I’m excited to report that I was contacted by two major media outlets this week for interviews. Over on the Lineberry Alliance Blogs, I’ve been advocating and blogging about moving forward with the Tryon Road expansion project. Back in February, I coined the term “Garner Death Curve” in one of my first blogs on the topic. I’m not happy with the tone of the branding, but it’s helping bring attention to this complicated issue.
The overview of this situation goes something like this: there is a project plan to expand Tryon Road from Cary to Garner. The last section is in SouthWest Raleigh from Lake Wheeler Road to South Wilmington Street. The project scope includes expanding the road from 2-lanes to 4-lanes with a median and replacing an old railroad bridge. A new development, Renassaince Park, came in and helped get this project going. The plan calls for realigning Tryon Road through Renassaince Park and essentially removing the “Garner Death Curve.”
The problem we face today–there is no money to replace the bridge, but this project remains a high priority for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). The developer of Renassaince Park has built out the majority of the infrastructure to realign the road. Recently, safety issues have become a major concern in the area after a fatal accident sparked awareness.
Within the last few weeks, there has been growing interest in seeing the project move forward, due to the fatal September accident. This week, reporter Charlotte Huffman from NBC17 contacted me to do an interview and better understand the situation. We made arrangements to meet near the site of the accident to do a roadside interview. The segment aired on Tuesday evening (Oct 5).
News coverage by NBC 17
- Neighborhood Looks To Eliminate ‘Garner Death Curve’ – http://wake.mync.com/site/Wake/news/story/55906/neighborhood-looks-to-eliminate-garner-death-curve/
After the NBC17 story ran, the other networks started looking into the “Garner Death Curve.” The media is eating up my branding of the roadway and I’m glad that it’s finally getting some attention. We need to get some funding for this bridge from the State and move forward.
On Wednesday of this week, Tamara Gibbs from ABC11 called me and requested an interview. I was on a tight schedule that day, but Tamara and her camera man were able to come over to Centennial Campus to do a quick interview. ABC11 ran their story on Wednesday evening.
News coverage by ABC 11
- Road problems spark online petition – http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/video?id=7709989
WRAL5 also ran a story with Renassaince Park resident Mo Johnson, whom I know through SWCAC.
I’m still working on next steps to continue to lead this effort. I’m stoked about the attention that we are getting and I’m appreciative of all the support from everyone. This is an issue that South West Raleigh residents can rally around and help improve our area of town. I just hope it’s sooner rather than later.