‘Don’t ruin that.’ Proposed Wake Forest rail station aims to fit historic downtown
Building a new train station in the heart of Wake Forest poses several challenges, including how to avoid overwhelming the small historic downtown with traffic or a building that doesn’t fit.
Town officials want the station on a parking lot off White Street where the former train depot once stood. The N.C. Department of Transportation, which plans to extend Piedmont passenger trains to Wake Forest in 2030, hired the international architecture and engineering firm Stantec to determine how that might work.
“Our spot, a half acre, is very small,” says Mike Rutkowski, the project manager for Stantec. “But it is surrounded by the historic district and very important to the community.”
Rutkowski and others involved in the plans heard one message over and over from Wake Forest residents and business owners: “Don’t ruin that.”
The plan they’ve come up with uses that half-acre parking lot, but also bridges the tracks to incorporate land that includes the surviving railroad freight building. A pedestrian bridge over the tracks would allow a drop-off and pick-up zone for cars on East South Avenue, keeping them out of the downtown business district.
The station itself would be sized to fit among the older one- and two-story buildings that line White Street. It would include indoor and outdoor waiting areas, a ticket counter, restrooms, a cafe and about 1,500 square feet that businesses could lease.
Mayor Vivian Jones said most of the reaction she’s heard to the plans has been positive.
“We have a historic downtown, and we want to keep that,” she said in an interview. “I think the way they did it, it was modern but not overpowering.”
The new station would not include parking to make up for the 52 spaces that would disappear when the building is constructed. Rutkowski said it’s not needed. A town study found a surplus of available parking within walking distance of White Street, he said, and the town plans to build a multi-story parking deck a couple of blocks from the station at White and Elm streets.
“We should be able to navigate the parking issue,” he said.
First of several planned train stations
NCDOT refers to the planned downtown station as a “mobility hub,” where the train meets other modes of transportation people take to their final destination. The design will account for how people can use cars, buses, bicycles and rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft.
Stantec will deliver a preliminary design by next spring. It will be up to the town, with help from NCDOT, to find money for final designs and construction.
The station is one of several mobility hubs NCDOT is helping communities plan along what’s known as the S-line, a rail corridor that runs from Sanford through Apex, Cary and Raleigh on north toward Virginia. NCDOT and its counterpart in Virginia are working to restore passenger rail service on the corridor between Raleigh and Richmond.
Wake Forest will be the first new station on the S-line. A year ago, NCDOT received a nearly $1.1 billion federal grant to help build out the first leg of the Raleigh-Richmond route, from downtown Raleigh to Wake Forest. The state hopes Amtrak can begin running Piedmont trains from Wake Forest through Raleigh, Durham and Greensboro to Charlotte in 2030, while the rest of the corridor is developed.
“Our goal isn’t to get to Wake Forest,” says Julie White, NCDOT’s deputy secretary for multi-modal transportation. “Our goal is to get to Virginia and through to D.C.”
NCDOT is using the federal money to rebuild what is now an old freight line from downtown Raleigh to Wake Forest. The effort includes replacing several crossings with bridges, starting with Durant Road in North Raleigh.
Contractors will soon begin work on a second crossing. NCDOT recently awarded a $19 million contract to S.T. Wooten of Wilson to build a bridge to carry New Hope Church Road over the tracks near St. Albans Drive in Raleigh.
This story was originally published December 2, 2024 at 5:30 AM with the headline "‘Don’t ruin that.’ Proposed Wake Forest rail station aims to fit historic downtown."
