3 RTA gatherings in the books, and (at least) 3 more gatherings on the way
- February 23, 2023
- Posted by: Jacob Rigg
- Category: Blog
RTA members and partners,
January 2023 was a full and productive month for our RTA members and member engagement. We had our first RTA General Membership meeting of the year on January 10th, where we delved into electrification in transportation during an online conversation. Later in January we held our RTA 21st Annual Meeting event, hosted in two parts, online on January 24th and in person on January 31st. Our Steering Committee also met during the month of January and considered a host of issues related to mobility infratructure.
January was quite busy and an outstanding month. But there is much more in store in 2023 and rather soon, for our members.
Turning the corner into February, our next RTA General Membership meeting will be this coming Tuesday, February 28th, where we will gather that afternoon for fellowship and then offer support for RDU’s plan to create a new, longer primary runway that will also enable needed expansion of our primary terminal. We encourage all RTA members to attend the public hearing to voice their support for the project — this can be done in only a minute or two. We will provide talking points consistent with the themes in our runway support letter for all members.
The leadership and mobility fun doesn’t stop there. Next month, RTA will be holding a field visit to 540 on Thursday, March 23rd. Our third general membership gathering of the 2023 calendar year will serve as a follow-up to our 2021 field visit to 540. This is “boots on the ground” visibility for the regional business community that will afford us an opportunity to see how the project is progressing as well as view a new site. Our fantastic partners at Wake Tech Community College, who serve on the RTA Regional Leadership Team, will host us for the event. NC Turnpike leaders J.J Eden and Dennis Jernigan will present at the event.
Looking a bit further ahead, our 2023 RTA Transportation Breakfast will be held on Friday, July, 21st, at the new Westin Raleigh/Durham Airport hotel near I-540. This is a new location for us and for the breakfast event, and a new location period — the hotel is so new that it is not even open to guests yet. We will focus on the launch of regionwide BRT at the 2023 Breakfast event, including a celebration of the groundbreaking for the Wake BRT New Bern Avenue corridor in Raleigh. Elected, transportation, and business leaders will all be offering perspectives of the importance and opportunity that interconnected, regionwide BRT — Buses Resembling Trains — affords this region’s future prosperity, economic mobility, and quality of life.
Thank you for your membership and partnership. 2023 is already a great year, and we are just getting started.
Let’s get moving,
Joe
Joe Milazzo II, PE
RTA executive director
RTA is the voice of the regional business community on transportation
