Seaboard Fellow

Unpopular opinion: If Eastland was still standing, Northlake and Concord Mills wouldn’t have half of the problems they have. Neutral opinion: I think we’ll see Birkdale get the new location to continue to serve the northern suburbs, however the Duke Energy Plaza location would become a tourist destination. I hope that location is on their radar.

Here’s a few pics from the clearance test today

Phase 1 track and platform work is 100% complete minus clean up.

In addition to I-40.

I took this photo today from future station track 1 at Gateway Station.

Having lived in both Raleigh and Atlanta I definitely share your thoughts on this. I-440 is starting to resemble the northern arc of I-285 (albeit much more pleasant to drive).

Does anyone know if the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite will be annexed by the City of Greensboro?

All great points listed above. I think an ACC centric redevelopment of the Four Seasons mall property into a true walkable mixed used destination would go a long way… the decline of this area has a had a bigger impact on Greensboro’s image than most will admit. This area has huge impression on out of towners especially during ACC events. I believe Charlotte has already been selected internally at this point and the ACC is going through the motions at this point to save face.

Surprisingly Alamance sends a significant amount of commuters to Wake County as well. If Raleigh and Durham combine as a MSA there may be enough commuters from Alamance to the new Raleigh Durham MSA core counties to shift Alamance to the new MSA.

DOLRT could have provided smart growth opportunities around stations to address this shortage. Oh well.

I don’t think anyone will recognize Pittsboro 10 years from now.

Translation: A one-seat ride to the airport is more complex/expensive than we (CATS) want to take on so we’re blaming the airport. I think the best case scenario here is a Silver Line Airport Station that allows pain-free connections to future commuter rail and the people mover. The people mover if designed correctly could be a catalyst for future Airport District growth.

Perfect location for a stop.

I-42 and Complete 540 will make Smithfield more attractive for commuters in the near future.

60/63 not too shabby

Orange County is the most difficult place to build in the state. It’s not even close.

If the Raleigh and Durham MSAs are combined there is a real possibility Alamance County could be added due to existing commuting patterns. Today Burlington has its own MSA which includes all of the urbanized portions of Alamance County. Over the years I’ve always thought Burlington should naturally be apart of Greensboro’s MSA since two cities have grown towards each other over the last 20 years, but with High Point joining the Winston-Salem MSA, i felt i clearly lacked the understanding as to how MSAs are formed. Greensboro and High Point are virtually the same city. Traditionally Alamance county has always been considered a part of the Triad. With the growth happening in Mebane and Graham it will be interesting to see how that dynamic changes.

This is very possible. NCDOT intends to buy the S-Line soon. If they buy it, they’ll be able to run commuter rail to show an immediate ROI until the long term project to restore the S-Line to Petersburg for long distance passenger rail is complete.

This will help tremendously with the fluidity of train operations especially with increased freight and passenger traffic expected in the near future. Hopefully the Harrisburg Station is built with two platforms and does not preclude an *easy* future blue line connection.

There is a lot of truth in that statement. Liberal or Conservative ,Orange County is anti-growth with the exception of the part that has spillover growth from Alamance County (Mebane).

They’ll find a home in Alamance County, I’m sure. Exit 143,145, and 148 would be great candidate locations and Buc- ees would replace some of the blight that’s there currently.

A real question to consider here would be commuter rail and intercity rail connectivity. If transportation planners reasonably believe there will be an airport station for commuter rail in the future, there could be advantages to have a seamless connection between LRT,Commuter Rail, and the people mover. This type of rail facility could potentially offer check baggage and check in services.

I agree with you. If the station isn’t at the terminal there are not many benefits to moving the station away from the Wilkerson Blvd alignment. The airport gateway has tons of potential and light rail can certainly act as a catalyst with good planning. One unknown factor is whether the People Mover frequency provides an attractive connection to light rail. I’ve seen long headways at various airports.

Simple solution here, NS leases the line out to CATS or NCDOT. NS retains exclusive freight trackage rights. CATS or NCDOT takes on all maintenance and liability for the leased line. The line is upgraded with long sidings and double track where appropriate. NCDOT or CATS eliminate unsafe and redundant road crossings. NCDOT or CATS fund the necessary PTC upgrades. NS retains all longitudinal utility leases. A 50 year renewable lease under these conditions is more than reasonable. NCDOT (and NCRR) is already geared to work with local governments to add new freight rail customers. This arrangement would be a win-win.

In other words, freight traffic and passenger traffic must be dispatched together. There will be no passenger only operating windows if commuter rail is allowed. With the appropriate track and signal infrastructure improvements I don’t see this as an issue. This arrangement is not uncommon.