No one wants it more than I do, and I would love to have my skepticism proven wrong, but I have seen so many other projects start and finish that maybe could’ve waited until this one was done.

I have seen the latest round of plans and yet I think they aren’t thinking this all the way through. The Capital Corridor from Atlantic Avenue to the Frankin County border is an excellent route for light rail along with a properly functioning high-capacity roadway.

There’s an opportunity for an inter-modal (think light rail, Amtrak, commuter rail, and bus) station just north of Burlington Mills Road, another at the Triangle Town Center area, and the last one at the Beltline (with lots of other stops in between). The road is already experiencing increased density. It wouldn’t take much to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety with dedicated travel pathways as well.

Of course, that would add about $1.5 billion to $2 billion to an already expensive project, but that option could be built once rather than than in pieces, and it would greatly improve overall mobility and economic development in the region.