If the Orange County commissioners vote at their April 2 meeting to discontinue pursuit of the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit line, and Durham County commissioners do likewise (the agenda of their April 8 meeting is not yet online), the crushingly expensive light rail project will be packed away, perhaps for good. After GoTriangle spent $137 […]
All posts tagged Light Rail
R.I.P. DOLRT
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 1, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/04/01/r-i-p-dolrt/
Losing our towns
When we take road trips, I sometimes like to get off the interstate and drive some state and county roads to see the different Americas in our country. There are so many. Over the decades that I’ve done this, I’ve come to appreciate the stability of life in small and midsize towns, despite the vastly […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 25, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/03/25/losing-our-towns/
Mortgaging Our Transit Future
By Bonnie Hauser I’m fascinated by the enthusiastic support that many of our elected officials have for Durham Orange Light Rail (DOLRT). County leaders have already committed nearly $2 billion of local sales taxes and fees to the $3.3 billion project and are preparing to commit more. Do they understand the growing risks and concerns […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 4, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/02/04/mortgaging-our-transit-future/
Goodbye, 2018
Everyone wants progress; no one wants change. – Soren Kierkegaard We should unfurl that wisdom on a banner over the dais in Town Council chambers, because that sums up the theme of nearly every council meeting. Development proposals dominate our weekly agendas. Every new development brings with it troublesome side effects. In order to be […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on December 31, 2018
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/12/31/goodbye-2018/
Affordable Leaves the Station
American philosopher Eric Hoffer would have celebrated his 120th birthday last week, had he not died just shy of 85. Among his memorable insights, he noted: “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.” His intuition came to mind as I read one sentence tucked neatly into […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 30, 2018
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/07/30/affordable-leaves-the-station/
DOLRT bills: woulda, coulda, shoulda
Think of the transformative impact $14.5 million could have had on Orange County if we had spent it on extending bus lines so the modestly paid could commute to work and fewer people would have to rely on cars. Instead, Orange County commissioners gambled it away on studies, design and engineering for a light rail […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 4, 2018
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/06/04/dolrt-bills-woulda-coulda-shoulda/
Our chance at the gold — gone
Chapel Hill should bid on hosting a Winter Olympics. Sure, we’d need to build a couple of ski slopes, one with fancy rails and jumps. We would have to retrofit the Dean Dome into an ice-skating rink. And we’d need to build a housing complex for the athletes, though we could repurpose it into affordable […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 19, 2018
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/02/19/our-chance-at-the-gold-gone/
Light Rail at Our Own Risk
Alex Cabanes, the founder of SmartTransitFuture.org, has done in-depth analysis of the proposed Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit project and has explored its implications and transit alternatives. He shares his insight into the latest plot twist of the DOLRT saga. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approved moving the 17.7-mile light-rail project into the engineering phase — […]
Posted by NancyDon on July 31, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/07/31/light-rail-at-our-own-risk/
Trumped in Orange County
The Trump Era has pierced Chapel Hill’s bubble. Last week five of the seven Orange County Commissioners voted for taxpayers to take responsibility for 18% of the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit costs not covered by federal and state governments, plus 18.5% of the debt service, on top of 20% of the regular maintenance costs of […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 1, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/05/01/trumped-in-orange-county/
Funding Our Bubble
Chapel Hill’s bubble has been both boasted about and blasted, depending on the politics of the critic. We have a reputation of being a haven for bleeding-heart liberals, a sanctuary city in sentiment and practice, albeit not codified. But a sneak peek at the proposed Trump administration budget indicates that our bubble is about to […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 20, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/03/20/funding-our-bubble/