Dear Friends,
Though the Triangle is widely recognized for its high quality of life, the consequences of sprawling growth patterns are earning our area a new - and not so desirable - distinction. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill is the number one gas guzzling region in the U.S., according to the Center for Neighborhood Technology!
The distances between jobs and homes, suburban land-use patterns and lack of alternative forms of transportation are no boon to us, especially at a time when gas costs $4/gallon. Better land use planning and regional transit are key to reducing vehicle miles traveled, traffic congestion, air pollution, and to improving our quality of life.
__________________________________________________________________
Durham-Orange Advances Regional Transit
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization's transit committee has approved a regional transit draft plan that will encompass expanded bus and rail service between the three municipalities. This is an important step in enhancing public transportation in the Triangle region. Next, the Durham and Orange County Commissioners must approve the plan, and may agree to put a referendum for a half-cent sales tax on the November ballot to help finance the plan. So Durham and Orange Counties could move forward on transit BEFORE Wake County.
Meanwhile in Wake County, the Wake County Transit Plan Task Force is developing the pieces and financing for a transit plan of bus and rail for Wake. The task force is made up of eight mayors from Wake municipalities and Wake County Commissioners. Their vision for a multi-modal transportation plan will be presented to all the Wake municipalities and the County Commission. Their plan is expected later this summer.
__________________________________________________________________
Falls Lake "Mess" Highlighted in Independent Weekly
Who's responsible for the Falls Lake mess? New rules to clean up the Lake went into effect January 15, 2011, but local municipalities - primarily Raleigh and Durham - will likley still debate who is responsible for the pollution and who should pay for the $1.5 billion cleanup. A recent article in the
Independent Weekly gives a comprehensive overview of how we got into this Falls Lake mess, and what the rules are intended to do. In the meantime, we've no choice but to continue swimming and drinking from a Lake that does not meet state or federal water quality standards.
Read more...__________________________________________________________________
