Transportation, Land Use & Housing Report
Wake Transit Plan – The FY19 year has begun for the Wake Transit Plan, and things to look forward this year include:
- 2 new bus routes in Raleigh and one in Cary, plus increased service on some GoTriangle bus routes. Frankly, new bus routes is a MAJOR change for GoRaleigh, so when these start come
January, we’ll be publicizing them. WakeUP lobbied for this! - Free Youth Fare will start August 6, providing free bus fare for teenagers (13 and under already free). Teens will have to get a GoPass at several Wake County locations, including libraries, Human Services, bus stations. Schools that currently have transit service nearby will help publicize this too.
- Transit agencies applying for electric buses – WakeUP and CAFT groups continue to push GoRaleigh and GoTriangle to go electric, and they are applying for federal grants for model programs.
Raleigh Union Station opened July 10! The first Amtrak train came into the station at 6:30am! GoTriangle’s Citizen Advisory Committee met for the first time – Acacia Cadogan and Adam Terando (WakeUP board member) have been appointed to the Committee.
Expanding Affordable Housing – WakeUP’s Transportation, Land Use and Housing Committee met to discuss whether WakeUP should begin a new affordable housing coalition to strategize around implementation of the Wake Affordable Housing Plan. Consensus was that we should at least convene interested organizations – potentially in coordination with the NC Housing Coalition – to share information and see if groups want to formalize anything. Most agree there is a need to communicate and monitor Wake County’s plans and encourage municipalities to step up as well.
Accessory Dwelling Units – WakeUP continues to convene organizations and advocates in Raleigh support permitting Accessory Dwelling Units (aka “Granny flats”). Raleigh City Council’s Growth and Natural Resources Committee has been meeting but unfortunately is planning to require an overlay district requirement. They will reconvene in late August and appears to have the 5 votes needed. Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS) – Following our outreach to WCPSS Facilities staff, WCPSS staff has revised school site design specifications to promote safer bike/ped access to school sites (awaiting final to be posted online). This is a significant step we can take credit for!
Complete Streets – As a way to get local municipalities to adopt Complete Streets policies to help ensure roads become accessible to pedestrians, cyclists and transit users, we’ve been following developments of the Comprehensive Plans for Knightdale and Apex, as well as the Transportation Plan being developed for Morrisville. We are providing public comment to encourage inclusion of Complete Streets and transit-oriented land use, and SRTS language. We are very pleased to see this is the trend for new Comp Plans around the county!
Education Report
School Bond – The school board and county commission agreed to put a half billion dollar bond on the ballot this November for two years of funding for school construction and renovations. Polling indicated much greater support for a 2-year bond as opposed to a 4 year bond (which was preferred by the school board). The Chamber of Commerce is organizing a bond campaign called the 2018 Friends of Wake County Committee, to be co-chaired by Sepi Saidi, George York, Orage Quarles, and Blount Williams. They have asked Karen to be on the steering committee of 20-30 community and business leaders. WCPSS School Budget cuts – Unfortunately, even though the County Commission approved a $45 million increase over last year’s school budget, the funding was still not sufficient for all the needs. Thus, the school board has had to make some cuts in operations and not proceed with planned for additional programs, like school counselors. WakeUP lobbied all the County Commissioners and worked with the school board during the budget negotiations, and both boards appreciated our outreach efforts.
Legislative Update — The state legislature concluded and approved a budget that included some pay increases for teachers and principals and some new funding for school counselors. However, school advocates continue to organize in opposition to legislative action because funding for school operations has still not reached pre-recession levels and more funds are going for private school vouchers and charter schools. A recent survey of NC “Influencers” rated increasing funding for public schools at the most important action for improving NC public schools (and Karen voted that way!).
Water Committee Report
Raleigh Water and Sewer Fees – Following debate over stopping rate increases, Raleigh City Council members compromised on a rate increase of just 1.6% in the FY19 Budget. WakeUP opposed this. Raleigh’s Public Utility staff realized through this process that advocacy from WakeUP and other organizations could be a tool in future discussions with the council members. Raleigh Public Utilities will hold a Utility 101 workshop in August for WakeUP staff and Water Committee to discuss the city’s infrastructure replacement plans, other capital improvements and rate structure. Please contact Heather if you would like to be a part of this workshop.
Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) – This year, WakeUP plans to advocate with municipalities in support of replicating Raleigh’s GSI programs in other towns in Wake, as well as in Durham. Meetings have been set up with Cary, Morrisville, Fuquay-Varina to find out more about the communities and develop advocacy messages.
Integrated Water Management (IWM) – WakeUP met with Commissioner Sig Hutchinson and county staff to discuss GSI in Wake County. In summary, Wake County is pro-GSI but doesn’t have rules to require GSI or a dedicated funding source for installation and O&M of stormwater BMPs. Next steps for WakeUP is meeting with WCPSS and facility staff as well as meeting with Mitch Woodward, NC Cooperative Extension.
Jordan & Falls Lakes – The legislature approved language in the budget that will push back the Jordan and Falls Lakes rules even further, and WakeUP urged our members to oppose this action. Unfortunately, the Upper Neuse River Basin Association (UNRBA) proposed the delayed timeline for Falls Lake. Meanwhile, as a way to facilitate local municipal watershed protections, the Jordan Lake One Water Association (JLOWA) is a new collaborative entity, administered by TJCOG and supported by stakeholders from Greensboro to Raleigh, that seeks to facilitate cooperation and holistic resource management in the Jordan Lake watershed and ultimately will be the UNRBA for Jordan Lake. One Water Summit – Heather Keefer attended this national “One Water” conference in July that focused on sustainable, integrated, and inclusive approaches to managing water. The North Carolina delegation consisted of 27 members representing NCDEQ, Greensboro, Wake County, Raleigh, NGOs like American Rivers and WakeUP Wake County.