You may not have noticed, but traffic is getting very, very bad across Guilford County, and many people who remember driving around Greensboro 30 or 40 years ago are often astonished at the vast number of cars on city roads at all times of the day.
Greensboro’s Battleground Avenue, for instance, pretty much looks like it has rush hour traffic on it all day long, and some small streets that used to see a car once every five or ten minutes now have a steady stream of traffic.
The leaders of PART, the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation, say the problem will only get worse, and the Authority and more public transport options can be a key part of the solution.
It will cost money to expand the service; and the source of that money was a topic of discussion this week by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners. At a Thursday, April 18 work session, the commissioners discussed the possibility of allowing PART to put a sales tax hike option on the ballot to address some of the current and future traffic problems.
The PART board hadn’t voted to ask the commissioners, or even made an informal request; however, so many members of the Board of Commissioners had heard that PART would likely ask for a sales tax hike at some point, that the commissioners discussed the matter even though it wasn’t on the agenda that afternoon.
There was clearly no desire among the commissioners, if PART did ask, to put that tax hike request on the ballot this November. There are already plans to have a quarter-cent tax increase measure on the ballot to help fund Guilford County Schools.
PART General Manager and CEO Scott Rhine said after hearing of the commissioners’ discussion that a sales tax hike to support the transportation authority would indeed be premature this year.
Rhine added that traffic in Guilford County – and the other counties PART serves – is going to continue to grow and he said the expansion of PART could help address some of the area’s coming congestion and pollution issues.
Rhine said that, though the PART board hasn’t requested a sales tax hike to pay for expansion, a one-half cent sales tax increase is one option included in a long-term transportation plan drawn up by the City of Greensboro. He said that may have been one factor that led to the commissioners’ conversation last week.
Rhine said that PART currently has money to provide existing services, but also said that, in order to expand and make improvements to meet the demands of the increasing population and traffic in the county, PART would need a substantial amount of funding, which a half-cent sales tax increase could provide.
It could help fund Greensboro’s transportation plan and a more regional expansion of public transportation as well, he noted.
Rhine said that, with all the new companies and new people coming to the area, preparations have to be made.
“We need to start acting now for what the future is going to be,” Rhine said. “It’s only going to get worse.”
He added that he doesn’t want Guilford County to end up like Atlanta – which is a traffic nightmare.
“I don’t know if there is enough land to keep building the roads we’ll need,” he said.
He added that light rail doesn’t seem like a good option because it has failed in other parts of the state and has faced numerous environmental challenges.
But he also said that more funding for PART – whatever the source – would allow the Authority to enhance services and create a truly regional solution.
“There are a great deal of improvements that need to be made,” he said of the existing public transportation networks in central North Carolina.
Rhine said that what’s really needed is a “seamlessness across jurisdictions.”
Right now, he said, there’s a patchwork quilt of different counties, cities and towns doing different things.
“There are different pay scales; some are unionized, some are not; there are different policies and other differences,” he said.
According to Rhine, a true regional approach would lead to a more cohesive experience that would draw more riders.
“We need to get rid of barriers,” Rhine said.
—–
Well OF COURSE P.A.R.T. is beating the anti-car drum. It is the absurd pretext they’re using to get more money for themselves!
—–
PS Greensboro’s population has doubled since I arrived here. More people = more cars = more congestion.
But there’s an easy and obvious answer : build more roads to accommodate our increasing population.
. . . & put them by you . . . & the dealership, garage, parking lot,ER & oil refinery.
No problem, dear.
It’s called growth, and it’s how the US became the World’s Superpower.
And yet Geekboro doesn’t spend NEAR enough on maintaining the roads. When I describe the roads I usually tell people they look like checkerboards. . . .black and white squares, with multiple dips and bumps, and in some streets with trees in the medians that need to be pruned. Guess road paving and maintenance was deferred to ensure the non-profits were funded.
I worked for part. It’s a giant waste of money. Nothing but empty ($500,000) busses riding around consuming thousands of gallons of diesel.
Rhine is a huckster looking out for his own fat paycheck.
They do drive around empty, don’t they? Whenever I see one I try to draw alongside to see if there are ANY passengers.
usually there are none.
Sometimes one or two, that’s it.
What a pathetic money pit of a project.
Most of the time there were more busses at the station than people.
ditto my experience: great concept, few riders. the least used is the boone n back bus where i have ALWAYS been the only passenger (while the driver is getting the speeding ticket – you know where!)
How many PART buses have I seen that are traveling empty? Get rid of barriers and become like a local federal government? No thanks. We all know what the problem is; too many people. Why does government encourage growth? Answer: More people mean more power for the ruling class.
Can someone please explain to me why the schools need a 1/4 cent sales tax increase? Didn’t they just get like $2 Billion?
The 2B was borrowed money. Like all borrowed money, it must be repaid by taxpayers. The commissioners propose raising taxes to repay the borrowed money. If there were no money in the budget to repay the loan without raising taxes, the money should not have been borrowed through issuing bonds. The small percentage of voters who vote in Guilford County are so ill-informed that they should do the informed voters a favor and not vote.
And remember all the “Education” Lottery proceeds they are raking in.
As the old saying goes. . .”A fool and his money are soon parted”
Maybe they should start by working on fixing the timing of traffic lights along the main corridors. Wendover from Bridford to Costco is a perfect example. One light turns green but the next one is still red, so you drive a short distance then have to stop again. The lights need to be timed so that the lights downstream turn green before yours does so that there is an actual flow of traffic, rather than all this start/stop.
The city and county will not listen to these valad concerns and suggestions due to the fact that it will take control away from the parties that just want the money to support their pet projects an
not help the true problem. City and County just want to, as usual, throw our tax money at it and hope it goes away, and say we tried. It is a big problem and needs to be handled properly or the Greensboro streets and roads will continue to stay as speedways as they are now.
Considering what the City spends on make-work programs (sidewalks?) on infrastructure, how much money do you think they would waste on City roads, and how long do you think it would take? Considering our Socialist govt in the City and County, I am still amazed at the population growth here. Where is everyone working?
Another thing, all these people here means the City & County collect more taxes. Isn’t infrastructure one of the main service our govt is supposed to provide?
Why does state and local government crow about how they’re bringing new businesses to the Triad but don’t plan the infrastructure to accommodate that growth? Poor planning on their part does not create an emergency on my part.
PART is a folly in and of itself. Partially Federal Funded Behemoth Busses running empty across the Triad make no sense economically or green wise. Further, CEO Rhine sounds like someone trying to feather his own nest and assure job security.
How about Hydrogen powered vans running dedicated routes and should the route have more needs than a van, after a determined period, expand to a mini bus?
Federal funds always come with a price. Ignore the Feds and use common sense
And, PART is a contracted service with a union for their drivers.
Our local govt planning is limited to the next election.
How will PART reduce traffic? People drive cars and trucks for the convenience of getting some place. A bus takes all day to go anyplace. People with a purpose will not ride a bus. They are as dead as newspapers.
Sell their he buses and layoff the staff.
. . . the bus takes > time & gets you ALMOST there!
Buses are crap.
In the 21st Century, they just don’t work (which is why the Private Sector won’t operate them).
Our Federal Government just shipped over 95 BILLION of our worthless American dollars out of the country to fund ongoing conflicts! Our worthless border is wide open to anyone, most importantly terrorists, drug mules and human trafficking. Funding here in the good old USA seems to be going to DEI, LGBTQHOLDTHEMAYO, Ivy League protests, illegal immigrants and anyone else but people who actually need help.
Give me a (TAX) break! In the 90’s Clinton sent our manufacturing jobs overseas. In the 2000’s GWBush shut down inpatient mental health facilities. Next Obama came along and put another large group on the government dole and began the “fundamental transformation” of America.
With the slight break provided by Trump we got just a glimmer of the real USA again. Now the slippery slope started by BO has morphed into an avalanche leading to our country’s bankruptcy.
And Greensboro/Guilford County want to RAISE MY TAXES AGAIN? I might even consider that idea…but only under one condition. Put another request on the same ballot to eliminate RANKED CHOICE BALLOTS and enacting TERM LIMITS FOR ALL ELECTED CITY AND COUNTY OFFICIALS!
Oh yeah, RAISE POLICE SALARIES AND BENEFITS!
Then, and only then, I MIGHT consider your stupid request to give you more of my money than you know how to squander.
Public transportation in this town is largely a black hole to throw money away. There are a few residents who do dearly depend on it, but by in large the bus routes are well under 50% of capacity … closer to 15-25% if I’m being honest. I’ve seen those PART buses with just a handful of people riding. Folks are not going to give up their personal transportation to take a bus trip that lasts over an hour for what they could drive themselves in 30 minutes or less.
I was pleased back when the city parted ways with the company that controlled the Stoplight camera traps. Today, the amount of open recklessness, speeding and yes, stoplight violations is the worse I’ve ever seen and I’ve been here over fifty years.
I now reverse my opposition and fully support open surveillance of scofflaws. Whether they are ever held accountable is a completely different issue.
Why doesn’t the City hire some of those vagrants sitting,standing and yes laying down in the medians begging for a job and money? We need roads and according to their signs they need work. Gets a traffic hazard off the roads, especially Battleground at Cone where the police are frequently called to intercede.
Kathy. . .the “We need roads and according to their signs they need work” is a distraction. They don’t wat to work but want money, not food, not clothing for their young children behind them, but money. . .usually for dope.
30 million illegal aliens in the country might be part of the problem as well.
Driving with no insurance.
Stolen tags.
Taking up space in the schools, hospitals, parks……….
Just another example of a city ran by liberal touchy feelly do gooders buying a horse before they have a barn. Idiots