This opinion piece was published in the Herald Sun on December 1, 2018.

On behalf of the citizens and taxpayers of Orange County I urge GoTriangle and the local government agencies to cease wasting time and money on the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit project.

After millions of dollars planning a critically flawed program, the plan is literally coming off the rails. Splitting downtown Durham up is the final nail in the coffin of this program. The hubris of continuing to assume that any federal funding is going to happen for this project is appalling.

With the limited commercial tax base in Orange County property taxes will end up going through the roof to support the inevitable cost overruns and wildly optimistic planning for what is a vanity project to primarily benefit UNC Hospitals and Duke Medicine along with the property speculators along the DOLRT path. If the rail does not go to the airport it is not a viable option.

End the dream to save us from a nightmare down the road. Duke has already spoken volumes in reference to the lack of foresight on this project. It is time for everyone to come together to say, no more wasted time or effort on this doomed project.

Matthew Clements

Orange County