Greater Raleigh Chamber Blog

This text originally appeared as an OpEd in the News & Observer on Sept. 28, 2016. ​

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By Jill Wells Heath
2015/16 Chair, Chamber Board of Directors
President and CEO, CALYX Engineers + Consultants





Over the last few years, we’ve seen Wake County become a national hotspot for growth. New businesses and families continue to move here to the tune of a net increase of 64 people per day. I couldn’t be happier with the growth of talent and opportunity in Wake County and the Triangle.

As we look ahead, we have to ask: How do we keep this growth continuing for another 10 years, without compromising the quality of life that drew people here in the first place?

The answer is public transportation.

This election, voters have an opportunity to fund a world-class, modern and effective public transportation system for Wake County.

Our approved transit plan will make a real and lasting difference by increasing access to jobs, health care, education and more. Once transit is fully implemented, 70 percent of all jobs will be located within a half mile of a transit stop and bus service will expand to 19 hours a day.

The multimodal, network-based transit plan emphasizes frequent bus service, bus rapid transit and commuter rail. Bus rapid transit in high-traffic areas will incorporate dedicated bus lanes, level boarding platforms and other enhanced features that improve the speed and quality of service. Commuter rail service will provide welcome relief for commuters on I-40 by providing a peak hour alternative to freeway congestion.

A more connected transit system will help Wake County residents spend less time commuting and more time with their families. Even if you don’t ride a bus or train, many of your neighbors will. The quality of life we enjoy in Wake County is one of our strongest assets. Passing this transit plan will help maintain and improve it.

The bottom line is that this is the right time to act and the right plan to act on. Over 50 community organizations and businesses have already endorsed the plan, and the transit referendum to fund it: chambers of commerce, environmental and community groups, disability and affordable housing advocates, homebuilders and realtors, colleges and many more.
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I hope you’ll join me in voting for the transit referendum – located at the end of the ballot – this fall.

Learn more about the transit referendum and how you can help move Wake County forward here.

By Joe Milazzo II, PE
Executive Director
Regional Transportation Alliance



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​Thursday, the campaign to pass the fall Wake transit referendum held its kickoff event at Shaw University.

The approved transit plan for Wake County envisions a dedicated, locally-controlled half-cent sales tax as its primary local funding source. The voters of Wake County will decide on the sales tax in a November 2016 referendum.

The four co-chairs for the campaign, listed below (pictured above), spoke this morning about the benefits of enhanced transit in our market:

• Tashni-Ann Dubroy, President, Shaw University
• John Kane, CEO, Kane Realty
• James Roberson, Mayor of Knightdale
• Mark Stohlman, Mayor of Morrisville

However, if they were to summarize the primary goal and benefit of the approved Wake Transit Plan, it would simply be this:  the plan provides more transit—that is, more travel options—for more people, more quickly.

Many groups, businesses, and educational institutions—including the Regional Transportation Alliance business coalition—have endorsed both the plan and referendum. Join us in endorsing the referendum if you have not already done so.

We urge you to vote for the referendum, for enhanced public transportation, and for your community and region’s future this fall.

The Wake County Board of Commissioners, the Go Triangle Board of Trustees, and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization all unanimously approved the new Wake County Transit Plan in spring 2016.

The approved, bipartisan plan calls for the creation of an enhanced and improved regional transit system serving all of Wake County in a scalable, efficient, and cost-effective manner.

We can likely identify a number of goals for enhancing transit in this market, or any growing region for that matter. They might include:

• Create alternative to driving, congestion, parking
• Increase travel options as we continue to grow
• Expand access to jobs, healthcare, education, civic life
• Focus land use, support sustainable/walkable development
• Attract/retain talent in our growing community

Here is a simple chart that compares our current situation in Wake County, and the corresponding element of the plan:

Our situation                                       Approved plan

High growth market                             Rapid expansion

Growing traffic congestion                  Peak relief

Dispersed county, region                     Network approach

Inconvenient travel options                Frequent service

Limited funding                                    Scalable system

Rapid technology change                   Short-term completion

Each element in the approved plan is a strong benefit for our region. Taken together, they comprise a strong response to the challenge of growth and congestion in our market.

More information about the benefits  of the plan and referendum is available at letsgetmoving.org/waketransit. Thank you for your support of regional mobility, and thank you for supporting the referendum this fall.

This blog originally appeared here on Sept. 8.

The Triangle’s economy is expected to outpace the growth of the nation’s economy in 2016.
 
That was the consensus of two noted economists at today’s Economic Forecast. Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and Jay Bryson, global economist for Wells Fargo Securities, took the stage in front of 700 business, elected, and community leaders for one of the Chamber’s most popular events.

We’ll dive deeper into the economists’ presentations in further blog posts, but here are some of the morning’s highlights.

Jay Bryson, global economist, Wells Fargo Securities
Employment in North Carolina is growing in line with the national rate, while the Triangle has been outpacing it. This is nothing new for our region—the Triangle has generally grown faster than the national economy over the past decade.

Jeffrey Lacker, president, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
The broad takeaway is that even though interest rates are likely to be lower than usual for the next few years, monetary policy is still highly accommodative right now. Interest rate increases within the range envisioned by FOMC participants would be relatively slow by historic standards, and would still leave policy in an accommodative stance. Such increases should be viewed as a sign of the strength of the U.S. economy—which is good news.

Learn More
Both economists’ full presentations, along with video of the event, are available here. You can go here to view a social media recap.

The $2 billion Connect NC bond will provide much-needed funds for education, agriculture, recreation, public safety, and water and sewer—without raising taxes.
 
On Tuesday, Gov. Pat McCrory, Speaker of the House Tim Moore, and Senate Leader Dan Blue Jr. gathered with local education and business leaders to kick off the Connect NC Bond Campaign.
 
North Carolina is the ninth most populated state in the U.S. Since 2000—the last time the state held a bond referendum—North Carolina has grown by more than 2 million people. McCrory emphasized the need to prepare for the future.
 
“Do we prepare for the future or do we want the leaders of the future to have to react for what we didn’t do?” he asked the room of more than 500 people.
 
On the March 15 ballot, voters will have the opportunity to support the $2 billion bond that received bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. The bond language allows the state to pay for 50-year assets with 20-year financing, and it does not require any tax increases for residents.
 
The Chamber fully supports the Connect NC bond and urges residents to learn more and vote “yes” in March.
 
The Connect NC website breaks down how the $2 billion bond would be divided:
 
Education: $1 Billion
Despite the state’s extraordinary higher education system, a skills gap truly exists. In 2020, there will be 4.2 million new jobs in computing and IT in the United States. To mitigate future workforce shortages, it’s critical that we ensure our universities and community colleges have the capacity to attain the degrees and skills these jobs require.
 
With major investments in local community colleges and universities across North Carolina, the Connect NC bond will help produce a highly-skilled workforce for today’s—and tomorrow’s—competitive and technological world. It provides state-of-the-art science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) facilities on campuses across North Carolina.
 
Ann Goodnight with SAS said the bond demonstrates a commitment to improving our education system, thereby attracting talent and business to the state and allowing us to compete successfully in a global economy.
 
Find out more about the investment in our universities and community colleges here.
 
Agriculture and Family Farms: $179 Million
Agriculture is North Carolina’s largest economic driver at $76 billion dollars annually, employing more than 16 percent of our state. The Connect NC investment keeps agribusiness and family farms growing. These investments include $85 million for the NC State Plant Sciences Initiative at NC State University and $94 million for a new collocated laboratory facility for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
 
Learn more about specific projects here.
 
State Parks and Zoo: $75 Million
The bond provides $75 million to build new state park facilities, hiking trails, and campgrounds, as well support environmental education. It includes funds for major expansions and renovations at the North Carolina Zoo, needed maintenance of North Carolina State Parks, and completion of the 1000-mile Mountains-to-Sea State Trail.
 
See which parks will benefit from the bond here.

National Guard and Public Safety: $70 million
The North Carolina National Guard is the state’s first defense and saving grace in times of natural disasters and state emergencies. The bond provides $70 million designated for building regional training centers across North Carolina that will help to keep us safe and bolster our state’s National Guard.
 
Water and Sewer: $300 Million
More than $300 million will go to North Carolina municipalities to modernize water and sewer systems. This will help them ensure water quality, economic competitiveness, quality of life, and preparation for the future.
 
Explore the details here.

View a livestream of the kickoff event here thanks to WRAL. Get a detailed breakdown of where the funds will go and how you can show your support on the official Connect NC website.
 
Make sure North Carolina is prepared for the future. Vote “yes” for Connect NC on March 15.

Wake County is predicted to add 300,000 people to our population in the next 15 years. We want to maintain our great quality of life, and as one of the fastest growing metros in the United States, we need to plan for it now.

That's why building a consensus around a vision for the area’s transit is a priority for the Chamber. We have to ready Raleigh for the future.

Committee takes action
For nearly a year, a broad-based, bipartisan advisory group has been reviewing a variety of transit options and principles, guided by Wake County staff, regional transit partners, and transit consultants.

Last week, at the final meeting of the Wake Transit Advisory Committee, the group reviewed and compared several options and endorsed four primary recommendations to the Wake County Board of Commissioners and area transit partners. Those recommendations include: 

• A significant expansion of bus service
• A rebalancing of existing and expanded bus service to emphasize productivity
• The implementation of more than 20 miles of bus rapid transit infrastructure
• The reservation of substantial matching funding for regional commuter rail

Dive deeper into the four recommendations, get a recap of how we got to this point, and find out what's next in this blog from Regional Transportation Alliance Executive Director Joe Milazzo II. 

​Moving our community forward, together
This process has been purposeful and focused and participants have been dedicated to the success of the effort and our community. Thank you to the members of the transit advisory committee their work and to the Wake County commissioners for their leadership. 

Be on the lookout for further information and commentary from the Chamber and RTA in the coming weeks and months.