With commuter rail being shelved, GoTriangle CEO resigns

GoTriangle, the regional transit agency for Durham, Orange and Wake counties, is looking for a new leader after its president and CEO, Charles Lattuca, resigned from his position.

Why it matters: The resignation puts GoTriangle at a crossroads on how it will serve one of the fastest-growing yet car-reliant regions in the country.

Between the lines: Lattuca — who previously oversaw the development of a light rail in the Washington, D.C. suburbs — was brought to the Triangle in April 2020 to develop a commuter rail line that would connect Garner to Durham.

• But after the federal government deprioritized commuter rail and instead placed an emphasis on inter-city rail — notably with money going toward the S-Line rail project between Raleigh and Richmond — it led to the shelving of GoTriangle's commuter rail plans due to its high costs.

What they're saying: "As you know, I came here to help build a regional commuter rail system. Unfortunately, that initiative proved to be too costly an investment for this region," Lattuca wrote in his resignation letter.

• "Regardless, I trust that I am leaving the agency better off and on a stronger path for improving regional transit in the Triangle," he added.
• Lattuca was instrumental in landing funding for a new transit hub in Research Triangle Park as well as the construction of a new mixed-use bus station in downtown Raleigh .

Zoom in: Even before the pandemic, costs related to a commuter rail line from Garner to Durham had ballooned to more than $3 billion, and without money from the federal government, the project became a non-starter.

• Instead, the Federal Transit Authority has moved to prioritize funding for bus rapid transit systems — which Raleigh and Chapel Hill are already building — due to costs, their flexibility and the pandemic's effect on commuting patterns.
• At the same time, however, more money from the Federal Railroad Administration has been made available to bolster inter-city rail travel via Amtrak, with the S-Line project directly connecting Raleigh to Richmond and potentially adding commuter stops in Wake Forest.

What's next: Sig Hutchinson, a former Wake County Commissioner and GoTriangle board member, said Lattuca's departure is part of a greater strategy shift away from rail and ultimately towards what he believes will be regional bus rapid transit.

• A study by the Regional Transit Alliance is already looking into how bus rapid transit could be used to link the downtowns of cities throughout the Triangle with Research Triangle Park and Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
• GoTriangle is expected to receive the results of a new strategy study in October, Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin told Axios. She hopes it will inform how the transit agency can play a role in both bus rapid transit and putting resources toward Amtrak's inter-city rail.

She said the study is about figuring out what the next step for GoTriangle is, and what its big idea will be for the region.

• "I think there is a role that GoTriangle can play with bus rapid transit going to the airport or connecting to the other cities bus rapid transit lines," Baldwin said. "We have to look at that as a very serious option instead of 'let's widen the highways.' That is not going to solve the issue of congestion."

The bottom line: GoTriangle now needs a leader who can make that come to fruition, Hutchinson said, by leveraging Raleigh's future bus rapid transit lines and extending it from Cary to RTP and beyond.