Letter Presented to GoTriangle Trustees

March 26, 2019

Dear Members of the GoTriangle Board of Trustees:

We citizens and transit supporters in Durham and Orange Counties are asking you to take account of the many changes that have made the Durham-Orange light rail project no longer viable, to stop work on this project, and to redirect your efforts toward transit projects that can meet more of our regional and local transit needs, less expensively, and sooner.

The latest FTA Annual Report gave the DOLRT project an overall ranking of medium, the lowest rating of the four projects in our category and thewest rating that allows it to squeak by to the next evaluation milepost. Our project was rated low for cost effectiveness, the lowest rating available. Low cost effectiveness means that we are getting a very bad transit value for the investment we will have to make.

These unfavorable FTA ratings preceded recent events that further raise project costs and weaken our chances to get federal support: the expensive design changes in downtown Durham, the lawsuit making the case that the planned ROMF site rezoning was not done legally, the serious design problems raised by the NC Railroad, which will likely require further costly fixes, and the decision by Duke University not to support the project. Resolving Duke’s objections will most likely not be possible. In any case, it will assuredly be expensive. These additional costs and difficulties will make the project rate even lower with FTA and further reduce the chances of federal funding.

The local funding scheme for DOLRT, which does not appear in the FTA budget numbers, requires the two counties to borrow extensively and pay almost a billion dollars in interest. These interest payments will drain our regional and local transit funds for decades and further delay critical transit improvements.

GoTriangle has made a valiant effort to make the light rail project work. It is always difficult to change a direction that has been so enthusiastically pursued. But continuing with the project in the face of so many obstacles will only spend more of our scarce transit dollars fruitlessly, while delaying our progress toward the transit solutions we urgently need.

We want to make a special appeal to the Wake County Trustees. You may be inclined to support this project in your partner counties. But Wake County’s example of setting aside light rail to choose other transit modes that are more flexible and that will serve more people sooner has inspired our effort. We ask you to support us in making a similar transition to a better path for Durham and Orange. If GoTriangle continues with this unviable project until it crashes, the confidence of the public in GoTriangle will be shaken and regional cooperation for transit may be damaged beyond repair.

Our low income citizens are especially dependent on transit and deserve careful attention. Bus and bus rapid transit systems can serve this part of our community with more routes that will get them where they want to go and get transit on the ground much sooner, as the Wake County example is showing.

We appreciate your service to regional transit and look forward to supporting a new plan that can unite our communities to reduce congestion and emissions and contribute to a healthy economy, increased educational and job opportunities, and continued high quality of life in the Triangle.

Sincerely,

The undersigned citizens of Durham and Orange Counties:

David Adams

Susan Anna

Barbara Beard

Christina Broad

Tony and Deb Blake

Lisa Brach

Linda Brown

Alex Cabanas

Karen Carr

Kaye Chitsaz

Silvia Clements

Anna Donegan

Tom Englund

Arthur and Debbie Finn

Tamara and Charlie Finn

Richard Ford

Frances and David Freedman

Steve Fromme

Meg Gresham

Joan Guilkey

Laura Gutman

Linda Haac

Sharon Hamner

Bill and Pat Hanenberg

David and Cheri Hardman

Kim Hardman

Bonnie Hauser

Margarita and Lutz Hendricks

Tom Henkel

Bruce Henschel

Jennifer Hodgkinson

Charles Humble

Immanuel Jarvis

Rudy Juliano

Joan Kachel

David Kiel

William and Valerie Kinsella

Linda J. Kopel

Fred Lampe

Ken Larsen

Joseph L. Liegl

Susan Longiotti

Laura Lloyd

Scott and Sarah Madry

Bettie Sue Masters, Phd

Dick McAdams

James and Ingrid Mcintosh

Judith Mellyn

Julie McClintock

Molly McConnell

Gerry and Adele Mittelstadt

John Morris

Dennis Naugle

Bonnie O’Neill

Candy Owens

Michael-Ann Pelo

Susan F. Pierce

Phil Post

Jeff and Cheryl Prather

Pamela and David Ransohoff

Chuck Roser

Mark and Barbara Smith

Del Snow

Linda Spallone

Yuri Trembath

Janie and John H. Wagstaff

Diane Willis

Marc Wisenberg

Neva Whybark