RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Mayors of the Triangle’s four largest communities will host this evening nearly 100 government leaders and corporate executives at a briefing on the progress of a special study underway to formulate a regional transportation strategy for the Triangle. The strategy is designed to address the growing problems of congestion and mobility that are threatening the Research Triangle Park and quality of life of surrounding communities. The briefing is being held at 7:00 PM at RTP’s Cisco Systems’ Blue Ridge Conference Center on the first floor of the Creekside Building on Kit Creek Road.

During the briefing, study consultant George Alexiou of Raleigh-based Martin/Alexiou/Bryson will outline the study’s goals and summarize the Triangle’s current multi-billion dollar plans for transportation. Then, Alexiou will show how these current plans compare to the Triangle’s future transportation needs through 2025. This comparison will lead to the identification of additional regional needs, their costs, and possible funding options. The evening will end with a questions and answer period and a discussion of next steps.

The idea to work cooperatively to develop a true regional strategy originated with Chapel Hill Mayor Rosemary Waldorf and Durham Mayor Nick Tennyson who proposed the project this past April to their Cary and Raleigh counterparts. Both Mayor Glen Lang and Mayor Paul Coble agreed to the partnership, and the first phases of developing the strategy began this summer.

When completed in January, the study being discussed preliminarily tonight will provide a report that compiles all known current plans for transportation improvements in the region. The study will also recommend a coordinated Triangle strategy that includes cost estimates and identifies options for funding the strategy.

The $100,000 cost of the study is being paid with private funds raised from businesses in the area that are providing the support necessary to begin addressing the mobility challenge.