Click below to listen to the conversation between 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck and Joe Milazzo, Executive Director of the Regional Transportation Alliance!

 

Welcome to “Embrace The Space!” A monthly segment presented by Trinsic Residential Group, “Embrace The Space” features conversations with experts and professionals in town planning, discussing how differing concepts — from land use and housing to transportation and beyond – all come together to create a community that works, and works for people. This month, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck was joined by Joe Milazzo – executive director for the Regional Transportation Alliance!

According to Milazzo, the RTA is “the voice of the business community on transportation at the regional level.” Founded from a combined effort across multiple Chambers of Commerce, the RTA has been working to determine solutions to transportation issues from airlines to highways for over two decades.

“Transportation is, I hate to say it’s a ‘means to an end,’ but it’s an essential thing,” said Milazzo. “How do we get around the market, how do we get around the community? … People are living in different places, they’re going in different places. We’re not focused on necessarily every particular type of housing, that’s beyond what our scope would be, what what we are focused on is ‘does the network work today, and will it work tomorrow?”

According to Milazzo, one point of transportation requiring frequent evaluation is the system of highways and streets serving to connect people. While highways are almost entirely devoted to a role as transportation conduits, some streets are much more – they host businesses, provide walkways and give people a place to participate in the neighborhoods where they live.

“We have to make sure the traffic flow is working well, but it’s also pedestrian flow,” said Milazzo. “Vulnerable users, bicyclists, that has to work well. And it can’t just be in our cities and towns. We need to have those better networks, the connective tissue for the market.”

Of course, the concept of transit and getting people where they need – and want – to go involves far more than roads. Mass and public transit are a crucial piece of the puzzle, especially in areas like the Triangle where expansion is happening rapidly and more people start to call here “home.”

“[Accessible public transit] reduces a barrier,” said Milazzo. “There are folks who may be willing to try transit, but they’re like ‘I don’t know how much it costs, where do I buy a ticket, how does transfer work?’ ‘Oh, screw it, I’ll just drive.’ If you eliminate that, that helps get more people on to the system, and that creates more viability.”


“Embrace The Space” is a monthly segment presented by Trinsic Residential Group on 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com featuring conversations with experts and professionals exploring town planning, from land use to housing to transportation, and examine how so much works together to form a place where people can not only live — but thrive.

You can find more conversations like this in the “Embrace The Space” archive on Chapelboro, and each month in a special segment airing on 97.9 The Hill!