News

Here is a brief weekly update from the RTA business coalition — the voice of the regional business community on transportation.

Commuter rail study is taking shape
GoTriangle is leading a study of the potential for commuter rail in the Triangle. Commuter rail would follow the NC Railroad Company corridor, which generally parallels I-40 and future I-885 (NC 147 today) while connecting Clayton, Garner, Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville, RTP, and Durham. RTA has endorsed this study, we received a great update from GoTriangle at this week’s RTA Leadership Team meeting, and we look forward to learning more about the opportunity for initiating and potentially accelerating commuter rail in our market.

Transit partners seek input on return-to-work plans
Our local and regional transit agency partners are seeking input from organizations about potential plans and conerns for their employees’ safe return to work. GoTriangle has launched this survey for companies to share information about estimated timing and expectations for the return of employees, including worksite safety plans and commuting policies. I encourage you to participate in the survey to help inform transit service response and recovery.

Turnpike continues to recover
RTA has been a strong proponent of the development of a resilient, regional multimodal freeway network for nearly two decades – and that includes turnpike freeways like 540 and 147. Recent data from the Turnpike Authority indicates that traffic is now down about 20% compared to this time last year. Another way of thinking about it is that volume has bounced back to 80% of previous levels – and growing – which is actually pretty good given our ongoing work-from-home propensity in the Triangle.

Your membership in the RTA maximizes the impact of your company and the regional business community — thank you for your support!

Let’s get moving,

Joe

Joe Milazzo II, PE
RTA Executive Director