New ‘Business-Centered’ Transit Plan Forgets One Thing — People
Thoughtful urban planning is the cornerstone of good growth and social mobility. It’s only through planning that’s responsive to the needs of diverse communities that we can hope to ensure the most disadvantaged among us enjoy safe, reliable access to housing, jobs, child care, grocery stores, healthcare and other life necessities.
Unfortunately though, being responsive to diverse needs isn’t something that’s been standard practice throughout our nation’s history. This is evidenced by such discriminatory practices as “redlining” in housing. It’s also evidenced by disparities between predominantly black and white neighborhoods in terms of investments in transportation, schools, and infrastructure.
The effects of historic bias in planning and decision-making linger in America’s towns and cities to this day. As such, we’re troubled whenever we learn about local plans and projects here in Wake County that fail to engage diverse, historically under-served populations right from the very beginning.
One such project is a new regional transit network recently unveiled by the Regional Transportation Alliance (RTA), GoTriangle, and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT).
The FAST Network
The Freeway and Street-based Transit Network, dubbed “FAST,” is a new transportation initiative meant to transform area highways into multi-modal corridors to provide rapid, frequent, and reliable transit service across the Triangle. As described on the project website, the new network would directly serve major employment centers, like Research Triangle Park (RTP), and complement upcoming projects such as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and commuter rail, both of which are major components of the Wake Transit Plan.
On the surface, the FAST Network is very promising, especially given the relative ease and speed with which it could be implemented. Moreover, the preliminary plans include some exciting recommendations for efficient bus service:
- Transit bypasses of on-ramp signals
- Direct priority connections between freeways and streets
- Interlining high-frequency routes along busway segments to optimize transit operations and the user experience
- Use of a Bus On Shoulder System (BOSS)
- Yield-to-Bus signage
- Transit slip ramps and slip stops
- Transit Signal Priority
- Queue Jump Lanes for buses
- Tactical bus lanes
- RED Lanes for buses
Each of the above-mentioned recommendations is elaborated upon here, in the preliminary findings from the pre-planning study for the FAST Network.
By relying on existing transportation infrastructure, the FAST Network takes a fiscally responsible approach to improving transit and reducing traffic throughout the Triangle. This is a smart move given the urgent environmental need right now to reduce total vehicle miles traveled. Given that transportation is the largest source of climate-polluting emissions in the U.S. today, we need to get more people to shift from private automobiles to alternative forms of transportation, such as transit, if we want to get serious about tackling climate change.
Nonetheless, despite its many promising aspects, we believe the FAST Network falls short as it is presently conceived. Our chief concerns center around the plan’s implications for future transportation planning and potential impacts on racial and economic equity.
Does FAST Set a Risky Precedent for Funding?
Given the emphasis on major streets and freeways, we worry the FAST Network sets a worrisome precedent for future planning and funding for non-automobile-centric modes of transportation.
Building a public transportation network along freeways will likely make it easier for state legislators to justify diverting funds away from needed bicycle and pedestrian programs in favor of costly, environmentally destructive highways. In fact, this is precisely what happened recently in the case of the NC House Bill 77, which, in light of statewide budget shortfalls, completely zeroed out funding for a number of important bicycle, pedestrian, and transit projects. Meanwhile, no actions were taken in the bill to zero out projects or programs supporting North Carolina highways.
If the FAST Network ever comes to fruition, it will be crucial to integrate bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure fully into the network. This is especially true given that the network will not serve all communities throughout Wake County equally.
Which brings us to our second major concern.
It Might be FAST, but is it Equitable?
In connecting various parts of the region to RTP, the FAST Network is marketed as good for the local economy and local business. However, we question whether it’s good business if the network does little to serve area residents most in need of transportation and good-paying jobs.
At present, there’s no indication the FAST Network will help connect disadvantaged residents in Wake County with vital community resources and new economic opportunities. As such, we’re concerned about the potential for the plan to jeopardize recent progress in advancing racial and economic justice.
There’s a wealth of evidence that, since the 1956 Federal Highway Act, highways have been used across America to stymie the economic growth and social mobility of minority communities. In many U.S. cities, highways are disproportionately concentrated in and around Black communities. As a result, these “locally unwanted land-uses” act as barriers that divide neighborhoods and cut off Black and low-income communities from good paying jobs, schools, and other beneficial community resources.
Transit projects implemented along freeways and highways do nothing to rectify such abuses of past transportation planning. On the contrary, they threaten to exacerbate existing inequities by fully embracing and building atop what is arguably racist infrastructure.
Consider the graphics below, which show the proposed FAST Network corridors for the next 10+ years superimposed on top of maps showing the percentage of Black residents in each census tract (Figure 1) and the median household income in each census tract (Figure 2).
Figure 1: FAST Network and the Percentage of Black Residents in Each Wake County Census Tract
Figure 2: FAST Network and Median Household Income in Each Wake County Census Tract
As highlighted by the red boxes, the FAST Network leaves a sizable gap in transit service to much of eastern Wake County. This is noteworthy because many of the communities in this portion of Wake County have large populations of black and lower-income residents. In census tract 521.01 in Southeast Raleigh, for instance, 78% of residents are black and the median household income is $39,000 a year (for comparison, the median household income for all of Wake County is $76,956 a year).
Given these critical gaps in service, the FAST Network plan sends a short-sighted, hurtful message to our communities of color — namely, that there’s little value in investing in eastern Wake County because, over the next 30 years: (1) it’s unlikely this area will produce much in the way of a talented workforce; and (2) it’s unlikely this area will be seen by others throughout the county as an attractive destination.
We disagree. Moreover, given that many of our residents are still reeling from the economic impact of COVID-19, we strongly believe this is no time to implement what is essentially a “business-class” public transportation project.
Public transit projects that rely on taxpayer dollars need do more than just connect higher-income earners with opportunities to which they already have access. In order to be truly transformative, projects should be forward-thinking and oriented toward providing new opportunities and new access for those most in need. Doing otherwise runs the risk of furthering what Robert Bullard, a professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University, calls “highway robbery,” wherein minorities pay taxes at the same rates as white Americans, but those dollars then subsidize racist patterns of development.
We Need to Put People First in All Planning Decisions
In the interest of transparency, we should point out that, in general, we enjoy strong, productive relationships with the major organizations involved in the planning of the FAST Network. We’re proud to count the RTA, GoTriangle, and NCDOT as partners in promoting and improving transit systems throughout the Triangle. Given the mutual respect between our organizations, we’re hopeful these groups will listen to our criticisms and use our input to improve upon the present preliminary ideas, which they themselves acknowledge are merely illustrative of what can be done rather than definitive with respect to what will be done.
Because it makes use of existing infrastructure, the FAST Network is a creative approach to improving transportation efficiency and connectivity throughout the Triangle, and we applaud the local business community for supporting a plan to reduce dependence on automobiles. Nonetheless, for the reasons outlined here, we think the FAST Network can be greatly improved by better taking into account racial and economic justice. For instance, before moving forward any further, planners of the FAST Network should have a specialist in diversity and inclusion review and revise the present draft plans. Planners should also follow the model set by the Wake Transit Plan and create a set of specific public engagement policies to identify guiding principles and practices for building meaningful, collaborative, and trusting relationships with the public.
The issues raised here are not trivial. Decisions about transportation, housing, schools, and the environment will shape how well our communities bounce back and move forward following COVID-19. As such, it’s more imperative than ever that we put people first in all planning efforts and ensure minority community representation in all decision-making processes.
Submit Your Input on the FAST Network
Click here to read the preliminary findings from the pre-planning study for the FAST Network, which were released on July 16th. The study was led by consulting firm VHB, along with Stantec and Catalyst Design.
The project planners are also currently taking public comment. The comment period is open until August 31, 2020. You can submit your input by sending an email to FAST@letsgetmoving.org.