Companies bringing jobs to the Triangle must also help reduce traffic

Traffic and growth

As the Triangle area struggles to absorb the growth from companies adding thousands of jobs, one party should play a larger role in the planning — the growing companies.

Many of these companies will be building on substantial pieces of property. As part of their planning for their facilities, they should include housing for a bunch of the new employees — a small village of apartments and condos, perhaps with small retail outlets included.

Set up properly, employees could go back and forth to work using golf carts. Two or more companies with adjoining properties can jointly plan a small village, entirely contained.

This would keep thousands of cars off the roads daily.

Richard Valliere, Durham

New Raleigh park

The plan to provide access to the proposed Devereux Meadow park only to walkers and cyclists spells disaster for residential communities that border the park and amounts to denial of access for the disabled.

Unless barriers are built the streets of adjoining neighborhoods, such as Historic Glenwood-Brooklyn, will be clogged with cars left by park visitors who have nowhere else to park. Without public parking it will be almost impossible for citizens with limited mobility to visit the park. Can’t there at least be a shuttle to some nearby parking lot or bus stop?

Tom Clemmer, Raleigh

NC GOP logic

The N.C. legislature is investing in HBCUs. (March 9) This is great because it supports minorities who’ve been historically ignored or worse. It supports economically disadvantaged people and communities. It also provides a way out of poverty by helping people get better paying jobs. It also supports local economies of rural towns.

North Carolina Republicans see this as a win, as it will lead to a population more able to get jobs and support themselves. Why not use that logic to support Medicaid expansion? It supports minorities who’ve been historically ignored and will improve the health of our neighbors. Money well spent.

Janice Woychik, Chapel Hill

UNC J-school dean

May Dean Raul Reis experience terrific success at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media. (March 12) I hope he sees the value of the “gold” standards of journalism that the school’s namesake, Walter Hussman, endorses: impartiality, integrity, objectivity and truth-seeking. When it comes to the vital need for diversity, I hope he’ll also consider the merits of intellectual and viewpoint diversity within the faculty.

David Sterrett Brook, Raleigh

UNC Greensboro

As Chancellor of UNC Greensboro, I was disappointed in the March 6 Opinion piece characterizing a “‘crisis of leadership” at UNCG, especially when we were not even contacted by the writer. We have experienced enrollment fluctuations that have negatively impacted our budget. As a result, tough decisions need to be made.

We know our path forward must be built in partnership with our faculty and staff, and it’s why we have engaged them in the process by which decisions were being made, as well as the steps we are taking to bolster enrollment and grow sources of private revenue.

UNCG produces the teachers, nurses, accountants, computer scientists, counselors, lab techs and others who are crucial contributors to the economy and society. We provide more first-generation and lower-income students with paths to prosperity than any other public university in the state.

To remain relevant and viable for future generations, we prioritize investments in research and teaching excellence — with a focus on areas of distinction. We agree that faculty must be involved. That is exactly what we have done and will continue to do.

Franklin D. Gilliam Jr., Greensboro

No-fly zone

I urge President Biden to stand strong against what will become a loud call for a no-fly zone. While what is happening in Ukraine is horrid, a nuclear confrontation with Putin would be worse for Ukraine, Europe, the world. Putin has proven himself to be unpredictable, cruel and violent. In times like this I’m glad Biden is leading the country, someone who’ll think beyond what’s to his advantage politically.

Cheryl Mitchell-Olds, Durham