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<br /> <br />enhancements that will arise around the new stations have yet to be fully real- <br />ized. However, in all designs, the plans are to maximize access to bike and pe- <br />destrian paths. <br /> <br /> <br />Bus lines will be also extended and made more efficient by the light rail, though <br />right now there are no clear plans for how to change existing routes. However, <br />the Charlotte Mass Transit system is a good example. Bus hours were recycled <br />and connected to neighborhoods that were further from light rail otherwise. Pro- <br />jected ridership for Triangle Transit comes from models taking into account both <br />population and employment, calibrated by current ridership using surveys. Now, <br />there are 15,000 boardings per day in the corridor of the light rail. All told 70,000 <br />boardings occur in Durham/Chapel Hill areas. For the light rail project, ridership <br />is expected to be about 27,000 boardings per day as predicted by current uses <br />with population and employment growth, meaning that almost double the number <br />of people are predicted by the models to commute via public transit with the light <br />rail option. <br /> <br />Social implications <br /> <br />The Southern Environmental Law Center has issued a public commentary on the <br />DOLT project and in particular notes the following implications of having higher <br />population densities build up around transit stations: “In contrast, compact, <br />planned land use enables developers to use space more efficiently, requiring <br />less new development into rural areas. Moreover, compact, mixed-use communi- <br />ties mean residents can walk, bike, or use public transportation to reach destina- <br />tions. In turn, fewer people rely on cars in their daily lives, which equates to fewer <br />harmful pollutants being emitted into our air and water on a daily basis.” The <br />DOLT line alone within its 18 mile stretch will connect communities to 3 <br />Universities, multiple hospitals, and commercial areas, expanding social, eco- <br />nomic, intellectual and health access throughout the Orange and Durham Coun- <br />ties. Also, our line being built makes connections to further lines being built of <br />Raleigh and Wake County areas more likely, which will only expand access even <br />further. <br /> <br /> <br />*The authors thank Matthew Clark and Patrick McDonough with Triangle Transit <br />and Kym Hunter at the Southern Environmental Law Center for vital assistance <br />gathering information for this article.