Wake County faces a crucial choice on $2.4 billion transit plan

When it comes to mass transit, Wake County stands like a lonely commuter waiting for a train or bus that’s long overdue. But last Monday, there came a sign that the county’s ride is at last arriving.

The sign was a transit forum sponsored by the citizens group WakeUp Wake County and attended by more than 400 people at the Raleigh Convention Center. The speakers included 4th District U.S. Rep. David Price and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, the former Charlotte mayor. It was a serious crowd focused on a serious issue.

Across the nation, the lack of transportation investment is causing traffic headaches as the population grows, Foxx said, but the most acute chokepoints are places like the Triangle where growth has outrun the rush-hour capacity of roads and mass transit is lacking. “You are at the epicenter of a national crisis in mobility,” he said.

Orange and Durham counties have passed taxes to support a new rail system. Wake County, long held back on transit by a Republican-led board of county commissioners, is getting ready to roll on transit under a new Democratic board. It approved putting a half-cent sales tax hike on the ballot this November to fund a bus and rail transit plan.

If approved, the $2.4 billion plan would be supported by local and federal funds. Two-thirds of the dollars would go to buses operating for more hours over a wider area and a third would fund 37 miles of commuter rail linking Wake with Orange and Durham counties. The new bus service would begin 18 to 24 months after an approval by voters. Adding commuter rail would take four to six years.

Those transit additions combined with existing bike lanes and the region’s 300 miles of greenways will give commuters more options. They will also enhance the job opportunities for low-income workers by allowing them to get to more places without the need for a car.

Foxx said the Triangle’s move toward a regional approach to transit will enhance its chances of getting federal funding. “You’re having the right conversation,” he said. “The law is preventing me from saying more than that. Good luck.”

In a presentation that followed Foxx’s remarks, Wake County Commissioner Sig Hutchinson and Cary Town Council member Jennifer Robinson described the need for transit. Sixty-three people a day are moving into Wake County, Robinson said, putting the area on track to add hundreds of thousands of cars in the next 25 years.

“You can’t control growth,” she said. “All you can do is shape growth.” And for that, a Wake County vote to improve transit is crucial. Waiting is not an option.

In an interview Friday, Hutchinson said, “There is no Plan B. We have got to get this done this time. It’s kind of an all or nothing deal.”

This story was originally published June 25, 2016 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Wake County faces a crucial choice on $2.4 billion transit plan."