Proposed light rail line in Meadowmont debated

UNC graduate student Geoffrey Green moved to Meadowmont because he thought a light rail line would someday be located in his neighborhood.

“Previously, places I lived we chose where we lived because it was near a light rail line,” he said. “When we moved here, in part we choose to live in Meadowmont because of the possibility of a light rail line.”

But he may not see that happen. A proposal for a route along N.C. 54 that bypasses Meadowmont has gained support due to its lower cost and impact on the environment.

The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization will hold a public hearing today to collect final public comments on which route options residents prefer.

Durham County voters passed a half-cent tax increase Nov. 8 to fund the light rail system.

The light rail will not be built until Wake and Orange County voters also approve a half-cent increase, but local governments are already looking into routes.

The Chapel Hill Town Council plans to approve a set of recommendations on Jan. 23 to present to the Metropolitan Planning Organization. The organization is expected to approve a locally preferred alternative route Feb. 8.

Of the two routes being considered, the C1 route would run through Meadowmont and across a section of Little Creek Bottomlands, while the C2 route would follow N.C. 54 through Hillmont.

Although the Meadowmont development was approved in 1995 on the condition that it reserved land for a mass transit line, the Meadowmont Community Association Board of Directors now favors the C2 route.

Hank Rodenburg, president of the board, said the board discussed the proposed routes and voted for the C2 alternative.

He said higher projected cost and lower ridership of the C1 route were factors in their vote.

They also considered the potential environmental impact on Little Creek Bottomlands, he said.

Brad Schulz, spokesman for Triangle Transit, said the C1 line is expected to cost $30 million more than the C2 line, which is expected to cost $1.4 billion and span 17.1 miles.

Triangle Transit has supported the original C1 route over the C2 route in the past.

The Cedars of Chapel Hill Retirement Community, part of the Meadowmont community, supports the N.C. 54 route. Dan Smith, an administrator for the Cedars, said the Meadowmont route would separate the health center from the rest of the complex.

“It would also dissect the Cedars of Chapel Hill community itself,” Smith said. “It would, in essence, run through people’s backyard.”

John Wilson, a documentary filmmaker, said in an email that while he is not a Meadowmont resident, he opposes the C1 route based on the impact it could have on Little Creek Bottomlands.

“I can’t conceive of a 50-foot-wide rail corridor being cut through such a special place, with trains coming through at 50 miles per hour every five minutes.”

But Green believes the C1 route could benefit the neighborhood.

He said he thinks the route could allow rapid travel to and from areas like downtown Durham and increase business for Meadowmont retailers.

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