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Wake, Orange, and Durham counties plan on using a special sales tax to raise money for light rail and increased bus service. Wake and Orange have decided to hold off on the referendum on the tax, but Durham's referendum will be on the ballot this November. The proposed tax is 1%, just like Mecklenburg (Charlotte) passed.
The last time we had a light rail plan (2005) it died for lack of sufficient local support.
This time around, everything is being made contingent on a 0.5% local sales tax. Durham is planning to put it up for a referendum this fall. Wake and Orange are planning on having the referendum next year.
They recently decided on a route for downtown Raleigh, one that leaves the railroad on Morgan Street and then turns north up Harrington. It's not the route that I would have picked (I would have chosen one that gets closer to Fayetteville Street, where the densest concentration of jobs and destinations is found.
There is a significant faction now (in 2005 also) that says "If it doesn't go to the airport it's worthless." I do not subscribe to this philosophy. I understand the logic - people are likely to take the train to places where parking is inconvenient and/or expensive, and RDU is one of just seven places in the Triangle that meets that criteria (the others being the downtowns and the universities in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill.) Don't get me wrong, RDU would be a nice connection to have, but the RDU terminal is just so far from the rail line that reaching it would be very expensive. A bus connection for now, and maybe an eventual extension of the light rail or a people mover is fine by me.
The last time we had a light rail plan (2005) it died for lack of sufficient local support.
Well, that, and because the U.S. Department of Transportation pulled its support and funding after concluding that the locally-produced projections of ridership were complete fantasy.
What is feasible.. getting a train into RDU's soon-to-be-built "conrac" (consolidated rental car facility). RDU supposedly is thinking about a people-mover between the conrac and the terminals eventually. Not ideal but better than nothing.
I think you may want to read this first. Look at what Charlotte is doing. Then look into corridors. Light rail is a good system. It cuts do on pollution and noise and all the other bad things cars and buses bring. But, is Raleigh ready for it. I say no.
It is an expensive fantasy. There is no where near the population density in this area to make it anything more than another drain on the tax payer.
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