A look ahead to 2022 — part two
- January 13, 2022
- Posted by: Joe Milazzo II
- Category: Blog
This week’s blog, and also last and next week’s posts, provide a preview of the upcoming year. Shorter versions of each appear in our weekly member briefings as well.
Our Metropolitan Rapid Transit system begins construction
In 2021, the City of Raleigh will begin construction of our region’s first rapid transit investment, the New Bern Avenue BRT corridor. This enhanced transit investment – with dedicated transit lanes, near-level boarding, 10 paired stations, and consistent, frequent service, will extend for five miles east from Downtown Raleigh, past the Raleigh campus of RTA member WakeMed Health and Hospitals, and continue past I-440 into east Raleigh. 2022 is the year where rapid transit work begins in earnest; by the end of the decade we will have more than 50 miles of bus rapid transit across our extended market. More to come on all six BRT corridors and extensions serving Wake County this year.
Discussions on enhanced transit continue in Durham, Orange
Durham and Orange counties have continued progress on their respective revised county transit implementation plans. These are vital efforts for the future of their communities and our region, and we have offered support letters and feedback on the draft plans for both Durham and Orange counties. 2022 is the year that Durham and Orange counties will approve revised transit plans for their respective communities. We are hopeful that these new and complementary plans will incorporate commuter rail, expanded and interconnected bus rapid transit, and an overall improved ability for current and future residents to get around this region.
Along with multimodal linkages including the Triangle Bikeway
This past fall, the Triangle Bikeway study concluded, laying the groundwork for movement in multiple segments of this future multimodal regional corridor. You can view a static or interactive map of the proposed bikeway. 2022 is the year where the region can invest in detailed planning and design to move multiple sections of the Triangle Bikeway corridor forward. You can download a video commissioned by RTA and developed by RTA Regional Leadership Team member McAdams of the proposed Triangle Bikeway.
And enhanced statewide mobility policies, led by NCDOT
In 2021 we saw the expansion of NCDOT’s Complete Streets policy to incorporate transit, and a complementary update in the statewide Roadway Design Manual. Much of this was catalyzed by the work of the RTA-led Freeway And Street-based Transit (FAST) study, jointly funded by RTA, NCDOT, GoTriangle, and the NC Turnpike Authority. NCDOT has created an excellent FAST vision webpage, which includes a statewide FAST implementation playbook. 2022 is the year to embrace the FAST vision by incorporating transit enhancements into freeway and regional boulevard improvements across the Triangle and statewide.
Let’s get moving,
Joe
Joe Milazzo II, PE
RTA Executive Director
RTA is the voice of the regional business community on transportation
www.letsgetmoving.org
