Alan Tharp: Transit plan must be effective

The mass transit plan for Wake County as described in the Oct. 24 news article “Voters to decide on sales tax for transit” seems to benefit some at the expense of many.

For example, the commuter rail will make only two stops in Raleigh – downtown and N.C. State. Both stops have limited parking so the primary ones to benefit will be those who live in those immediate areas. Others could walk 15 minutes to a bus stop, wait five minutes for a bus, ride 15 minutes to a rail stop, wait five minutes for a train and then travel 20 minutes to RTP, or a person could use an automobile and even with today’s traffic get there in 30 minutes.

How many will then choose mass transit in a time-challenged society?

The other omission from the plan seems to be how to get people out of their cars. The strategy seems to be “build it and they will come.” That strategy has not worked for Denver. For public investment, the transit plan should be effective.

This story was originally published October 29, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Alan Tharp: Transit plan must be effective."