Comments

• By J wilson on 07/05 10:40 AM

  I already pay taxes for roads and shcools that i dont use.I chose not to own an automobile...But my way of life suffers because of our substandard public transit system..Make this a priouity and our city will benefit.If people can access the buses,in order to go to work,their lives will improve...

• By Bill on 06/24 01:15 PM

  Dave would have us continue as we are... more cars and trucks sharing the space with air pollution growing worse, congested highways, etc. Why not connect the airport to downtown via a light rail? The black hole is our current system. Remember the resurfacing of 40 that was supposed to last thirty years? It began to crumble after only one year and required millions to fix. Who has a black hole? Where are your tax dollars going?

• By Dave in Raleigh on 06/23 06:45 AM

  Here's how it works. Taxpayer's provide money (that's us). Developers decide where the train goes. It'll skip the airport. There won't be enough parking for it. It creates more congestion, and noise. It's a black hole for tax dollars, forever. Politicians will direct some branches to poor neighborhoods so that people who can't affors it have access. Just like DC metro...the Raleigh bus system is dumb, why not something just like it? So what's not to like?

• By Dave Burton on 06/23 12:31 AM

  VeggieMaMa, even the TTA doesn't claim that the proposed Triangle Choo-Choo would reduce traffic congestion on Triangle roads. That's because it wouldn't. Instead, they like to talk vaguely about "transportation choices" and similar nebulous benefits. In fact, the Triangle Choo-Choo would make overall traffic congestion worse. The reduction in road traffic would be negligible, but even after construction is done the congestion CAUSED by the trains would continue. (DURING construction, the congestion would be even worse.) Some streets cut by the tracks would get gated crossings; those would be subject to traffic tie-ups and unpredictable delays, every time the (mostly empty) trains passed. Other streets would simply be closed, causing increased drive times and more congestion on alternate routes. A very few streets would get overpasses, but those are too expensive to use on most roads. There are limits on how much money government can spend. Every dollar that is wasted on a boondoggle like the Triangle ChooChoo will make traffic congestion and environmental destruction worse, disrupt neighborhoods with blaring train whistles all through the night, and prevent fire engines from getting to burning homes and ambulances from getting to heart attack victims. Alternately, you could spend the money to prevent teachers from being laid off and stop dangerous prisoners from being prematurely released from closed prisons. Do you need to think about that choice? Dave Burton Cary, NC http://www.burtonsys.com/email/

• By Dave Burton on 06/23 12:10 AM

  A few years ago I looked at the TTA's (optimistic) ridership and cost estimates for the proposed Triangle ChooChoo, and concluded that it would be cheaper to just buy all the prospective train commuters brand new cars. That would also avoid all the environmental destruction and temporary congestion caused by the project's construction, as well as the train noise, and the (permanent) congestion caused by train crossings and road closings, and the endless drain on the taxpayers caused by the endless deficits which the train would run. To see TTA Triangle ChooChoo proponents squirm and evade, ask them this simple question: "Would the trains blow their whistles at road crossings, or not?" They'll probably mumble about double-gated crossings and the like, hinting that the whistles would be unnecessary, without actually promising anything. The problem is that silent train crossings have a nasty tendency to kill people, even with double gates. Even if cars don't go around the gates (or get trapped between them!), pedestrians and bicyclists sometimes do. If they aren't paying attention, or if they are listening to music blaring from their iPods, that can be fatal. For example: http://www.thenoiseboard.com/index.php?showtopic=50408 (The title of the article is, "Banned train whistle might have saved boy from horrific death.") The first time a child dies on one of those silent RR crossings, the whistles will resume. Dave Burton Cary, NC http://www.burtonsys.com/email/

• By John E on 06/22 10:36 PM

  Light rail is a good idea but this state has a reputation of taxing for one but spending on another. Also, the rail would have to go someplace, unlike the bus system that barely extends into neighborhoods.

• By VeggieMaMa on 06/22 09:05 PM

  Of course. Why wouldn't I want to help produce more jobs, less traffic, affordable transportation and cleaner air? A life better for future generations. Isn't that what it is supposed to be about?

• By Paul Terrell III on 06/22 08:34 PM

  We are in a recession and we have Governor Perdue asking for $1.5 Billion now. Not to mention the light rail does not even run to the airport or the pooer communities that would need it the most. Plus all mass transit is government subsidized every year as it is. It is a noble thought but where is the money coming from?

• By Denise C. on 06/22 08:10 PM

  I would love to see passenger train service from north Raleigh to Garner. This would make the commute to Wake Tech Community College easier and safer for a lot of young drivers.

• By Nancy on 06/22 06:14 PM

  I would pay half cent tax increase to get a light rail. Charlotte & other states have a light rail, NC in general needs to get up to speed with the other states. It would help with the air pollution during the summer months/high humidity. With all the people moving to NC we will eventully have a lot of smog.

• By Beverly on 06/22 04:53 PM

  Please don't raise my taxes!!! If everyone were going to use the system then fine make everyone pay but the vast majority of people that will use the system don't pay any taxes so treat it like any other form of public transportation charge for the ride.

• By jandrews on 06/22 03:01 PM

  Light rail = development projects surrounding stations and more 'infill type'projects. Light rail is one of the biggest potential single stimulus projects in the history of our city and region. This project WILL generate multiple ancillary projects, jobs, and tax base.

• By Bill on 06/22 01:00 PM

  North Carolinians must learn that sooner or later, mass transit will only help Wake County. Otherwise, we'll end up like LA, mired in traffic with overcrowded highways and no place to park from too many cars.

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