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Light Rail Is Dead, Now What?

WUNC News | By Frank Stasio,
Laura Pellicer
Published March 29, 2019 at 1:08 PM EDT
"Conceptual only, subject to change without notice," reads the apt stamp on a rendering of the now dead Durham Orange Light Rail project.
"Conceptual only, subject to change without notice," reads the apt stamp on a rendering of the now dead Durham Orange Light Rail project.
"Conceptual only, subject to change without notice," reads the apt stamp on a rendering of the now dead Durham Orange Light Rail project.
Credit Courtesy GoTriangle
"Conceptual only, subject to change without notice," reads the apt stamp on a rendering of the now dead Durham Orange Light Rail project.

The plan to establish a Durham-Orange Light Rail line is over. The GoTriangle board of trustees voted Wednesday to discontinue planning for the 18-mile line that would have connected the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Hospitals with Duke University and Duke Hospital and end at North Carolina Central University. 

Herald-Sun reporter Tammy Grubb, Durham Mayor and GoTriangle Board Member Steve Schewel, Communications Co-Chair with Partnership for a Healthy Durham Kevin Primus, and Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program Fellow Adie Tomer join host Frank Stasio to discuss the demise of Durham-Orange Light Rail.

The project has been in the works for decades and was slated to be an economic boon for the Triangle. A number of significant obstacles emerged during the planning process, including Duke University’s recent refusal to sign cooperative agreements needed to secure federal funding for the project.

Host Frank Stasio speaks with reporter Tammy Grubb of The Herald-Sun; Durham Mayor and GoTriangle Board Member Steve Schewel; Communications Co-Chair with Partnership for a Healthy Durham Kevin Primus; and Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program Fellow Adie Tomer.

Copyright 2019 North Carolina Public Radio
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio
Laura Pellicer
Laura Pellicer is a producer with The State of Things (hyperlink), a show that explores North Carolina through conversation. Laura was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, a city she considers arrestingly beautiful, if not a little dysfunctional. She worked as a researcher for CBC Montreal and also contributed to their programming as an investigative journalist, social media reporter, and special projects planner. Her work has been nominated for two Canadian RTDNA Awards. Laura loves looking into how cities work, pursuing stories about indigenous rights, and finding fresh voices to share with listeners. Laura is enamored with her new home in North Carolina—notably the lush forests, and the waves where she plans on moonlighting as a mediocre surfer.
See stories by Laura Pellicer