Ken Larsen's web site - March 7, 2017 BOCC meeting - DOLRT proponents
Six people spoke in support of the DOLRT. Here are links to their videos:
| # | Click on name to see video | Summary + Ken's Comments |
| 1 | Dave Laudicina |
Has a Chapel Hill address, but doesn't live in Chapel Hill. Dave
regards DOLRT as the first leg in a Triangle and beyond regional
transportation system. He thinks it will link [in the future]
Raleigh, Cary, RTP, Hillsborough, Burlington, Greensboro, and High Point
... permitting people to commute between any of those places on a daily
basis. Ken's comments: Dave has nice aspirations for public transit, but the high cost of the DOLRT will siphon money away from implementing Dave's goals. |
| 2 | Ramona McGee |
Attorney for Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), a 501(C)(3)
non-profit organization working to protect the natural resources of the
Southeast. They work on a wide range of transportation related
issues. They see DOLRT as directing growth and development in an
environmentally beneficial way. This area's population is expected
to grow in a big way in decades to come. DOLRT will concentrate
development along the route ... instead of it being sprawled out ...
which would have negative environmental impact. Such compact
communities facilitate walking and biking over driving. It'll
bring about improved local air quality. Ken's comments: As I suspected all alone, DOLRT is all about lining the pockets of developers who have bought land along the DOLRT route. Also, building massive development just off of Farrington Road (Leigh Village) is ill advised, because it's adjacent to the head waters of Jordan Lake. Flooding and water pollution will result. Lastly, DOLRT plans an at-grade crossing on Farrington Road. Rush hour traffic on Farrington is already intolerable. At at-grade crossing will make it far worse. |
| 3 | Molly De Marco |
Molly is a nearly daily transit rider. Today she used Chapel Hill
Transit, GoTriangle, and Orange public transit, and she says she will
ride the DOLRT. Molly supports a comprehensive transit plan.
She deems DOLRT as an important priority within a comprehensive plan
which she expects will include increased bus service, an Amtrak station
for Hillsborough, and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). She claims that
thousands of hours of bus service have already been added to Orange
County. Molly says recent polls of Orange County residents showed
strong support for light rail. Molly said she talked to some UNC
students, and one said that DOLRT would radically improve the lives of
the low resource community members. They see it as giving them
access to more job opportunities. Connecting low income community members is one of the reasons why Molly supports DOLRT. Ken's comments: Gentrification along the DOLRT route will prevent it from serving low income people. They'll have to move away. That's happened over and over again across the U.S. The high cost of the DOLRT will result in bus routes being sacrificed to pay for it. That debunks Molly's other argument. |
| 4 | Heather Brutz |
Heather is a transit user who lives in Southern Village and works at
N.C. State. She regularly takes the N.S. and the CRX. She's
been a transit user her entire life. A good transit plan has
arteries, and you need to have bus routes feeding into it. She
supports a transit plan which has both of these. She says that
it's not possible to live in this area without a car, and it should be.
People her age (probably 28) and younger want to live in places where
they don't have to have cars. Ken's comments: Heather thinks that the DOLRT will provide a light rail route plus increased bus service. This is false. DOLRT will be so very expensive that it will siphon money away from bus service. |
| 5 | Ben Rinehart |
Ben is a mathematician who relies on public transportation. Where
he chose to live and work were based on public transport. They
needed to both be on bus routes. The jobs he's most interested in
are found in RTP. Ken's comment: Because of its high cost, DOLRT will siphon money away from bus routes. Ben will disappointed when that happens. |
| 6 | Sue Hunter |
Sue works at Duke and drives to work every day and pays to park in a
parking lot. Sue looks at DOLRT as an artery. It's not the
only transit tool. There needs to be a complete system for our
residents. Sue thinks Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will be as expensive
to build as DOLRT. She thinks buses are more costly to maintain
than light rail trains. Orange County's cost is 23% of the total.
She thinks that that can be negotiated down now that NCCU has been
added. She claims that DOLRT will help lower the tax burden on
Orange County residents ... because of all the tax revenue that
concentrated development will bring. Ken's comments: Sue is wrong about the tax revenue. All of it will go to Durham County, because that's where the development will be. She's also wrong about the cost of BRT vs. DOLRT. |
a few key points of the proponents