Howard and Lillian Lee are known throughout the Chapel Hill community as local royalty, but now the couple will be enshrined in a special way: on the front of Chapel Hill Transit’s headquarters.

The town government held a dedication ceremony Monday morning to officially announce and unveil plans for the Howard and Lillian Lee Transit Operations Center. The former mayor began the local transit system shortly after being elected in 1969, and his wife is a long-time advocate and user of Chapel Hill Transit.

“In my 86 years, I’ve had a number of good things happen to me,” said Lillian Lee on Monday. “But nothing makes me happier than what is happening today.”

Speaking in front of more than one hundred community leaders in attendance, Howard shared stories of making promises on the mayoral campaign trail about starting mass transit — promises he says he wasn’t sure he could keep. Once elected, Lee ushered through a bond to start up a system in 1971, only to see the system fall flat six months later. In 1974, though, he and the town purchased five buses from Atlanta, Georgia, and Lee helped drive them up to Chapel Hill to start the new bus fleet. Since then, the system has blossomed to have the second-most transit ridership in North Carolina.

A rendition of the updated signage of the Howard and Lillian Lee Transit Operations Center. (Photo via Jeffrey Sullivan.)

Lee said he believes the system’s growth to be a remarkable feat in the decades since he was mayor, citing poet Langston Hughes’ piece “Montage of a Dream Deferred” as an example of the pitfalls Chapel Hill Transit faced over the years.

“This dream didn’t disappear, it didn’t dry up like a raisin in the sun,” said Lee. “Because of the strong leadership and the commitment, and because of the strong mayors and drivers who stuck with the system, it frankly has bloomed and become a great reality.”

Among the many speakers at Monday’s dedication was Chris Carlson, one of the original bus drivers in 1974. She described those early years as an adventure for all 40 drivers, the mechanics and even the riders.

“For example, some of the buses were not able to make the steep hills [in the community],” said Carlson. “One time, we had to use a mail truck in order to move passengers because all of the buses were broken down. I had the privilege of driving the mail truck to the University Mall, which was our only park and ride lot.”

As the years continued, though, the transit system found its footing. As a partnership between the town governments of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and UNC, Lee helped keep the stakeholders committed to making the bus system successful.

UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said the Lee’s have been examples to the entire community and North Carolina itself throughout their lives with their service. But he described them as incredible partners to UNC, with the friendship between Mayor Lee and former Chancellor Nelson Ferebee Taylor in the 1970s as critical for Chapel Hill Transit’s vitality.

“Their relationship and the trust they built for our town has made the growth of our university and our region possible,” said Guskiewicz, “and has served as a model for all of us as we think about how to do it right with respect to town-gown relationships. As a Chapel Hill resident for 27 years, I’m indebted to the Lee’s for making our town what it is today.”

Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger speaks to the crowd of community leaders in attendance to celebrate Howard and Lillian Lee at the Chapel Hill Transit Operations Facility on Monday, June 20, 2022.

Many others in the town government feel similarly, which current Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger said led to a break from tradition.

“Our council has had a policy of not naming facilities until people are long gone,” she said. “This was too important. We wanted to be able to honor and let the people who made a difference in our community know how honored we are.

“You’re so deserving,” Hemminger continued, “you’re so thoughtful and it’s such an amazing time in our history.”

Part of the excitement for the town is that Chapel Hill Transit is continuing to expand. Not only did the system launch reconfigured routes in 2020, but there are three new all-electric buses in its fleet and even more are on the way. Chapel Hill Transit is the first system in the state to introduce hybrid buses and one of them served as the backdrop for Monday’s ceremony.

Director Brian Litchfield also pointed to several other projects the transit system is using to innovate and further help the community.

“New Sunday service and the North-South Bus Rapid Transit project are two ways we’re currently doing this,” he said. “However, we must continue on this vision by continuing to invest in our short-range transit plan and establishing critical regional connections that are important not only for today, but also for the future.”

“Thank you to Howard and Lillian,” Litchfield added, “for your continued leadership and your commitment to our community and state. We’re honored to have you here today and to name our facility after you.”

While the honor of a building name is certainly remarkable, EmPOWERment Inc. Executive Director Delores Bailey said the Lee’s are actually honored each and every day.

“Thank you is not enough,” said Bailey, “but please know this and appreciate [that] every time a community member rides a bus, that we are all thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Lee.”

The former mayor closed the dedication by sharing words of encouragement regarding Chapel Hill Transit’s future — while also crediting Litchfield for leading the latest chapter in a journey Lee helped begin.

“Brian, you have taken some things that could’ve been stumbling blocks, built on what others had left for you, and now we have a strong stepping-stone that gives freedom to people to move throughout this community,” said Lee. “Thank you for recognizing Lillian and me, and we accept this honor not for ourselves, but for all of those who have contributed to make this day possible.

With a smile, Lee finished by saying: “Keep the wheels rolling on the buses.”


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