kdub1
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Posts posted by kdub1
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15 hours ago, kermit said:Katie Peralta has a “nearly six years after groundbreaking” update on Gateway here: https://www.axios.com/local/charlotte/2024/01/28/charlotte-uptown-train-gateway-station
Nothing in it we haven’t already discussed. No one knows when it will get built. No one is explaining delays, no one is taking responsibility for the delays, no one seems to be particularly upset about it. This situation sucks.
Failed leadership all around. They have been planning this thing for 22 years with only DOT's part to show for it. At this point, Atlanta has a better chance of rectifying its Peachtree albatross before the Gateway full build. I mean, I remember being a student at NC State in the early 2000s when Union Station wasn't even a concept (the closest thing was a proposed Hillsborough Street station for the failed TTA project) and we've seen how far the eastern end of the Piedmont Corriddor has come along.
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On 8/25/2023 at 2:18 PM, michaelef said:Greyhound is looking to leave uptown for a little bit A.K.A 63 months or a little over 5 years
https://twitter.com/JoeBrunoWSOC9/status/1695132096648323465?s=20
1. Five years? The City of Charlotte will be lucky if Greyhound doesn't pull the same stunt that it did in Raleigh over Union Station. There's zero chance of Greyhound returning to downtown Raleigh once the bus station portion is complete.
2. Once again, five years? State transportation leaders may be more Raleigh-centric but the Charlotte leaders cannot be let off the hook for ditching a temporary Uptown station that would have relieved overcrowding at the old station and their lack of readiness is painfully showing itself as Gateway's opening keeps getting pushed back.
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On 5/26/2022 at 2:36 PM, blopp1234 said:
CSX has proven that they can be worked with at times but working with Norfolk Southern, who has been the worse of the two to expand passenger service under, will be the dealbreaker.
And to think that the reverse was true just 10-15 years ago where NS was friendlier to passenger rail.
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Last summer, Greyhound experienced a third birth in High Point as it returned to the city--this time to the city bus station as the old location was demolished years ago. It probably had to do with new owner Flixbus acquiring the company and invoking its business model onto Greyhound. Tickets have to be purchased in advance since Greyhound has no agents at the station. Less than two decades ago, the owner of the station on Lindsay Place wanted to relocate to the bus station but often got the run around from the city.
Also worth noting that both Greensboro and Winston-Salem have lost their agents so it's caretakers running those stations now.
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On 1/1/2023 at 7:33 PM, kermit said:Years
The most recent information from NCDOT is service is expected to begin at Gateway in "2026". I would not be surprised at all if it gets delayed beyond that date (office development is a large part of the PPP but covid, work from home, etc. are making it tough to pull the trigger on the project). The temporary station was eliminated a while ago, I think the developer felt like it would be an impediment to construction. There is no pedestrian access or canopy on the platform so even if we wanted to start service from there it would be impossible without another big wad of work.
And this is how things fall prey to the John Locke Foundation types! People will be looking at the new platform and wonder why there's nothing else there. Eliminating the temporary station was a huge mistake.
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On 12/27/2022 at 12:24 PM, Reverie39 said:
Gateway station can’t come soon enough.
Agree. Reminds me of the Raleigh station pre-2018 when it still used the Southern depot on West Cabarrus.
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So, we have gone from the possibility of Winston-Salem signing up to have an MLS team to that city being skipped for a USL Division 3 team in...High Point?
http://www.wfmynews2.com/news/local/united-soccer-league-considering-hp-team/463772840
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Now that the transit plan is reality, some points:
1. Perhaps the entire Go Raleigh bus system is in need of an overhaul—maybe a renumbering/renaming of routes or a mere separation of the Frequent Network Corridor from the basic network
2. To my knowledge, #13 and #22 have had 30 minute frequencies since at least the ‘90s and neither has seen an increase while #1 and #7 (both up from 30 minute peak and 30 or 60 minute off-peak frequencies) have in addition to #15 (I still remember then-mayor Meeker saying back in 2002 that #13 was one of the city’s busiest routes in addition to #15). Perhaps, a tweak is in order for some South and Southeast Raleigh routes so that residents’ concerns are alleviated
3. Right now, the busiest route in the state is Charlotte’s North Tryon Street that runs every 10 minutes all day. Both the BRT FNC routes must contain routes that run every 5 or 7-8 minutes during peak hours. Radial routes outside of the FNC need to be increased to 30 minute headways outside of rush hours
4. Some FNC routes—like the Glenwood Corridor with #6 to Townridge S/C and #16 to Rex Hospital--will have segments that continue on to other parts of town
5. The biggest question: Once the BRT and Frequent Network routes are up and running, where should these routes originate: Moore Square or Union Station?
6. The second biggest question: Should FNC routes interline with each other, with less frequent Go Raleigh routes, or not interline at all (the BRT routes may naturally interline with each other)?
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I-74 around Winston will be built earlier
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Based on the plan, connecting bus service between Charlotte and Columbia is more of a priority to NCDOT than anything related to Asheville service, be it the long-stalled rail project or the planned Amtrak feasibility study to conduct Thruway service between Salisbury and Asheville.
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However, car sales have been strong, and sales of SUVs and large crossovers are up, which IMO is shortsighted from these consumers as cheap gas won't last.
People just don't learn and they'll be the same people crying about price gouging when oil gets back to $60-70/barrel
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The Executive Summary of the state 25 year rail plan has been released.
There is good news:
- Piedmont wifi for next year
- Long-range studies for Gboro-DC (via Lynchburg), Raleigh to Hampton Roads (?), CLT to Wilmington, Raleigh to Greenville, Raleigh to Morehead CIty
- Money for a Hillsborough station in 2018
- Money for stations in Lexington and Harrisburg long term (2020-2035)
and bad news:
- Gateway station (Charlotte) budgeted for 2020-2035 at the soonest
- 4th Piedmont frequency delayed to 2017-1018 (this was originally scheduled 'upon completion of ARRA work' which is getting close to done.
- 5th frequency 2019
While I am very disappointed with several aspects of the plan (as described in the exec summary), I guess it could have been worse
www.ncbytrain.org/_resources/download/RailPlanExecutiveSummary.pdf
Talk about disappointing! Given how crowded and crappy the current Charlotte station is, one would have thought that there'd at least be some foresight to build a scaled down version of Gateway Station. NCDOT should have planned Charlotte-Douglas Airport as a relief station until Gateway could be built--Harrisburg is only a small step. The delays to Piedmont expansion makes me wonder if those funding issues are the reason for them because the fact that neither the fourth nor the fifth frequency will be rolled out on time makes no sense.
If the state's leadership--DOT, General Assembly, etc--don't watch it, NC could go from being a leader on rail to becoming a laggard.
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Coble, Bryan, and Matthews gone-I guess their shenanigans didn't work out so well for them.
Back in April, I'd have been glad if the head (Coble) of the snake were decapitated, but the fact that voters killed the entire snake is even more astonishing.
Aside from whatever motivations a political party might have, I'm surprised that the U.S. Dept. of Justice has allowed this many counties (and cities, for that matter) in North Carolina to have at-large representation. At-large seats were a standard mechanism during the segregation era to ensure that no African-American ever got elected. Many local governments were forced by the federal courts to replace at-large representation with by-district representation. NC seems to have got off light compared to other southern states.
Gerrymandering in North Carolina is nothing new. The Democrats did a really nice job of it after the 1990 census and again after the 2000 census. What's different these days is that precinct boundaries are no longer sacrosanct.
I remember that back in '97-98 when the 12th Congressional District had its lines changed frequently, the General Assembly had a rule that no county could be have more than three congressional seats, and this practice was honored throughout the '00s. However, the current maps show Durham County with four congressional seats--1st, 4th, 6th & 13th!
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And now, some not so positive views
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McCrory signed away his second term when he signed the anti-abortion law and broke his campaign promise to the moderates and democrats who jumped the aisle for him in 2012. These people saw him as the urban candidate: as an acceptable alternative to the rural eastern NC dems who had run the state for so long and had fallen out of touch with the progressive dems in the piedmont cities. He shattered that facade in his first year and I don't think he can do anything to recover.
What do you guys think about Meeker running in 2016?
http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/03/18/3712336_looking-ahead-to-2016-charles.html?rh=1
I don't know about McCrory being one and done: you have to remember that for all of the talk of how "progressive" NC has been, the truth is that this state is actually a laggard. This state was the last Southern state to complete the Nixon-Reagan realignment. For years, people talked about moderate-to-conservative business Dems still being in control of the party. Once Jim Hunt retired and Erskine Bowles fell flat on his face--twice--that business wing slowly switched parties. It's likely that the business wing of Democratic Party has completely defected to the elephants (hence, the realignment that started in 1968 nationally finally completed its course in NC in 2012). If anyone ousts McCrory, it will be done in the primary by people who genuinely believe that the idiots in the General Assembly haven't done enough damage
.As a result, I don't think that Meeker's going to run in '16. Instead, I truly believe that Roy Cooper is setting himself up to be the sacrificial lamb in two years' time. Once, the state has seen how ineffective McCrory has been for eight years, 2020 could be a bad year for Republicans.
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http://triad-city-beat.com/1618-to-open-restaurant-in-downtown-greensboro/
I used to go to the Book Trader until it closed in 2006. Glad to see that the building's will finally get used again.
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While the state waits for a reliable intercity passenger system, Central Florida has its act together.
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Some ridership numbers:
http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/blog/2014/05/see-which-sunrail-stations-drew-the-biggest.html
When it comes to the numbers, my guess is that the Orlando Amtrak station brought up the rear because residents still think of the Sligh Boulevard station as "the tourist station" and continue to stay away from it. If the FDOT and the winner of this year's gubernatorial race get off their backsides and implement intercity service statewide, they could designate #3 Church Street, #4 Sand Lake Road, or #6 LYNX Central as "the local Orlando station."
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Palladium Belk is about to open
http://www.hpe.com/news/x1001075685/Belk-readies-new-city-location
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Now, that a Greensboro TJ's is dead, how about the "Bring Trader Joe's to Greensboro" crowd take their @#$!# to Winston instead like this High Pointer does?
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Here is a rundown of the various factions in Greensboro politics:
The Old Guard. These are the people with the money. They may have built the city but they are out of touch on most 21st century needs.
The Naysayers. This group liked it when the city was saddled with the pejorative “Greensboring” and more known as being a place for families. They also have their bunch of elites but nowhere close to the first group. Other characteristics include strong opposition to any referenda and strong sympathies for the previous council majority that has carried over to the local tea party group.
The Creatives. Members of the creative class which includes the likes of artists, bellydancers and various other unconventional entertainers—all of who have made the city a lot less boring since 2003. This faction has recently gotten more involved in politics. For the Creatives, it's a choice between being a part of the system and challenging it.
The members who have done the former are backing Nancy Hoffmann in her District 4 race. It is also worth noting that District 3 councilman Zack Matheny used to be a part of SynerG before he got elected.
Former Avant Greensboro columnist Katei Cranford has opted for the latter option by running for an at-large seat. She has been outspoken against the noise ordinance that certain members of the Old Guard have advocated.
Eastside Playmakers. Made up mostly of older black politicians. Organizations like the Simkins PAC are also the backbone of this group. Playmakers include Skip Alston, Earl Jones and Nelson Johnson. As the name suggest, they are mostly from the eastern portion of the city.
The Sideliners. Northern transplants and college students who pay little attention to local politics.
The Left Out. Disillusioned voters. They may have run for public office before, but for the most part, these voters like blogger Billy Jones are fed up with the political class.
Nightclub Kingmakers. They helped to revitalize downtown long before the bigshots got involved. In recent years, their influence has waned as wealthier residents have moved into center city and engaged in NIMBYism by shoving noise ordinances and teen curfews down their throats.
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North Carolina Intercity Rail Transit
in North Carolina
Posted
This is one of my biggest frustrations: There should have already been a Palmetto equivalent between New York and Atlanta along the Crescent route. This schedule could easily be implemented with a little fortitude because the greenfield route is proably a couple of decades away and it isn't likely going to go to Amtrak anyway.