By Gino Nuzzolillo, The Chronicle; March 8, 2019
Last Wednesday, Duke notified GoTriangle that it refused to sign on to one of Durham’s largest-ever mass transit infrastructure projects, the Durham-Orange light rail. Citing patient safety and research concerns due to potential construction vibrations, electromagnetic interference, power and utility disruptions, and the high cost of liability insurance, Duke declined to sign a cooperative agreement necessary to secure a land donation from the University. The agreement would also bind the University to further negotiations in order to make the project eligible for federal and state funding. The announcement immediately sparked community outrage—North Carolina Congressional representatives, city council members, county commissioners, and groups like the Coalition for Affordable Housing and Transit condemned Duke for turning its back on the community. Duke’s decision not to support the light rail jeopardizes a decades-in-the-making, $2 billion project designed to create equitable mass transit and affordable housing.