[Durham INC] Column: Group seeks public ideas on transit (Herald-Sun)

[John Schelp]

Column: Group seeks public ideas on transit
By Stella Adams, Herald-Sun, 01 Nov 2009 

If you drive to work or take your kids to school -- or if you drive anywhere in the Triangle for that matter -- it will come as no surprise that the Triangle had the second fastest growth in traffic congestion of any region in the US over the last decade.

What you may not know is that the way things are going, traffic is going to get worse -- a lot worse. 

In 25 years, traffic planners tell us, 1 million more people will live in Durham, Orange and Wake Counties. Unless we do something, experts say, many of these new arrivals will take their cars out on our already crowded roads and streets. Others will find that without new investments in transit and other public transportation, they will not be able to get to work or school or the doctor. Even now, close to 32,000 households in the Triangle do not have access to a car. 

If this vision of the future comes true, it will make our worst traffic look like a ride in the park. It will make our economy come to a standstill, as employers refuse to bring new jobs to a region that cannot move workers or goods efficiently. It will doom our efforts to build sustainable communities, as we choke on more emissions and more fossil fuels. 

And it will hurt our efforts to give everyone - particularly low-income families - a fair chance to share the benefits of living here in the Triangle.

Make no mistake: while we need some road improvements, just building more roads isn't the answer: financial and environmental costs make simply paving over this problem impossible. 

That's the bad news. The good news is that this summer, individuals, elected officials, community groups and employers from across our region worked together to address this challenge. They convinced the North Carolina General Assembly to approve legislation that provides us with an historic opportunity to improve the quality of life of our region. This legislation allows citizens in all three counties to choose to make new investments in transit and other badly-need transportation infrastructure. 

If we make the most of this opportunity, I am confident we can make our communities more livable, equitable and sustainable - sparking economic development and improving our quality of life for ourselves and our children. 

But to get there, we'll need everyone's help to shape a plan for this future and build support for it in our communities. That's why people from all over the Triangle - housing activists, environmentalists, neighborhood groups, business owners and many more - are busy building the partnerships we'll need to make it a reality. 

If you have a stake in the future of our transportation system, our economy and our environment, visit durhamorangefriendsoftransit.org, where an alliance of local groups and citizens have posted information about these issues. Or come to the meeting this group, DOTransit, is planning on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship hall on Garrett Road on Durham. People from all over the Triangle will be there to answer questions about this new opportunity and help you understand your part in this important debate.

Our communities face tremendous challenges, now and in the future. The plans we make in the next few months will go a long way in shaping how we will meet many of these challenges. I hope you will join me in the effort to develop these plans -- and to build our future. 


Durham resident Stella Adams is the founder and CEO of S J Adams Consulting. She is the former director of the North Carolina Fair Housing Center. For more information about the meeting on Wednesday, email DOTransit at dotransit at durhamorangefriendsoftransit.org or visit Durham-Orange Friends of Transit on Facebook.