Neighborhoods

What’s Next for Regional Transit?

Last week the Durham Orange Rail project hit a series of setbacks which led GoTriangle Board spokesperson Sig Hutchinson to liken the rail project to a “broken puzzle”. On Tuesday, the FTA told GoTriangle to increase their budget by $237 million. The next day, Duke University and NC and Southern RR companies sent letters declining […]

A Transit Dream

Thirty years ago, our local community leaders had a vision for regional transportation that used light rail to connect the Triangle. The vision included light rail lines that went everywhere and had the potential to reduce sprawl and make the Triangle a bustling economic center and a wonderful place to live without a car. It […]

Rally at Pettigrew: Tipping Point for Light Rail?

Midst the unseasonably warm temperatures Thursday, about 150 people gathered at the Durham train station at West Pettigrew Street to extol the virtues of the light rail plan.  Many speakers, some Duke employees,  focused on Duke as the impediment to the project moving forward. Let’s look at the reasons the Durham Orange Light Rail project […]

Lawsuit Filed Against ROMF Railyard Located Near Schools and Homes

ARCS Press Release: The ROMF neighbors have filed a lawsuit charging GoTriangle and the City of Durham with spot zoning to place an industrial facility next to a school and residential community. Read the full story in the Indy here.  “A Declaratory Judgment Action was filed today in Durham Superior Court challenging the legality of […]

Open Meetings and Public Records Law

On January 10th, 2019, GoTriangle officials met with Orange County and Durham County elected officials around a conference table in downtown Durham to discuss recent route and cost challenges to the Durham Orange Light Rail project. (This is not a photo of the actual meeting.) Many assumed that given the intense public interest in a […]

Durham Orange ROMF Railyard

What’s the ROMF? (Durham Orange Light Rail Maintenance Facility) Go Triangle, a NC state-authorized agency, plans to put a 24-acre rail yard only 350 yards from a local elementary school, less than 50 yards from a senior community, and in close proximity to a number of established family neighborhoods in southwest Durham. Construction could begin […]

Is There An “At-Grade” Crossing Near You?

An “at-grade” crossing is one where a train crosses a street on the same level as the street — as opposed to crossing via a bridge over the street or through a tunnel under the street. Each such crossing contains a barrier that come up and down and rings a loud bell.  Traffic will be […]

2017 – 2018 Updates

Route will not bring transit mobility to Orange County.  The DOLRT light rail route will not take people to the airport or to RTP. It will instead connect urbanized centers in Durham to each other, and then enters into Orange County from East 54 and ends at UNC Hospital.  Only 4 stops are within Orange […]