hwo you slice it, the system will significantly alleviate traffic problems on 15-501.  The whole point is to get people between Durham and Chapel Hill without a car.  As long as the system goes to where people need to be, they won't really care which corridor they are following.  The question is only where the most useful stations would be.  Somewhere on the UNC campus is clearly one of the logical stops and that's what the present proposal is.  The other proposed stops are at places where current and planned development indicate that there are or will be riders.Tons and tons of thought has gone into the present proposal and it is designed to have maximum benefit for both counties, while maintaining a fiscally sound business model (ie making sure there is an adequate market for the service).  As well, the route is in part dictated by the natural terrain of Durham and Orange Counties.  Trains don't make sharp turns well and they don't do well on steep hills either.  I am not an expert on that aspect of the plan, but suffice it to say that engineers have been deeply involved in the design of the route and the plan reflects their best thinking on it.