The issue of public transportation has become all the rage in central North Carolina – and Guilford County government has now joined the City of Greensboro and the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation in making plans for expanded transportation services.
In the county’s case, the initiative, overseen by a committee headed up by Commissioner Carly Cooke, is funded by $1 million dollars in federal relief money from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Some of the Rescue Plan Act money can be used for infrastructure and Guilford County has set aside the $1 million to improve transportation. It’s not known yet exactly how that money will be used, so the county is putting out a call for ideas.
In the near future, Guilford County will begin accepting responses to its Request for Ideas for the county’s “Transportation Pilot Program,” which is an attempt to enhance access to transportation in all parts of the county at all hours of the day and night.
In order to help collect ideas, Guilford County is hosting a virtual information session providing information on the Request For Ideas application process on Wednesday, May 8 at 12:30 p.m.
During the virtual event attendees can learn more about the application process.
Guilford County is attempting to well-integrate its transportation plan with the transportation services that already exist and those being planned by Greensboro and the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation.
Publicly posted information about the project states that, through multiple “listening sessions, community survey input, and collaborative involvement with local officials from the cities of Greensboro and High Point and the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation,” the county has identified the following key areas of concern that county officials want to see addressed…
- One area of focus is getting people to their places of employment. One challenge, county officials state, is getting workers in need of transportation “to existing and emerging employment hubs because there is a lack of timely, quick, and dependable service to key employment hubs or limited/no service during certain hours and days.”
That includes those who work 2nd and 3rd shifts, and those who work on weekends, when mainstream public transportation may not be available.
- The county is also concerned about providing transportation to those without a car who need county services. County officials state, “Lack of transportation negatively impacts everyone, but specific populations will face larger burdens, specifically those who are justice-involved, experiencing homelessness, or need to use the county’s public human services (e.g., Social Services, Public Health, non-crisis Behavioral Health, etc.). A lack of timely and accessible transportation is cited as a reason some individuals are unable to attend mandatory appointments or meetings to complete their assigned programs or access needed benefits.”
- Another concern focuses on county residents who need transportation for crisis care. According to county leaders, the existing transportation systems aren’t the best option for people experiencing a behavioral health crisis – especially when that crisis occurs outside of regular operating hours and on weekends.
Don’t worry, money has been spent once available. Let’s be blunt….build whatever on the east side.
If Guilford County and the City of Greensboro would have had the interest of all city and county residents and just a little foresight perhaps they could have used the abandoned rail line that in part ran from downtown Greensboro to Stokesdale. Envision battery powered buses running on the abandoned rails, a little traffic having to stop here and there, with rider parking lots in Stokesdale, Summerfield and Battleground Avenue near I-840, etc. These parking areas could have included ‘leased’ parking areas for every day commuters and other areas for less frequent users.
This would have possibly addressed two problems that the Rhino has published, ‘Transportation Authority Says Traffic Onslaught Needs To Be Addressed’ and ‘Guilford County Wants To Know How To Spend A Cool Million On Transportation Plans’.
One of the contributing traffic problems on Battleground Avenue is the lack of proper bus stops that now frequently hinder the flow of traffic on a sequential traffic light corridor, oops, I forget that doesn’t work now.
The City of Charlotte has given ‘Bus Stops’ more thought than the City of Greensboro can contemplate.
Someone in the City of Greensboro Transportation Authority should read the requirements for buses on City of Charlotte website; https://www.charlottenc.gov/files/sharedassets/cats/v/1/cats-docs/envision-my-ride-docs/appendix-d-envision-my-ride.pdf.
Wait and see ole skippy will figure a way to have a dedicated bus and route from the airport directly to his downtown money pit. After all it is a huge economic generator for Greensboro.
Sounds simple to me, the “free money” should be used on road maintenance (not unused sidewalks & bike lanes).
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What a load of public sector buzzspeak bull****.
Let’s remind ourselves of the basics.
With the private automobile you can choose to go anyplace you want, at any time of day or night, from your own driveway to that of your cousin in Montana, taking in whatever sights and scenery you wish, with the ability to change your itinerary on a whim as you please. You do not surrender your privacy, or your autonomy, because you are not made to sit with strangers, nor are you straitjacketed into an inflexible and invariably delayed schedule.
In Government Transportation you must somehow get yourself to an embarkation point of their choosing, at a time of their choosing, in order to have the privilege of sitting amongst an array of disreputable looking and smelly people whom you must survey continuously, and surviving the ordeal, you arrive at some place you never wanted to get to but is an approximation of your desired destination.
I’d rather not be treated like cattle.
I’m keeping my (politically incorrect, very fast) private car.
Stuff the taxpayer-funded money pit public sector white elephant.
I’ve been to places were local transportation like buses, rail cars, subways, etc. were highly utilized. I worked in Philadelphia years ago, and took the train/subway to/from New Jersey every day. 15 miles out, and at work in less than 1/2 hour. Driving in was a nightmare + $25 dinged-up parking. Many big cities have successful public transportation. Years ago, SF has buses, cable cars, and electric rail cars. You could get most anywhere in the city PDQ. Same at the Metro.
In a town like Greensboro, public transit has a negative stigma about it. As if it were for a few people who couldn’t afford their own cars. And in our city, you need a car to get most anywhere.
When the City fills up the buses they have now, then they can add more. Not just to waste money to look good and buy votes.
There is a large demand for high speed transportation in the triad. Why can’t subways or El services be incorporated with all the railway systems here? Other cities such as Charlotte has a great El systems which eliminates driving an accessible to jobs. Another big issue is lack of transportation services especially on Sunday in High Point, yet services are available in Greensboro which is also Guilford County. Something is wrong with that picture.
A great demand for high speed transportation? A subway? An L train? What brand are you smoking? Our projected population will NEVER subsidize such folly.
Sure, I’d love to beam me up to the airport but who’s going to pay for that?
If they have that much money to blow through, they should be reducing our tax burden. The money came from us!
The plans still include almost no transportation from areas like Adam’s Farm and other southeast & southwest neighborhoods that have huge amount of housing especially apartments. Almost no places where people live, but plenty of businesses are getting routes. There’s just no way to get people from where they live to those businesses on the proposed routes. I don’t understand the logic.
First. . . .get rid of the huge buses that are “rarely” half full, even if they are electric. Use smaller buses that accommodate 15-30 people. Not sure if all buses go on routes that take them back to downtown, but why not get back to transfer passes for buses that never go to downtown. . .like they did years ago.
Why does the city contract with the company to provide bus services? If I’m correct, they are a union. And Scott, what is the budget for transportation . . .”inquiring minds want to know”