View Speed limits in a larger map

Drivers in northern Wake County will see a slight increase in the speed limit later this month on the 540 Outer Loop.

The state Department of Transportation says it will post new signs bumping the legal limit up to 70mph, from the current 65mph, on a 21-mile stretch of the loop from U.S. 70 near Brier Creek to the U.S. 64 / 264 interchange near Knightdale.

DOT engineers concluded the faster speeds were justified after checking current speeds, crash data and road conditions on the 540 loop.

The Regional Transportation Alliance, a non-profit business group that lobbies for road and transit improvements, had asked DOT to allow the higher speed on 540 and other Triangle-area freeways. DOT said yes last year to faster speeds on Wade Avenue Extension in West Raleigh (60mph) and on from Apex through Sanford (70mph).

Wake County Board of Commissioners Chairman Joe Bryan and county manager David Cooke met with the editorial board and some newsroom folks today to chat about things. Perhaps it’s not surprising that the county’s relationship with the school board was the subject that took up most of our time.

Here are my notes of the meeting. They are NOT verbatim.

New single-family building permits were up 26 percent in Wake County through the first nine months of the year, according to data compiled by the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County.

Permits continue to be up in all Wake County municipalities except Wendell and Zebulon.

Garner and Rolesville have seen the biggest percentage increases so far this year, with permits rising 188 percent and 126 percent, respectively.

The municipalities in western and southern Wake also continue to see a lot more activity, with permits up 46 percent in Holly Springs, 39 percent in Apex and 42 pecent in Fuquay-Varina.

Permits in Raleigh are up 18 percent through the end of September, while Cary permits are up 10 percent.

Claim: “Erv Portman was the only county commissioner to vote against increasing by $4 million classroom funding in the Wake County Public Schools.”

Source: A print ad distributed by the N.C. Republican Party

Context: Erv Portman is a Wake County Commissioner running as a Democrat for a seat in the state Senate representing District 17. His opponent is Tamara Barringer.

A recent ad by the N.C. GOP calls Portman “wrong on education” because of his vote against an increase in classroom funding.

More readers having their say on the Wake County school board's firing of Superintendent Tony Tata. Find some of these on tomorrow's Editorial page. Apologies if some are repeats from previous blog posts.

This Friday, Sept. 28, is First Responders Appreciation Day and businesses across Wake County will be saying thank you with freebies and discounts.

Among the freebies being offered are free coffee and free bowling, including shoe rental.

Discounts on everything from restaurant meals to massages and go-kart racing are also being offered.

View Faster US 1 speed limit: 70mph in a larger map

NCDOT says it will bump up the speed limit later this month on about 25 miles of U.S. 1 from Apex through Sanford -- allowing drivers to go 70mph instead of the current 65mph limit.

The new speed limit will cover U.S. 1 from its new interchange with the Triangle Expressway 540 Outer Loop in southern Apex (which opens to traffic in December) to a spot just north of Tramway in Lee County, on the south side of Sanford, through parts of Wake, Chatham and Lee counties.

NCDOT concluded the higher speed limit was justified after considering current speeds, the crash history and characteristics of the roadway alignment on this part of U.S. 1.

David King, the Triangle Transit general manager, is working up the answers to two lists of probing questions about the Wake County transit plan – one from a business group that likes the proposal for new trains and more buses, and one from county commissioners who don’t like it.

Durham County voters have approved a half-cent sales tax to pay for more buses, commuter trains and light rail trains.  Orange County voters are expected to vote likewise in November for buses and light rail.  But the Wake commissioners have not said when or whether they will approve Wake’s transit plan and schedule a referendum on the proposed sales tax that would help pay for it.  

“We believe that a half-cent sales tax increase and associated fee increase during high unemployment and poor economic conditions must be approached with extreme caution,” Paul Coble and Phil Matthews, the chairman and vice-chairman of the Wake commissioners, said in an Aug. 6 letter (see PDF attached to this blog post, below) to King.  ... [MORE]

I have spent the last couple of days looking at data, and I'm thinking how bad it's been but I'm hopeful that the worst is past

Check out this story in today's paper about our early strawberry season. There's a list to the right of pick-your-own strawberry farms.

Now I'm in the mood to make strawberry jam.