kdub1

There might be some turmoil behind the scenes beyond the lack of communication that almost jeopardized Raleigh's new station. As someone who glanced at the current Charlotte station 12 years ago, the facility is way beyond underwhelming. You guys just may be stuck with a mediocre facility for a while. Time to start planning the Charlotte-Douglas Airport and I-485 NE suburban stations instead. If that happens, then Charlotte replaces Raleigh as the laggard.

Given the hurrah over the teen curfew being reinstated in downtown Greensboro, the story about the Camel City's proposed entertainment district is the difference between Winston-Salem and Greensboro. Winston took action while the same proposal in Greensboro would probably be subject to study after study and lots of bickering amongst councilmembers and various interest groups (Exhibit A is the fight over the noise ordinance, pitting Roy Carroll vs various nightclubs if you don't believe me).

I'm shocked that it was that lopsided, given that we were talking about a 5-4 or 6-3 vote just a couple of days ago

I oppose the performing arts center for the following reasons: 1. billyjones is correct in that the venue is not properly located because East Greensboro needs it more than an already saturated downtown. A News 2 story last year showed this disparity--every entertainment venue was either centrally located or in the western part of town. 2. The city's failure of leadership with the War Memorial Auditorium still needs to be addressed. 3. City boosters and leaders are exhibiting their biggest bout of Triangle envy with DPAC's success--and it's really tiring.

The only drawback is that the future Eastrans project (assuming that it's still on the table) would be compromised wit the loss of that track.

More pictures of the recently opened I-74

My pictures of the recently opened 311 bypass...except that NCDOT chose to keep 311 on its old alignment between Sophia and U.S. 220.

Given how corporatized BET has become since the channel decided to stop airing music videos outside of 6-8 pm and that the network has resorted to mostly airing reruns, BNT may be on the mark.

The station has been boarded up

Earlier this week, the High Point Greyhound station closed. No explanation has been given, nor have there been any stories in the local press explaining the closure.

If anyone had Belk moving to a still un(der)developed area at US 311/Old Plank Rd/N. Main, I have bad news for them: http://www.hpe.com/news/business/x145784100/Belk-to-leave-mall-for-north-High-Point#.UVMPSLFKeFQ.facebook Now, I'm not surprised that Belk is leaving the mall, but I am surprised that it's choosing the Palladium since it's already prospering without any retail stores.

New operator for PART selected

Maybe CATS should try this for interlining: Have a route begin at the CTC and end at Gateway and vice versa. For example, the eastern-based #9 begins at the CTC, does its route, then when it gets back to Uptown, it ends at Gateway Station and becomes the northern-based #7.

I wholeheartedly agree. This article talks about PART's various issues.

Here we go again. I have to wonder if there will even be a PART in 5-10 years if the economy continues to be sluggish. NOTICE OF ROUTE ADJUSTMENTS In preparing for FY 2013 budget year, The PART Board has approved the proposed service reductions with the exception of Route 9. Route 9 will have a time adjustment in the PM Northbound trip. Effective Date for these changes will be July 1, 2012. Detailed Service Changes: Route 1 Winston-Salem Eliminate 8:30am and 3:30pm trips (View Schedule) Route 2 Greensboro Eliminate 8:30am and 3:30pm trips (View Schedule) Route 3 High Point Eliminate 8:30am and 3:30pm trips (View Schedule) Route 4 Medical Conn. No Reduction Route 5 Amtrak Conn. No Reduction Route 6 Surry County Eliminate 6:00am, 6:30am, 6:40am, 6:50am, 7:40am, 12:40pm, and 4:23pm Southbound trips and 11:20am, 3:10pm, 3:20pm, 4:22pm, 5:05pm, 5:32pm, and 7:10pm Northbound trips. The 5:30am and 7:00am (adjusted to serve King) trips Southbound and 4:02pm (adjusted to serve King) and 4:30pm Northbound trips will remain. (View Schedule) Route 8 Davidson US 52 Eliminate 7:10am Northbound and 5:15pm Southbound. The 6:40am Northbound trip will remain and Southbound trip will be 4:45pm. (View Schedule) Route 9 Davidson Bus. 85 Adjust the 1:53pm Northbound to 3:00pm Northbound. The 6:15am Northbound, 8:02am Southbound and 4:45pm Southbound trips will remain. (View Schedule) Route 10 Randolph Co. No Reduction Route 13 Yadkin Co. Eliminate 6:10am Eastbound and 3:30pm Westbound. The 6:55am Eastbound and 5:05pm Westbound trips will remain. (View Schedule) Route 14 Davie Co. Eliminate 6:05am Eastbound and 4:05pm Westbound. The 7:00am Eastbound and 5:05pm Westbound trips will remain. (View Schedule) PTIA Shuttle Eliminate 1 Shuttle between 6:00am-9:30am and 1 Shuttle between 12:00pm-2:30pm. 4 Shuttles will remain in service during 6-9:30am and 1 will remain 12:00am-2:30pm, all other shuttles will remain the same. We are continuing to fight for our riders to find sufficient funding to keep PART buses running. All of your comments were provided to the PART Board and there was deep concern expressed by the Board. We will be working with the Federal and State officials over the next few days to find additional revenue to keep the buses running and we will keep you posted.

This speaks for itself http://yesweeklyblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/joey-medaloni-sentenced-to-four-years.html

I'm basing this on what Amtrak does to long-distance trains in the Northeast. Northbound trains between DC and NYC only stop to discharge passengers while southbound trains only stop to receive passengers between the two cities. There is deep suspicion that Amtrak does this to keep Northeastern passengers off the long-distance trains and to use the less sleek Regional trains. It's also based on three assumptions: SEHSR is fully implemented, mass transit plans along the NCRR corridor happen, and the Carolinian is not extended to Columbia. It doesn't make sense, but it's the way that some with Amtrak feel.

While it would sound nice, NCDOT would have to fundamentally alter service on the Carolinian as restrictions would have to be imposed--either the Star would have to be restricted to travel south of Charlotte or the local travel along the Piedmont Corridor would have to be curtailed for Carolinian passengers with a possible exception for groups and the State Fair. Also, NCDOT spent nearly $12 million to renovate the Southern Pines and Hamlet stations, so that'd be money wasted. I'd rather see the Rail Division either: 1) extend the Carolinian to Columbia 2) push for a new DC-FL train via Charlottesville 3) provide a new Charlotte-Augusta-Atlanta train via Columbia or 4) a combination of 1) and 3) I think that it's time for NCDOT to at least provide a daytime equivalent of the Silver Star between Raleigh and Jacksonville until those S-Line tracks are upgraded to Regional HSR standards--and SEHSR ready.

This article brought up something really interesting ...a what if as in what if Morehead had been unable to secure the NCRR route for Greensboro and the railroad had gone through Asheboro instead? Perhaps Morehead would have spent the rest of his life trying to get a parallel railroad built through Greensboro, but an alternate railroad would have had problems and parts of the line may have eventually been abandoned. Here are the ways how different central NC would be today: The Overall Area The Asheboro route would have fundamentally altered central NC. For starters, there would have been no Piedmont Triad as Asheboro would have stood on its own as a metropolitan area (and had it not been for the 1898 Wilmington coup, NC's population might be on par with TX's). The city's population would be on par with the Triangle and Charlotte. Randleman would be surrounded by Asheboro with no opportunity to grow. Ulah and Level Cross would be gobbled up by Asheboro while Archdale and Trinity would naturally serve as Asheboro's suburbs alongside Ramseur. Greensboro would be significantly smaller and Guilford County would have resembled Davidson County and other counties that once relied on manufacturing. Meanwhile, High Point would only exist in small segments--or it may not exist at all. As a result, we're talking about certain areas that make up present-day High Point being small towns or villages. As for Forsyth County, it is very possible that Winston and Salem would have remained two separate towns with differing identities. Highways I-40 and US 64 would have switched places between Mocksville and Raleigh while I-85 and NC 49 would have done likewise between Charlotte (Exit 42) and Burlington (Exit 143). So, 40 and 85 would have naturally met in Asheboro. Unlike today's alignment, there would be guaranteed all-freeway access between Charlotte and Raleigh. As a result, the NCTA proposes a toll road between Charlotte and Burlington using I-85's current routing outside of Greensboro and 85's old routing between Exits 120A and 131--absorbing US 29/70, US 52, NC 150 and US 64. Perhaps, a 3-digit interstate (3di) (I-285) in the city's north would have relieved congestion on the interstate duplex. As for US 220, the highway would have remained on its old alignment (Fayetteville Street/Randleman Road/Spring & Edgeworth/W. Smith & Battleground) while a 3di--let's call it I-185--would've been the freeway between Asheboro and Greensboro. This highway would have ended at W. Market Street on the north end and I-40/85 on the south end. In this alternate timeline, the momentum for I-73 falls flat even though there is more urgency. The reason for this is that NC leaders are skeptical about Greensboro's future and tremendous local opposition to the highway. Despite a spirited effort by WV leaders, there are no plans to extend I-74 beyond Cincinnati. Present-day and future I-73/74 to the beach is merely a southern extension of I-185. US 311 is still two lanes between Archdale and Salem since High Point is negligible. US 421 would actually serve Winston as a freeway while the US 64 bypass would be a freeway in southern Salem and Business US 64 would be an expressway in northern Salem. US 52/NC 8 would remain on its current alignment as would US 158 but US 311, NC 109 and NC 150 would have never been removed from their historic routings. Transportation Asheboro's historic train station is going strong after over a century and serves as the city's transportation hub for Amtrak, Greyhound and city buses. Asheboro International Airport has decent traffic. Greensboro Regional and Smith Reynolds Airport have always been seen as second or third-tier airports that rely on niches like air shows. An Asheboro bus system would serve the metropolitan area very well and wouldn't be in the kind of trouble PART is in now. The system would provide Express service to Greensboro and Lexington as well as frequent service. Pro Sports The Cougars would've stayed in NC and been absorbed into the NBA, negating the need for the Hornets. The team would play at a brand new arena while the old Asheboro Coliseum would serve a supporting role that Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte does in the present day timeline. The Twins almost move to Asheboro in the late '90s but Karl Pohlad has a change of heart at the last minute and decides to sell the team instead. Asheboro has a Southern League team that competes with the Carolina Mudcats. Colleges and Universities Wake Forest University never moves to Forsyth County but Trinity College still moves to Durham and is replaced by Asheboro University (later renamed NC State-Asheboro). Winston's consolation prize is the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (est. 1991, not 1956) after WFU cuts off ties with Southern Baptists in 1986. The School of the Arts is renamed the UNC Art School in 2006 by then-Gov. Easley. Rubbing salt into the wounds, NCA&T is located in eastern Asheboro, meaning that Greensboro is a university town. NCSUA is ECU's natural rival in CUSA while UNCG is still a Division III school.

PART is in some serious trouble. http://www.news-reco..._go_up_60_cents http://www2.journaln...-mo-ar-1288291/ Provided that the agency goes through with its cuts, some routes would be reduced to once a day, which might as well be the death knell for a Triad-wide bus system. If the worst-case scenario takes place, I seriously doubt that any of the big three transit agencies would step up in a major way. Just a year ago, PART was talking about expansion. Now, the company is fighting for its very existence. A chief problem is that PART overexpanded by adding service to places like Forest Oaks rather than adding evening and/or weekend frequencies on Routes 1, 2 & 3, the core routes.

The new plan actually makes more of a case to produce two rail stations in Raleigh--the NETC and the downtown location. Since the Seaboard Station is already occupied and would be unfit to accomodate dozens of trains, a new permanent downtown station would be just fine, but even that would have to be downscaled as opposed to last year's Union Station scheme. The latest plan would preclude a bus hub composed of Greyhound and TTA buses.

The anti-rail move is something that the JLF would like given the outlook of the General Assembly in the years to come. If the group can get in the ear of enough pols, the roads-only group could have a lot of sway that could make the NCDOT Rail Division look just like Oregon's. The Beaver State once had one of the nation's best rail departments just like this state but politics got in the way.

The big picture is that SunRail is the likely precursor to a statewide intercity rail program. Its correct utilization will be key due to the likelihood that someone other than Amtrak will be used to run the commuter service (due to Amtrak holding the project up for almost a year on liability grounds). Hence, this other operator could be asked by the state to run a more marketable statewide Florida passenger system.

The Piedmont should be contracted out to NCRR because it would provide the entity a primer on how it can plan commuter service in the future. With the Piedmont under its control, NCRR can better coordinate that route with three of its four commuter routes (W. Greensboro-Burlington; GRO-RGH; University Station Rd.-Goldsboro). By default, the railroad could also be given operating rights for the Neuse Goose and coordinate it with the Piedmont to allow connecting passengers to travel the entire NCRR route (Charlotte-Morehead City). Since NCRR has track rights on the Piedmont Line, station use wouldn’t be a problem. For the other operators, the state would have to work out deals to have those entities to staff that company’s employees in CLT, GRO, DNC, CYN and RGH. Winston-Salem would greatly benefit in having a private operator since a planned commuter route has been Extending the route east to Greensboro would then allow riders to connect to Amtrak trains. This proposal reflects what the Germans have done with regional services even more so than mine. It would also allow new operators to showcase new equipment. I hope that it does work out with NC4. That bill won’t clear the second hurdle since Perdue has been clashing with the legislature. If it does somehow get to her desk, it will certainly be VETOED. Until that bill dies, I’ll say that the John Locke Foundation has a serious influence over these GOP lawmakers and we are not even three months into the new General Assembly session.

When it comes to the Piedmont, Amtrak employees and Train Hosts are onboard that train. As far as privatization goes, I'd like to see the Piedmont and the Washington-Charlotte SEHSR routes to be kept under Amtrak control since the conventional wisdom is that the latter is pretty much considered to be a southern extension of the Northeast Corridor. However, I'd like to see the southern half of SEHSR to be contracted out to other operators. Under my plan, the Charlotte-Atlanta-Macon and Atlanta-Jacksonville routes would go to one company and the Raleigh-Jacksonville route contracted to a third company. All three routes would begin as Conventional routes ASAP and start the necessary upgrades to HSR status while ridership is being built up.