rail
The Southeast High-Speed Rail (SEHSR) project seeks to build a 110mph Acela-like passenger train system connecting DC to Charlotte (and beyond), via Richmond, Wake Forest, Raleigh, Durham and Hillsborough, using a straightened version of the current Amtrak route. The environmental impact studies currently being developed for the Petersburg VA - Raleigh section includes a bike-ped inter-urban greenway. Charlotte is independently working with consultants to develop a bike-ped urban corridor parallel to their portion of this rail line. Carrboro's very successful Libba Cotton greenway closely parallels an active freight line that runs north through town past WSM and Horace Williams to join the current Amtrak (future SEHSR) line just southeast of Hillsborough.
Last year, the Rail Station Task Force recommended the Collins Parcel in Hillsborough as the best place for a future Amtrak and commuter station for Orange County, which is one of only two counties along the North Carolina Railroad corridor statewide without passenger service today (Davidson County is the other). Conceptual plans for the station and transit-oriented development on the site were presented to a packed audience on March 31, 2010 at the Orange County Library.
A day after the elections for city-wide offices in Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough several of our elected officials joined advocates for transit to publicly launch "DO Transit" - Durham Orange Friends of Transit. Thanks to Gerry Cohen for posting info about the kick-off meeting here on OP and for being there last night to help explain House Bill 148. The newly enacted legislation establishes the Congestion Relief and Intermodal Transportation 21st Century Fund, providing the Triangle with an unprecedented opportunity to build a robust transit system.
The town of Hillsborough presented seven potential sites for a new rail depot last night.
For more info, check Hillsborough's Development Activity page—they said they'd have info there by Friday January 16, 2009. Meanwhile, I've put a map of the locations with some notes here.
Two of the sites (5-Hampton Pointe & 6-Collins Property) are on the current Triangle Transit route 420. A quick and efficient connection to regional bus service is critical for many traveling to/from Chapel Hill.
From an Orange County notice:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Jan. 6, 2009
Contact: Hillsborough Planning Director Margaret Hauth, 732-1270 Ext. 86
or margaret.hauth@hillsboroughnc.org
Hillsborough Senior Planner Tom King, 732-1270 Ext. 73
or tom.king@hillsboroughnc.org
Rail Station Task Force Seeks Input on Suggested Hillsborough Sites
HILLSBOROUGH — The Rail Station Task Force wants the public’s input on suggested rail station sites in Hillsborough and the task force’s criteria for rating the sites.
The task force — appointed in the fall by the Hillsborough Town Board and Orange County Board of Commissioners — will host an open house from 4 to 9 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Big Barn Convention Center. The advisory committee will discuss a number of suggested rail station sites and the rating criteria it will use for formally recommending a site to the two boards.
A presentation will be given at 5:30 p.m. and repeated at 7 p.m. The information also will be available on a drop-in basis.
During the open house, the task force also will seek feedback about the relative desirability of the suggested sites and comments and suggestions about changes to the rating criteria. Participants will be able to give their feedback verbally or in writing.
The advisory task force, which first met in November, was created to define the criteria for selecting a train station site and to recommend a location. It also is charged with investigating the established funding criteria and procedural steps to proceed with development of a station and with describing a schedule of tasks to be accomplished prior to initiation of service.
The task force includes representatives of the Hillsborough Planning Board, the Orange County Unified Transportation Board, the Orange County Transportation Services Board, the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough, the Orange County Economic Development Commission and the Walkable Hillsborough Coalition and three citizens.
An Amtrak and N.C. Department of Transportation analysis, completed in the summer, indicated a rail stop in Hillsborough could be financially viable, with an estimated net gain of about $56,000. Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens had formally requested the study on the possibility of a rail stop on behalf of a number of citizens.
Based on costs at that time, construction was estimated at about $1 million for a platform with lighting and a canopy and $5 million to $6 million for a station building.
The task force is expected to report on the site selection Feb. 19 at the joint meeting of the Hillsborough Town Board and Orange County Commissioners. Its work is expected to be completed by the end of May. Further opportunities for comment will be made available as the selection narrows.
The Big Barn is located at 388 Ja Max Drive. Minimal refreshments will be available.
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Date:
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - 11:00am to 4:00pm
Location:
The Big Barn, 388 Ja Max Drive, Hillsborough
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