John Hood on July 17 runoffs; David Rouzer, Harry Brown & Rob Jackson on using sea level projections to limit development; GOP legislators on changes to juvenile justice law; Anthony Papalas on Greece's fiscal woes; Michael Sanera on regional rail in N.C.
RALEIGH — Even while North Carolina’s three largest metro areas try to boost their “world class city” credentials with new light-rail transit systems, ridership trends suggest that such prestige projects will only aggravate already-spiraling costs. Nowhere is this more evident than in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, where the Triangle Transit Authority is the lead agency for a regional light-rail system that is supposed to cost about $630 million. TTA’s project got plenty of the wrong kind of attention early this year when it got snubbed in President Bush’s budget recommendations.
Light rail's high cost and low ridership dictate that municipal leaders abandon their lofty plans for down-to-earth buses.
