All Aboard. Next Stop: Tax Increases for Transportation

A majority of Triangle residents say they’re willing to pay more taxes or fees if it will help improve traffic congestion. That’s according to poll results released this afternoon by Raleigh-based Public Policy Polling.

Sixty-three percent of surveyed residents say they would support some type of increase (such as sales tax or vehicle registration fees) to either widen roads, improve mass transit or fund other potential solutions. The phone survey of 505 likely voters living in Wake, Durham and Chatham counties also found that 29 percent would not support any fee increases.

This is the same poll that included questions on ACC sports fans and their political affiliations. I had the pleasure of riding on Charlotte’s new light rail, called LYNX, when I was down there last week for computer training. The $4 day pass was well worth leaving my car at a park and ride lot near my hotel and riding downtown. According to the LYNX Web site: “Running at 80% capacity, the line will move twice as many people as one accident-free lane on I-77.”

Just imagine what effect a system like that could have on I-40 and 440! I know the folks at the Triangle Transit Authority have been working with partners to bring a light rail to the area. Maybe someday we’ll all be able to climb aboard.

Hey ACC Sports Fans, What’s Your Political Affiliation?

It seems there’s a poll for everything anymore. The latest gauges the political affiliations of ACC sports fans.

The poll says that NC State is the most popular ACC school among Triangle sports fans who are likely to vote with 31 percent of respondents picking the school. UNC comes in second (23 percent) and Duke third (17 percent). See the full results here.

And that’s not all. The “ACC loyalty poll” also finds that UNC has the largest percentage of fans who consider themselves Democrats (58 percent), while Duke has the largest percentage who say they’re Republican (40 percent). NC State fans are more likely to be Democrats (46 percent) than Republicans (36 percent). Check out the political breakdown here and keep in mind that some people didn’t share their political affiliations.

The poll by Raleigh-based Public Policy Polling surveyed 505 people identified as likely to vote in the general election. I had to find out why the firm took this seemingly unnecessary poll, so I called the company’s communications director, Tom Jensen, this morning. Here’s what he said: Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s go Hunting in Log Pond … Um, I Mean Apex.

Did you know Apex, the growing town southwest of Raleigh, used to be called “Log Pond?”

That’s according to local history buff Bob Crowley, who I had the pleasure of dining with this afternoon.

You see, in the mid-1800s, Apex was nothing more than piney woods with a mucky pond (the fire station in downtown Apex sits on the site of the former pond), Crowley explained. Residents from nearby towns used to go to the log pond to hunt, so Apex became known as “Log Pond” as in: “Hey, I’m going to Log Pond to go huntin’.”

The town earned the name Apex shortly after planning began for the Chatham Railroad, during the late 1850s, early 1860s. The guy designing the route noted that Log Pond was located at the top of an appx. 15-mile incline, so it would be necessary to have the train stop there so it could take a break after the upward trek. So the guy circled the area known to locals as Log Pond and wrote “Apex” on the map.

There’s a lot more to it than that, and Crowley knows all about it. He’s helping with the creation of the town’s new cultural center, which is set to open Jan. 11, so he’s been researching the town’s history. He also volunteers for the New Hope Valley Railway, which offers scenic train rides for $9. I learned a lot about Apex today. If you haven’t been there yet, it’s worth checking out.