Wednesday morning Wake County Commissioner and transportation/greenway cheerleader Sig Hutchinson greeted a group in town hall by saying Wake Forest’s “future is so bright you got to wear shades” and then revealed the possibility that a commuter rail could be extended from Raleigh to Wake Forest if GoTransit can “get control” of the CSX rail line from Spring Forest Road to Wake Forest. GoTransit purchased the portion of the line from downtown Raleigh to Spring Forest using stimulus funds about five years ago.
“There is the biggest chance of ridership [in the Wake Forest area] anywhere in Wake County,” Hutchinson said. It would mean riders could get from Wake Forest to downtown Raleigh in 22 minutes. He went on to say that the only reason the current Wake County Transit Plan has an east-west Garner to Durham commuter rail line is because “we own it.”
There is the potential for federal legislation with money attached to buy the Spring Forest-Wake Forest corridor, Hutchinson said. After the Nov. 8 referendum on the half-cent sales tax to help pay for the transit plan, he said the transit group will be going to Washington to look for funds for this corridor, for more connector buses between towns and for other facets of the transit plan because the sales tax will only pay for about 45 percent of the $2.3 billion cost. Both presidential candidates, he said, are pushing for large stimulus plans to build and rebuild infrastructure across the country.
He also warned that when it comes to transportation improvements such as the buses, commuter rail and road upgrades, “There is no plan B. We’ve got one chance to get it done because there may not be a next time.” He had spoken about the times federal agencies changed directives and the General Assembly put restrictions on transportation plans, all of which could happen again.
Hutchinson spoke during a meeting organized by the Government Affairs Committee of the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce to hear from Dr. James West, the chairman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners. Hutchinson, the vice chair, accompanied West.
West said Wake Forest Mayor Vivian Jones is “an innovator” who pushed for the local bus in town and the express service to Raleigh.
His speech was focused on the growth in the county – 64 people added on average every day, 250,000 in the next 10 years – and the county’s top priorities of education and transportation. “Everything we do is driven by growth.”
In recent years the county has built the Northern Regional Center on East Holding Avenue housing almost every county service, just completed the Northeastern Regional Library in Wakefield, is planning the expansion of the Wake Forest Library in 2018, and is helping to fund the southern segment of the town’s Smith Creek Greenway which will connect the town and Rolesville to the Neuse River Trail. It provided money to rebuild Caddell Street and county money will build the spray ground at the Taylor Street Park in 2017.
West said the county’s current budget of $1.2 billion has to cover many local areas and responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is to improve the lives of the 143,000 people in the county who are living at the poverty level. That number is twice the population of Rocky Mount.
For more information about the transit plan, go to www.WakeTransit.com or email waketransit@wakegov.com.
4 Responses
I can’t see myself driving 6 miles north to catch a train headed south when downtown Raleigh is only 12 miles.
Also, whatever happen to Smith Creek Greenway south of Burlington Mills Rd? Did they run out of bond / tax money?
This would be really neat if it happens!
I look forward to the time when my wife and I can board a train in downtown Wake Forest, ride it to downtown Raleigh, have a nice meal with a couple glasses of wine or beer, see a show at Memorial Auditorium, and ride safely & comfortably back to Wake Forest!
Tax and spend. Boodoggle.