Back a few years, about 2005, Wake Forest had been experiencing a lot of growth and found itself, to the amazement of old-timers, with about 23,000 people inside the town limits. Wow! It was quite an uptick from 1990 when there were just under 6,000.
But imagine if you can that a town the size of Wake Forest in 2005 was plopped down inside Wake County each year. That is the reality today as we add 64 people – births and inflow minus deaths – to the county each day.
Across the county everybody complains about the traffic. In Wake Forest, the two problems on Rogers Road – the washed-out section thanks to Hurricane Matthew and the bridge replacement which is due to be completed Nov. 8 – have exacerbated traffic woes on South Main and the N.C. 98 Bypass to say nothing of all the alternate other smaller roads which are being used as alternatives.
What if there is an alternative, one that would ease traffic across the county and also tie together the towns and Raleigh? What if that alternative might in the future include fast commuter rail service between Wake Forest and Raleigh, an up-to-date version of the Shoo Fly which operated from the early 1900s until sometime in the 1960s? What if you could vote for it?
The alternative is no secret. It is the Wake County Transit Plan and its future lies in the half-cent referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot. The box to approve or disapprove the half-cent is way at the end of the reverse side of the ballot. Keep looking. You will find it.
“If the referendum passes our [Wake Forest] express bus service will be extended to all-day every-hour service,” Mayor Vivian Jones said. “Plus, one of the exciting things is that our local service can be more than doubled to at least every half hour. There is a very good possibility that commuter rail to Wake Forest would be a part of the plan in later years. Wake Forest would benefit greatly.”
Thanks to the mayor and a forward thinking town government plus cooperation with existing transit systems, in Wake Forest we have a weekday loop bus that travels through town and part of Wakefield each hour and express bus service to and from Raleigh each morning and evening. In September, there were 2,082 riders on the loop bus and 1,087 on the express service with 188 ADA (Americans with Disability Act trips.
A half penny is not going pay for more and more frequent bus service, bus rapid transit inside Raleigh, and commuter rail to tie together Garner, Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville, RTP and Durham, but there will also be hefty federal and state contributions, a new $10 fee for vehicle registration, and rider fares. The supporters say it will cost $2.3 billion to build and operate the new system over the first 10 years.
The benefit will be that 80 percent of the county’s jobs will be within walking distance to some form of the new transit and 54 percent of the county’s homes with be within walking distance.
9 Responses
The transit plan will add $10 to vehicle registration in addition to the 1/2 cent tax. Wake Forest is only adding additional bus service (which is used on a limited basis), yet the commuter rail winners include Garner, downtown Raleigh, N.C. State University, Cary, Morrisville, Research Triangle Park, and Durham. That seems to be a poor ROI for Wake Forest area residents (including Rolesville) for the immediate future.
The majority of the 64 people moving to the area are likely heading to Cary area which has planned ahead for growth. Several new schools and shopping centers have been added. I haven’t seen any plans for new schools in Wake Forest as of lately.
I think Mayor Jones is entirely far too optimistic about the benefits for the area residents. The majority of Wake Forest residents will not benefit greatly for many years – if ever.
I’m all for light rail or commuter service to Raleigh from WF, but we don’t need more buses. In fact we should get smaller and cheaper to maintain vehicles servicing WF.
Please put crossing signals at Ligon Mill and South Main Sreet. Also at Capital and South Main Street. Then the residents would not need to drive to Wal Mart etc and to the movie theatre and all that area as well. A distance of less than a mile and we must drive drive everywhere.
If Wakwfield is in Raleigh why aren’t the Raleigh busses coming as far as for the example The Marquee Cinema which shows being in Raleigh. the Falls of Neuse busses do not cover this area of Raleigh. Why not. It is Raleigh !!!
Thanks.
NO
More taxation for a service rarely used.
The solution isn’t in buses. The solution is in higher-density multi-use communities where you can work, eat, shop and play.
Our town is doing the right thing by the revitalization of the Downtown district. What needs to happen now is more bike lanes and sidewalks for people to get from place to place.
I have walked home from work before. Lowe’s Home Improvement to Abercrombie Road. The trek isn’t that far. Roughly about an hour’s walk. On a nice day, its great exercise and a perfect relief for the day’s stress.
Unfortunately, there are no sidewalks from Galaxy to Durham Road … and none from Durham Road until right before Tyler Run’s entrance.
Besides, why should we invest in buses and/or light rail when the prognosticators are telling us no one will be driving in five to ten years? With the advent of autonomous vehicles, it is possible you will just order up a car to take you to and fro.
Enjoy the vehicle you own today. It may be the last you ever purchase.
If Wake Forest suspends the town bus service , other transportation options for people with disabilities will also end. Access to vans with wheelchair lifts will not be available. Transportation to jobs, grocery shopping or medical appointments will be suspended. And not everyone can afford to purchase and maintain a car. Keep the bus!
This is honestly the worst idea I’ve heard. The bus service is hardly used now. NOBODY is going to use it any more if it is simply multiplied. If you want support of people in Wake Forest it will need to include light rail or more lanes. Removing the lights on Capital by Sams should be step 1.
How many people are actually riding the bus? During what hours? If not even ridership most of day then what good is more service when there are few people in specific hours? It is counter productive to send more buses more often for less people. I’ll vote no.
Yesterday I saw five riders in a full size bus on Capital Boulevard. Perhaps, thought should be given to operating smaller vehicles. I will vote no.