Triangle rail bid to take new path

Partners sought to replace feds

The Triangle Transit Authority on Friday dropped its bid for federal approval to build a 28-mile, $810 million commuter train line through Durham, Research Triangle Park and Raleigh, sidetracking an 11-year push to build a mass transit system for the region.

TTA said it would not press its quest for federal money to pay 60 percent of the tab because it could not allay concerns in Washington that project costs were too high and train riders would be too few to meet federal standards.

Its leaders said they hoped to find a new way to move forward with the rail project, or to find other solutions for the region's growing traffic problems. They plan to consult local business, civic and political groups about what to do and how to pay for it.

"It's time for the community to get together on a transit vision for the region," said Carter Worthy of Raleigh, chairman of the TTA trustees.

Local leaders called for a fresh study of the area's mobility needs -- with solutions that could include trains or something else.

This is not a job for TTA, Raleigh Mayor Charles A. Meeker said. Triangle mayors and the region's transportation planning agencies can do it, he said.

"This should be something that is independent of TTA -- not just redoing their work, but taking an independent look at it," Meeker said.

TTA leaders were not ready Friday to give up on their basic plan for a rail transit line with 12 stops in Durham, RTP, Cary and Raleigh -- or on the possibility of a future quest for federal help.

"Given the investment we've made in rail to date, I think that should ... still be the priority," said Durham Mayor Bill Bell, a TTA trustee. "The main question is probably how to replace the federal funds."

For now, TTA's only fallback option hinges on a new test program to bring private investment into rail transit projects that do not win full federal funding. The Federal Transit Administration says it will spell out guidelines for the public-private initiative in October. TTA leaders hope the Triangle project will qualify.

TTA is negotiating a planned joint venture with Cherokee Investment Partners, a private Raleigh developer, to create dense residential and commercial growth around all 12 rail stops. It's the kind of entrepreneurial approach Congress had in mind when it called for the test program last year, Worthy said.

"That's exactly what they were looking for, innovative ways to leverage the public investment with some private investment," Worthy said. "I think our partnership with Cherokee makes us a really good candidate."

Not if, but when

Tom Darden, Cherokee's chief executive, said moving forward on development around the rail stations might improve the rail system's prospects. The growth would increase the number of potential riders. And he said that would make it easier to convince lenders that the project is worth funding.

"The transit system will occur," Darden said. "It's just a question of when and how it's funded."

Some developers think there is enough growth in the region to support projects -- with or without a train -- at many of the rail sites. The population in Durham, Orange and Wake counties is projected to grow 70 percent to 1.9 million between 2005 and 2030.

"Whether it happens in five years or 10 years or 15, it doesn't matter because we're growing so fast ...," said developer Greg Hatem, who is planning a condominium project near a TTA site in downtown Raleigh. "Development's going to happen anyway. The TTA just enhances it."

Last year, citing an increase in the number of cities seeking rail transit funds, the FTA raised its fiscal standards so that only the most cost-effective projects would be approved. TTA saw its costs increase at the same time its projected benefits fell, and it was unable to meet the new standard.