Agenda - 09-06-2007-4h - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

In the early years of the new Millennium, the Research Triangle Region is faced with unprecedented growth challenges: • The metro areas of Raleigh, Durham and their surrounding 8 counties have passed the 1.5 million population mark; another 1 million people are expected over the next 25 years. • Building continues apace at our major universities: UNC-Chapel Hill is plan- ning the new Carolina North, Duke is. planning a new Central Campus, NC State is building Centennial Campus and NC Central is pursuing its 2002 Master Plan, including land acquisition and new and renovated buildings. • Triangle public school systems face building needs of more than $6 billion over just the next 10 years, yet are lim- ited in the revenue sources they have to repay bonds and build schools. • Triangle transportation planning organi- zations have adopted long range plans calling for $14 billion of new investment over 25 years, with $2 billion coming from new revenue sources. • RDU is rebuilding and expanding Ter- minal C for $570 million and has planned a third runway. • NCDOT's Statewide Transportation Plan contains $122 billion in project needs over 25 years and anticipates $57 billion in available revenues to meet T those needs, resulting in a gap of $65 billion. Two years ago, the estimates were $84 billion in needs, $55 billion in revenues, and a $30 billion gap. • The Triangle Transit Authority's $800 million regional transit system to link the centers of our three largest cities of Raleigh, Durham and Cary with the Re- search Triangle Park, NC State and Duke - with a second phase to Chapel Hill, UNC and RDU- has not been able to secure federal funding. • The Triangle GreenPrint Project esti- mates that we need to double the current land protection rate-at a cost of up to $5 billion over the next 25 years-to protect the backbone of a linked regional greenspace network. ter & sewer, schools, community col- lege, parks & open space and criminal justice facilities) over the next 25 years at $26 billion; current funding plans and the county's baseline bor- rowing capacity•can fund $15 billion of this amount. Responsibility for funding and provid- ing infrastructure is fragmented: each school system seeks funding independ- ently, there are two regional transporta- tion planning organizations plus a re- gional transit authority plus the NCDOT plus a regional council of gov- ernments; despite years of effort, com- munities have been unsuccessful in at- tempts to diversify revenue sources to provide the schools, transportation fa- cties, parks and greenways and other • The NC Rural Center's Water 2030 re- infrastructure their citizens want and a port identified about $3 billion in Trian- successful region requires. gle water, wastewater and stormwater It is time for the region's leaders to system needs by 2030- come together to develop new, effective • Wake County alone has estimated its strategies to address our burgeoning primary infrpstructure needs (roads, wa- development and infrastructure chal- lenges. The Development Jn&astru.eture Challenge