PUBLIC INPUT SOUGHT FOR SHORT-TERM TRANSIT IMPROVEMENTS

Triangle Transit is seeking public input on the agency’s service priorities for the next five years. It is particularly interested in feedback on the proposed schedule of new services.

“We have received hundreds of comments from the public and from local leadership,” said John Tallmadge, director of commuter resources. “We’re hearing demand for a transformed and expanded regional transit system that is faster, more reliable, and connected to more points in the region. This draft plan is a good start toward delivering that bus system, we now want to get reaction to our recommendations.”

The Short-Range Transit Plan will guide Triangle Transit in its investments. Among the recommendations:

• To broaden funding sources and deepen the investment from communities served by regional public transportation, staff recommends a policy requiring partnerships with local governments or employment institutions in the provision of regional public transportation bus services.

• Steps are proposed to improve service quality (speed, on-time performance, waiting comfort, and information) on each route (including connections to RTP employers and the RDU Airport) and the entire system.

• Specific projects are proposed which would seamlessly coordinate local and regional services in the following corridors:

* Between central Cary, NC State University and downtown Raleigh

* Hillsborough Street between downtown Raleigh and Carter-Finley Stadium

* US 15-501 between UNC – Chapel Hill, Duke University and Downtown Durham

* NC 54 between downtown Cary, Morrisville, and the RTP area

• New services are recommended for implementation in the following markets:

* Wake Forest – Downtown Raleigh (beginning July 2008)

* Zebulon / Wendell / Knightdale – Wake Medical Center – Downtown Raleigh

* Fuquay-Varina – Wake Tech – Downtown Raleigh

* Clayton / Garner – Downtown Raleigh

* Pittsboro – UNC

* North Raleigh – RTP

* Burlington / Mebane / Hillsborough – Duke – Downtown Durham

* Person County Line – Durham Regional Hospital – Duke – Downtown Durham

* Holly Springs / Apex / Cary – NCSU – Downtown Raleigh

* Downtown Raleigh – RDU Airport (direct service)

The complete draft plan is available on our website at: http://www.triangletransit.org/srtp. Written comments can be sent to John Tallmadge, director of commuter resources, Triangle Transit’s planning staff at the email address: serviceplanning@triangletransit.org, or by mail at P.O. Box 13787, RTP, NC 27709.

The Triangle Transit Board of Trustees will hold a public hearing on the draft plan at their meeting on June 25th, and plans to consider the final plan for adoption at their July 23rd meeting.

Related Links

1. http://www.triangletransit.org/srtp