Category / Transit/Transportation

by Leo Suarez

Multimodal Station Will Be Raleigh Union Station, Report Summarized

Last week, the city released a draft report about the multi-modal transit center planned for the intersecting tracks west of downtown known as the Boylan Wye. Giving a nod to what once was Raleigh’s Union Station on Dawson Street, the multi-modal transit center will eventually become the new Raleigh Union Station. If you want to dive right into the report yourself, jump over to the city’s website and download the pdf.

I combed through the 109 page document to look for some good information as to what we might expect over the next decade or so as transit services start traveling through the Boylan wye. I’d like to just remind readers that the city’s document and this information I pulled from it below are not final and still under review, intense review.

For a formal presentation and an opportunity to get questions answered, there’s this information from the city’s website

A public open house will be held on May 12 to present the report findings and answer questions. The Raleigh Urban Design Center (133 Fayetteville Street) will host two opportunities to attend:

12:00 to 1:30 p.m. – Informal information session with City staff available to answer questions

6:30 to 8:00 p.m. – Formal presentation followed by question & answer

After the open house, a 30 day comment period will be provided followed by the preparation of a final report. Comments must be submitted to Martin Stankus by June 11, 2010.

If you work downtown, make sure to get your questions answered during your lunch break. If not, I’ll see you in the afternoon. Let’s get to the details.

The Boylan Wye

The report describes the Wye as the most complicated section of rail crossings and junctions in the state. Current users of the Boylan Wye are CSX and Norfolk Southern carrying freight and Amtrak with passengers. The location was picked because of future transit services planning to come rolling through starting within the next decade or two. Studies for Triangle Transit regional and commuter rail, and Southeast High Speed Rail are currently underway and all will most likely run routes through the Wye with a downtown station right at this point. In response to these studies, Triangle Transit now owns some land in the Wye as well as the two warehouse buildings between the tracks and West Street; one between Morgan and Hargett and the other between Hargett and Martin Streets. This is the focal point of study for anything related to the future Union Station.

The Building

Planners for Union Station have been taking notes about the larger, successful train stations around the country and applying them to their vision for the Raleigh Union Station. Penn Station in New York (hopefully the old one, not the current one) and Union Station in Washington, DC are mentioned because of their large welcoming lobbies and grand architectural features. A quote from the report:

“Important guiding elements of the facility design include creating a landmark architectural statement with a dominant vista down Hargett Street visually linking the center to the heart of downtown Raleigh.”

With the previously mentioned transit services coming in the future, the recommended station size is about 45,000 square feet. Parking needs will also need to be addressed and a 1000 space deck is currently being explored for the center of the Wye.

Trains are not the only modes of travel going in and out of Union Station. Greyhound and Triangle Transit buses and downtown circulators will also be thrown into the equation. There is also a heavy focus on creating good connectivity to downtown and the surrounding districts, those being the Warehouse District and Glenwood South, with wide, attractive sidewalks. From the report:

“…some transit patrons will walk a half-mile to get to high qualilty transit service if the walk is along a pleasant path”

There is also a suggestion for accommodating cyclists, from as little as bicycle racks to as much as a full bike storage and repair shop with showers, similar to the shop outside DC’s Union Station.

Cost

We probably won’t get that much news coverage until real details start to come out about this piece. The report suggests that the city currently explore ways of funding the facility. Pretty vague right off the bat but the best suggestion given was to explore if any of the 1/2 cent sales tax for transit, if eventually passed, can be used for building Union Station.

Projected total costs as of today range from $151 to $212 million. The current plan to divide the tab is for an 80% federal, 10% state, and 10% city split. This means, assuming these projections are accurate that Raleigh would pay between $15 and $21 million. There are lots of factors that could affect these numbers so they are sure to fluctuate over the next decade.

Construction and What to do next

The report suggests a phased approach to improving the area and building the station. First off, it is recommended to get the environmental and engineering stamp of approval, referred to as phase 0. I thought this suggestion was interesting:

“the City of Raleigh should create a team whose sole responsibility would be to make the Union Station a reality”

If this team is created, we would have dedicated city employees living and breathing Union Station and taking it through each of the phases.

The next phase involves attacking a current need in our Amtrak services. They would be relocated with more parking available and a larger platform. Amtrak has grown out of its building on Cabarrus Street. This could not come any sooner, especially with more frequent service coming this summer and in the coming years.

Greyhound is part of phase two and will be relocated to the area next. There are a few proposals to incorporate them into one of the warehouse buildings for easy transfer from one mode of travel to another.

The last phase, phase three, includes building out Union Station. There are lots of factors to take in here, especially since it has not been designed yet. Many of those design decisions will be based on the other rail transit methods as they come to design completion. One of the major obstacles mentioned was whether Triangle Transit’s regional rail would be Light Rail or DMU trains. The trains would run on the tracks but it’s possible that the light rail could run on the street and approach Union Station on Morgan Street. All scenarios seem to be considered and as the years go on, more details will be set.

Interesting Extras

The Raleigh Union Station is being described as a “gateway to the south” as visitors from up north travel to or through Raleigh.

There is a great picture of Raleigh’s Union Station in 1940 on page 23.

It is recommended to consider the possibility of connecting West street to South Saunders Street. They would be connected by going under the tracks and joining Cabarrus Street

Right now, it is suggested that Hargett Street be closed to vehicle traffic and Union Station be built on or around it. Pedestrian access will still be there but it looks like the easy solution here is to cut car access on Hargett.

by Leo Suarez

NCDOT Announces Mid-Day Service Between Raleigh and Charlotte, June 5th

From my inbox to yours.

Raleigh— State Transportation Secretary Gene Conti today announced that two additional trains providing mid-day service between Raleigh and Charlotte will begin on Saturday, June 5, increasing the state-sponsored passenger rail service to six trains operating daily between the state’s two largest cities.

“As our population continues to grow, we must provide people with travel alternatives,” said Conti. “Train travel also provides environmental and energy benefits through reduced congestion and improved air quality.”

Currently, the state sponsors four trains daily, the Piedmont and Carolinian, as North Carolina’s Amtrak. Each train makes a morning and evening run between Raleigh and Charlotte, a trip that is auto competitive at 3 hours and 7 minutes, including intermediate stops at Cary, Durham, Burlington, Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury and Kannapolis.

The new service will add two additional trains in the mid-day giving business travelers, families and college students more options to travel via rail. (See attached schedule.)

The Carolinian also provides daily service to Selma, Wilson, Rocky Mount, to Richmond, Virginia and to the northeast including Washington D.C. and New York City.

Federal Rail Administration Deputy Administrator Karen Rae will address the N.C. Board of Transportation at its meeting Wednesday, March 31 regarding the Obama Administration’s policy on transportation choices as a part of building more livable communities and sustainability.

Rae, Conti and Rail Director Patrick Simmons will be available for media interviews regarding the North Carolina’s new mid-day train service between Raleigh and Charlotte; the $545 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds awarded to the state in February; and the FRA inspection of NCDOT rail equipment, facilities and capabilities from 2:45 p.m.- 3:15 p.m. via telephone by dialing 1-877-531-0014 and then access room# *8569289* and onsite in room 117 in the Transportation Building at 1 S. Wilmington St. To view the live Board of Transportation Web feed, visit http://wms.its.state.nc.us/dotlive.


Click for larger.

by Leo Suarez

Two-way Conversion on Morgan Street

It may have gone unnoticed since the construction work was at night but Morgan street is well underway to becoming a two-directional street. This applies to the section west of downtown, as the city’s press release states.

On a recent walk up and down the street, I noticed some new pedestrian crossing signals at the intersection of St. Mary’s Street and Boylan Avenue. Looking at it now, the roundabout at Hillsborough and Morgan is also very pedestrian friendly. This is a nice plus for the downtown walkers coming in and out from the west.

Downtown to the NC State Bell Tower should be a very nice walk once the construction is done.

by Leo Suarez

RDU to DTR Bus Connection Proposed by Triangle Transit

Triangle Transit is proposing a couple changes to its routes and one could result in a direct bus ride from downtown Raleigh to RDU airport. The route would also include the Research Triangle Park. (RTP) Try to keep up with all the acronyms.

Currently, the easiest way to get to the airport using Triangle Transit from downtown is to ride route 105 to the Regional Transit Center (RTC) in RTP. Then from there, you transfer to the 747 route and your way to the airport. 747, get it?

The proposal attempts to eliminate the transfer and offer a direct ride from the Moore Square station, up Hillsborough Street to Wade Avenue, and down I-40 to the airport. The route would run Monday through Saturday at these proposed times [broken link]. Check the Google map below for more details about the route and proposed stops.


View RTC – Moore Square via RDU Airport in a larger map

The current schedule of events puts this route and other changes into affect in August 2010. These changes are open for comment so click on over to their site and let them know what you think.

The frequency of trips has me most interested. A 30-35 minute ride from downtown to the airport at 30 minute intervals during the AM and PM rush hours is a nice improvement. Make a note that the bus route stops at each terminal for easy access. The downtown Marriott and Sheraton are only a five or so minute walk away and the Clarion is right on Edenton Street where the route will go. You can’t say its not tempting to spend the $2 one-way ticket for a bus ride to the airport terminals compared to a $20 taxi.

by Leo Suarez

Fareless Transit Ideas

Here’s an interesting read that I’d like to highlight. Aaron Renn’s blog, The Urbanophile, suggests an interesting concept for smaller cities that are trying to grow transit. Make them free. Well not exactly free but without fares. Renn states:

Why have a fare in the first place? It is odd that we pay per use on transit. We don’t pay to check books out of a library. We don’t pay to visit most city parks. We don’t pay when the police or fire department come to our house for a legitimate emergency. Most non-utility municipal services are provided for free to users and funded by taxes. So why is transit different? I suspect it is rooted in the origins of public transit systems when they were private, for-profit companies. But they aren’t that today so why adopt those legacy practices?

Read the rest of his post for some solid ideas supporting the use of fareless transit.

There’s actually nothing too radical suggested here as Chapel Hill has been fare-free for over eight years as well as downtown’s R-Line. This may or may not be something to consider as the transit section of the 2030 comprehensive plan is concerned.

by Leo Suarez

Tracking Buses Online and On Your Phone

Recently, the city has created some online and mobile tracking services for the buses in Capital Area Transit. The best part is that they all have maps associated with them. I love me some maps.

For downtown, this includes the R-Line, which is technically part of CAT and is shown on the CAT tracking page. The Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA) tracks the R-Line on their page as well. Below is the link rundown so update your bookmarks.

DRA live map
www.godowntownraleigh.com/get-around/r-line/status

DRA live map mobile version
m.yourhere.com/rline-map.php

CAT Bus tracking
raleighrides.org/

NCSU Wolfline Tracking
ncsu.transloc.com/

I’m mentioning the Wolfline tracking system because it has been around for years and is still the better service of the few, in my opinion. Take a look at it to see what all the services should work towards becoming one day.

The R-Line mobile site is easy and straight to the point. If you have a smartphone, you can pull up the maps with the location of the buses pinpointed on the route in real time. The bus stops are marked by their appropriate names so finding where you are on the map is easy once you are at an R-Line stop. Streets and their names are also displayed so the map now becomes a personal guide to navigating downtown on your phone. It’s a great start for making the experience of riding a bus slightly easier and puts a system in place that can be easily updated and scaled out as transit in Raleigh grows.

by Leo Suarez

$545 Million For Rail Upgrade From Slow To Mediocre-Speed

The point of this post is not to sound pessimistic but I need to get one thing off my chest first. High speed rail does not consist of trains moving at 110 mph. That is not at all pushing the limits of what modern day trains can do. I’m sure it sounds fast but when North Carolina has trains zipping from one side of the state to the other at speeds of 200+ mph, then we can throw around the term ‘high-speed’. If you want an idea of what real high-speed looks like click and watch this video.

With that out of the way, our state is getting $545 million of federal stimulus money that will go towards improving rail transit. The bulk of the grant, $520 million, will go towards the Charlotte to Raleigh corridor with the rest being spent on the connection north to Richmond. This was part of $8 billion worth of stimulus funds being allocated between 33 states. Click here to see the entire list of states and who got what.

Its called the Southeast High-Speed Rail corridor that may one day connect Washington DC to Raleigh and Raleigh to Charlotte and on to Atlanta. We’ve talked about this before on the blog. Along with our ‘winnings’, Florida was the only other southeast state that received money however. Because it’s part of SEHSR, tracks will be improved to increase speeds and the frequency of trips between the queen city and the capital are planned to double.

I have not quite gotten around to doing the train trip to Charlotte but it is on the to-do list. Let’s see what the experience would be like if I left this weekend.

  • Booking a trip on Amtrak.com seems easy enough. Leave Friday, Jan. 29th and return Jan. 31st.
  • The Piedmont leaves at 6:50am for $25. I need to work so I’ll pass
  • The Carolinian leaves at 4:50pm for $25. My only other choice so I’ll go with this one.
  • I need a return trip. I again have a morning and afternoon option. The Piedmont it is at 5:30pm for another $25.
  • Total travel time: 3 hr, 24 min departure. 3 hr, 13 min return. $50 total cost

We’ll re-visit this post later in time to compare if things are getting better. Now I love riding a train but it also has to make sense. This might work when compared to a single person driving to Charlotte but if I bring the lady with me, splitting gas beats this situation every time. In this scenario, the cost is what is driving people away and so is the ease of a major highway connecting the two cities.

I’m hopeful though, as always, and think that the faster trains would make them competitive with the highway. If driving and riding took the same amount of time, the convenience of sitting in a spacious rail car and never being slowed by traffic might be worth it to some people.

As for downtown Raleigh, this corridor would go right through it and more passengers means much more headaches at an already too small train station on Cabarrus Street. The additional trains and passengers may help get us talking about that multi-modal transit center for the Boylan Wye.

Also, the Southeast High-Speed Rail project has a great website.