CAMPO presents recommended Wake Transit 2035 plan, estimates $3 billion investment over 10 years

Ben Howell of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (CAMPO) staff presented the recommended Wake Transit 2035 plan to the Wendell Town Board of Commissioners on Sept. 8, outlining a countywide strategy that emphasizes regional rail, expanded bus rapid transit (BRT), and increased local access to service.

Howell said the recommended plan is organized around four "big moves": connect regionally, connect all Wake County communities, create frequent reliable urban mobility, and enhance access to transit. He told the board the plan assumes approximately $3 billion available over the next 10 years, including funds already saved and projected sales- and vehicle-registration tax receipts.

The plan calls for continued investment in bus rapid transit corridors, with an almost threefold expansion of the frequent bus network from about 109 miles to 304 miles and the development of roughly 65 miles of BRT. CAMPO staff identified about $252 million allocated to regional rail investments and additional funding for buses, maintenance facilities and community programs. Howell also said the plan would fund at least $3 million per year for bus-stop infrastructure and triple the size of the community funding area program to support locally led projects.

Why it matters: the recommended plan shifts emphasis from an earlier commuter-rail concept toward investing in existing and planned regional rail (Amtrak and projects under N.C. Department of Transportation), and it prioritizes transit infrastructure and more frequent service that staff say would improve access for residents in smaller Wake County communities, including Wendell.

Board members asked about tradeoffs between the previously studied commuter-rail concept and the recommended regional-rail approach. Howell said commuter-rail feasibility studies showed sharply higher costs and concerns about construction and operations on freight-owned rail corridors; regional rail, by contrast, would use Amtrak and other existing services and planned state investments. He said some funds previously set aside for commuter rail would be reallocated to other transit investments.

Howell acknowledged limited numerical survey responses in the plan’s third public-engagement phase but said CAMPO received extensive qualitative feedback at in-person events and that feedback generally supported increased frequency, better station conditions and some investment in rail. The plan is out for public comment through Oct. 5 at publicinput.com/waketransit2035 and waketransit.org; CAMPO staff plan a joint public hearing and hope the GoTriangle Board of Trustees and the CAMPO Executive Board will consider adoption in November.

Board members and staff also discussed nearer-term service changes: Coates (town staff) reminded the board that the existing Zebulon–Wendell Express peak service is planned to move to hourly daytime service next year under the current plan, separate from the 2035 recommended investments.

The presentation included budget and delivery details for projects already underway—GO Triangle’s New Bern BRT construction, Southern and Western BRT design, a maintenance facility and call center—and a list of performance metrics CAMPO will use to track progress, including a change from a 3/4-mile corridor-based access metric to a half-mile proximity-to-stop metric.

For next steps, Howell said public outreach will continue through Oct. 5, the plan will go to a joint public hearing with the CAMPO executive and GoTriangle boards, and staff expect governing-board adoption votes in November.

The board did not take formal action on the plan at this meeting; staff encouraged residents to comment during the public comment period.