Want to have a say in Wake County’s future bus and rail service? Here’s how.

The public is being asked to help shape decisions about bus and commuter rail service in Wake County at a series of 10 meetings starting Wednesday night in Raleigh.

Some aspects of the 10-year Wake Transit Plan are already underway, including more frequent bus service on some routes. But other parts of the plan, which is being funded with a half-cent sales tax approved by voters last fall, are still not settled, including whether it makes more sense to increase the frequency of bus service on existing routes or establish new routes in the county.

Aside from improvements in bus service, the transit plan has two other centerpieces. The first is to build about 20 miles of bus rapid transit lanes on portions of New Bern Avenue, Capital Boulevard, South Wilmington Street and Western Boulevard. The dedicated lanes allow buses to move past sluggish traffic and give riders covered platforms from which to get on and off the bus.

The second is to begin commuter rail service on existing railroad tracks on a 37-mile route from Garner to downtown Raleigh, N.C. State University, Cary, Morrisville, Research Triangle Park and on to Durham.

The Wake Transit Plan was developed by representatives of Wake County, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, GoTriangle, the city of Raleigh, the town of Cary, N.C. State University and the Research Triangle Foundation. For information on the plan, go to www.waketransit.com/. To fill out a survey on transit in the county, go to www.publicinput.com/waketransit.

The meetings will take place throughout the county, starting at Chavis Heights Community Center in Raleigh. They all run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., except the last one at Cary Arts Center, which will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. People are invited to drop in at any point during the two-hour window.

The schedule is:

▪ Wednesday, Oct. 25: John Chavis Community Center, 505 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Raleigh

▪ Thursday, Oct. 26: Carolina Pines Community Center, 2305 Lake Wheeler Road, Raleigh

▪ Monday, Oct. 30: Tarboro Road Community Center, 121 N. Tarboro St., Raleigh

▪ Wednesday, Nov. 1: Wake County Northern Regional Center, 350 E. Holding Ave., Wake Forest

▪ Thursday, Nov. 2: Laurel Hills Community Center, 3808 Edwards Mill Road, Raleigh

▪ Monday, Nov. 6: Wake County Eastern Regional Center, 1002 Dogwood Drive, Zebulon

▪ Wednesday, Nov. 8: Wake County Southern Regional Center, 130 N. Judd Parkway NE, Fuquay-Varina

▪ Thursday, Nov. 9: Green Road Community Center, 4201 Green Road, Raleigh

▪ Tuesday, Nov. 14: Cary Senior Center, 120 Maury O’Dell Place, Cary

▪ Thursday, Nov. 16, from 1 to 3 p.m.: Cary Arts Center, 101 Dry Ave., Cary

This story was originally published October 24, 2017 at 10:35 AM with the headline "Want to have a say in Wake County’s future bus and rail service? Here’s how.."