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Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton writes book on transit

Mayor Chilton of Carrboro discusses his new book on the history of transportation in Orange County at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill.
Mayor Chilton of Carrboro discusses his new book on the history of transportation in Orange County at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill.

Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton has published a book on transit in Orange County, just in time for Tuesday’s transit vote.

The vote will decide whether to approve a half cent sales tax, which would fund the construction of a light rail transit system Chapel Hill and Durham.

The self-published book, “Farewell Forever, Old Road to Durham: Lessons from the History of Transportation Planning in the NC Piedmont,” tells the story of the State University Railroad spur and the Cape Fear Navigation Company.

Chilton said he first became interested in local transit while investigating Carrboro’s origins for the town’s centennial last year.

“I did all of the research a couple of years ago,” he said. “But I thought now would be a good time to bring it up with the vote on Tuesday.”

On Friday, Chilton read from his book at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, where the book will be sold exclusively. Jamie Fiocco, co-owner of Flyleaf Books, said the community is interested in transit history.

“We want to give a voice to locally published authors who have something that we feel other people want to hear about,” she said.

Steve Dear, a Carrboro resident who attended the reading, commended Chilton for documenting history.

“I wish all North Carolina mayors put in the time to learn the history of their community in such detail and at the same time bring a vision for a future that improves on the past,” he said.

The State University Railroad line was constructed in 1882 and originally intended to stop in Chapel Hill, but because of budget constraints, instead stopped outside of town, spurring the creation of Carrboro.

Chilton’s book compares the success of the railroad line with the failure of the Cape Fear Navigation Company, which operated in the 1800s and rebuilt the lock and dam systems on the Cape Fear river three times before declaring bankruptcy.

Chilton said the Cape Fear Navigation Company’s failure presents a valuable lesson for the present day.

“I look at the way the world is changing, what climate change is doing, and I think our state is continuing to invest most of its transportation dollars in automobile-oriented transportation,” he said.

“We’re making the same mistakes as the Cape Fear Company and assuming that circumstances of today will remain the same in the future.”

Staff Writer Kathryn Trogdon ?contributed reporting.

Contact the desk editor at

city@dailytarheel.com.

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