There has been lots of furor in the Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) over the proposed lite rail system. It is something that was pretty much not a left/right issue. Polls showed most people were against it. Liberals were calling in to Bill Lemay’s show (conservative) and saying they were against it. Most people said they wouldn’t ride it. And Gov. Easley and the Raleigh Town council kept pushing it, and the cost kept going up.
And now (via the Raleigh News and Observer)
The Triangle’s proposed 28-mile commuter train service will suffer another setback this week when the Bush administration sidelines the project for a second straight year.
Federal transit officials are still wrestling with doubts about whether the $810 million project would serve enough riders to justify building it. They will give the TTA proposal a "low" rating, squelching any hope for full federal funding this year.
Great! However, some people apparently do not get it
Some developers say they will slow down or scale back their plans until the rail project’s fate is decided. But TTA is moving ahead, buying or condemning land for rail stops it might never build.
I’ve said before that a lite rail system would be good for the Triangle. But the current plan is bad. There will be few riders. Why not look at revamping the plan so that it goes to areas where people will ride it?
Picnic 2006-02-08
Today’s picnic basket of items from my blogroll.