Archive for the ‘Transportation’ Category
Monday, April 12th, 2010
I got a chance to catch up with Eric Lamb, Manager, Transportation Services Division, City of Raleigh Public Works Department or as I like to call him, guru of all things transit-related. If he doesn’t know the answer to something, he’ll be sure to find out. Eric is probably one of the most outgoing and knowledgeable city staffers I’ve had the pleasure of working with. When I asked him to do a five questions interview for the blog, he was on it. I was curious about a few things from all the chatter about rail in Raleigh to Neighborhood Traffic Management (does this mean speed bumps on your neighborhood streets?). Let’s see what Eric has to say:
Image provided by Eric Lamb
1) There is a lot of talk about rail. Is the City of Raleigh ready for rail? What are the current financing options being discussed?
First, some full disclosure: I love trains. When I travel to other cities, I spend part of my free time exploring their transit systems (and my generous family puts up with me). I recently had the pleasure of exploring the London Underground system, which was both spectacular and overwhelming. (more…)
Tags: avent ferry, bike plan, BPAC, cars, cip, crabtree valley, CTP, curbside, downtown, Eric Lamb, hillsborough_street, LED, ncdot, pedestrians, people, rail, raleigh, road_diet, sehsr, sidewalks, speeding, speed_bumps, traffic_calming, trains, transportation_plan, udo
Posted in DDNA, Raleigh Planning, Transportation | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
UPDATE March 9, 2010
Please see the following update provided by Ed Johnson, CAMPO, in response to No Funding for Tryon Road Bridge, which has some important information not captured in the original post. We want to make sure that you have all the facts and this is vital to making sure we have posted accurate information. Thank you Ed for making sure we have the most complete information that we can about this project.
Your very good report has one factual error. It was NCDOT’s decision not to include subregional tier projects in this first round of prioritizations, not CAMPO’s. This was purportedly due to concerns about data adequacy, but lack of time and resouces probably figured in as well.
(more…)
Tags: CAMPO, equity, lake_wheeler_road, ncdot, NEPA, raleigh, renaissance_park, SEPA, tryon_road, U-4432, wake county
Posted in DDNA, Renaissance Park, SWCAC, Transportation | Comments Off
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
UPDATE: See important follow-up information from CAMPO posted on March 9, 2010.
The Tryon Road project, also known as U-4432, is not funded for construction in the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) current 5-year work program [138 page PDF]. This could spell trouble for the commercial and mixed use part of the Renaissance Park development as well as the widening (Part C) and realignment of Tryon Road from Lake Wheeler Road to South Wilmington Street. Finishing the Tryon Road expansion project from Cary, NC to Garner, NC would complete a major artery between Raleigh, Cary, and Garner and reduce the amount of congestion along this corridor.
Tryon Road project, courtesy, Anthony McLeod
It’s not like we’ll need the estimated $300,000,000.00 to replace the Oregon Inlet bridge (I’m a Dare County boy so I can say that), but we need more than zero. And I think we need it faster than five years from now. Maybe we could borrow a few pylons?
(more…)
Tags: CAMPO, deborah_ross, delta_sigma_phi, equity, lake_wheeler_road, ncdot, NEPA, raleigh, renaissance_park, RGA, SEPA, tryon_road, U-4432, wake county
Posted in DDNA, Renaissance Park, SWCAC, Transportation | 9 Comments »
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Last week, Renaissance Park resident, Anthony McLeod and I headed down to the North Carolina Legislature to meet with our House Representative, Deborah Ross. I’ve known Representative Ross for many years and had her guidance when I was working to get Lineberry Drive paved. She is a positive voice for her constituents and helpful legislature when you need advice.
Anthony and I meet with Representative Ross on the morning of February 15, 2010 regarding the Tryon Road realignment project (sign the petition at http://renparkonline.com/tryonroad/). (more…)
Tags: CAMPO, deborah_ross, ncdot, nc_general_assembly, renaissance_park, tryon_road
Posted in Renaissance Park, SWCAC, Transportation | Comments Off
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
I came across this article that I found interesting:
DOT changes process for prioritizing projects (abc11.com)
Under the old system, the Board of Transportation decided what was completed first, leading to allegation of back room deal making and cronyism.
The new process is data driven. All 2,000 projects the state wants to complete in the next ten years are rated based on hard data, such as accident reports and road congestion. The data also will include local input.
Will this change the old in/equity formula? Will urban areas get more attention now and rural area’s get shafted? (more…)
Tags: abc11, congestion, Jim Trogdon, ncdot, projects, roads
Posted in Transportation | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
If you travel on Tryon Road between Raleigh’s Lake Wheeler Road and US 70-401 then you know what the Garner death curve is. At least, that’s what I call it. As you approach the two-lane, Norfolk-Southern Railroad bridge from either direction, your hands tend to migrate towards the 10 and 2 position on your steering wheel. You might even tense up a bit. This is the Garner death curve.
Tryon Road / Norfolk Southern Rail, Raleigh, NC (Google Maps)
Why is this section of Tryon Road being neglected? The parts from Cary, NC to Lake Wheeler Road are mostly complete and practically done. Four glorious lanes of asphalt with a median. We might even get to participate in choosing some of the landscape for that median. Update 2/10/10 see comments for corrections from Eric Lamb, City of Raleigh.
Last December, a group of citizens started brainstorming on how South West Raleigh could get some attention to this forgotten part of Tryon Road. A group of neighbors from Renaissance Park are leading the effort to widen Tryon Road and complete the realignment project. You should sign their online petition if you haven’t already: (more…)
Tags: lake_wheeler_road, ncdot, norfolk_southern_railroad, petition, raleigh, renaissance_park, road_project, transportation_plan, tryon_road
Posted in Renaissance Park, SWCAC, Transportation | 8 Comments »
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
If you live in Raleigh, there are two numbers you should program in your mobile phone. The pothole repair line and the signal malfunction number: (more…)
Tags: potholes, raleigh, street maintenance, street repairs, traffic signals, WRAL
Posted in Lineberry Alliance, Trailwood Springs, Transportation | Comments Off
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
Many residents in the South West Citizens Advisory Council (SWCAC) are eager to see Tryon Road widened to four lanes from Cary to Garner. Some sections have been completed and others are still waiting for design and funding. The section of Tryon Road between Lake Wheeler Road and South Saunders Street is waiting on funding to build a new bridge over the railroad corridor East of RGA Golf Course. Some SWCAC citizens were curious about some of the roadway that is already complete, but lacks the landscaping elements shown in the design.
Senior Project Engineer , James Lynn Raynor, PE , with the City of Raleigh Public Works Department answered questions over email. The section of concern is the area of Tryon Road between Gorman Street and Lake Wheeler Road, which has been completed for quite some time now. Currently, the section is mostly four lanes with a median and four lanes with a center turn lane in some areas. The median is supposed to have landscaping. For the purposes of this article, landscaping will mean more than just mulch. Currently, the medians are only mulched. We would like to think that trees, shrubs, and other landscaping elements will add some beauty to the baron, mulched median.
Tryon Road Median, courtesy Google Maps & Streetview
(more…)
Tags: district D, lake_wheeler_road, landscape, ncdot, road_project, tryon_road
Posted in SWCAC, Transportation | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
A crowd of around 25 citizens joined at Carolina Pines Community Center to participate in the October 12, 2009 meeting of the South West Citizens Advisory Council (SWCAC). The special guest for this evening was The Honorable Senator Josh Stein, who provided an update from the most recent legislative session and took questions from the audience.
The meeting started off with an update from Officer Upchurch. Over the last month there were 724 calls between September 15, 2009 – October 12, 2009. The calls only cover the SWCAC area. There was a lot of concern about a drug search at 2420 Voyager Circle where we didn’t get a lot of details. Officer Upchurch said that this was a fairly normal search warrant by the Selective Enforcement Unit (SEU), we just usually don’t see SWAT-like officers in our area very often. Some residents were concerned for their safety and believe that things are being kept quiet because NC State students are involved. Other calls of interest included: (more…)
Tags: 2030, carolina_pines, josh_stein, planning, RPD
Posted in Community Services Department, Lineberry Alliance, NC State, Parks & Rec, SWCAC, Transportation | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
At last evenings candidates forum, September 14, 2009, hosted by University Park Homeowners Associations (UPHA), over 50 citizens attended to learn more about Raleigh City Council At-Large, District D, and Mayoral candidates for the upcoming election on October 6, 2009. Each candidate gave a brief introduction to themselves and why they are running for City Council. Moderator Mike Reider then presented each candidate with questions from the audience. Don’t forget to see the additional resources at the end (or share your own tools to help others in the comments).
Candidates in attendance
At-Large
District D
Mayor
Questions and answers
Disclaimer, the following is my best effort attempt to capture the questions and answers from the candidates. I invite anyone in attendance or the candidates themselves to post any updates or corrections by contacting me or in the comments. The questions are paraphrased to get right to the topic.
Q: Transportation: What are the first steps needed to bring light rail and bus services to Raleigh (to catch up to with Charlotte)?
A: Meeker
- Approve the first phase plan for additional bus services (75 new buses)
- Get the ½ cent sales tax passed (a county decision) which will probably occur this time next year
Q: Financing: How does Raleigh raise funding for the Little River reservoir project?
A: Enloe
Bring economic develop to downtown and all of Raleigh; it’s a shame that we have minor league baseball in Durham and Zebulon [and not Raleigh]. What about pursuing an NBA franchise for downtown Raleigh? Sports are businesses. General increase in revenues in downtown Raleigh can help raise the needed funds.
Q: Financing: How do we improve roads, pay down debt, save money, and lower taxes at the same time?
A: Hudson
Focus on looking through goals to cut areas in public works, i.e. look for things like no idol policies to cut fuel costs. Look for cheaper vehicles (extend the use of vehicles where we can). Not just use bonds to fund parks, look for state/federal money to use a mixture of funds.
Q: Entrepreneurship: How will your entrepreneurial experience serve Raleigh?
A: Kunz
Had a privileged upbringing. Had a dream, to start his own business. There is risk involved. The entrepreneur spirit is not dead, but it’s not being cultivated. One objective is to look more in-depth at the budget.
(more…)
Tags: district D, growth, raleigh, upha, vote
Posted in Other Organizations, Raleigh City Council, Transportation | 3 Comments »
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