Due to a reporting error, this story incorrectly stated that Art Mines said he was hoping the proposal would be submitted for federal funds. Mines never mentioned federal funding; Commissioner Alice Gordon did. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
The wheels are now in motion for Hillsborough’s proposed Amtrak train station.
Trains already run through the town, but currently there is no place for them to stop. Adding a train station would benefit all of Orange County, Hillsborough Town Commissioner Eric Hallman said.
“There’s interest across the county,” he said. “There’s hope that a train stop here will spur development in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.”
The Orange County Board of Commissioners voted 3-to-2 Tuesday to establish a task force that would investigate funding to support infrastructure and potential sites for the project.
There is potential for commuters, business travelers and tourism, said Art Mines, rail commuter and at-large member of the task force.
“For the UNC community just think about how much easier it would be for students to go home,” he said. “How about their parents and alumni (getting) to campus events?”
The station’s location should be determined by early 2009, after the task force investigates possible sites in Hillsborough. By mid-2009, Mines hopes the proposal will be ready to submit for federal funds.
The two dissenting votes came from Commissioner Alice Gordon and Chairman Barry Jacobs.
Although she supports the establishment of a rail station, Gordon said she disagrees with the irregular appointment procedure used in this case. The board did not pick the task force members but instead took third-party recommendations.
“This was just a citizens group that said, ‘How about we appoint these people?,’” she said. “I said it’s a bad precedent, but they said we don’t need to set a precedent here, and we can just do what we want.”
As chairwoman of Durham/Chapel Hill/Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization, Gordon said she has first-hand knowledge of the process.
“I was just wondering what’s the rush because it can’t possibly be funded for months,” she said.
“But the other members were sympathetic to the group and they wanted to get it going, so we got it going.”
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
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