Shopping Center to Allow City Buses

Bus access to Towne North on Creedmoor Road is expected to begin Aug. 1, officials said.

Meanwhile, managers at Brier Creek Commons, off U.S. Highway 70 in northwest Raleigh, are still negotiating with the city over when and how to start allowing buses, officials said. The shopping center might need to upgrade its facilities to accommodate buses.

The two shopping centers have not allowed Capital Area Transit buses onto their property. Towne North managers have cited safety concerns, while Brier Creek officials have said their parking lots don't have enough room to handle buses.

City officials said bus access at the shopping centers is a matter of fairness for local residents who don't have cars.

The city did a study to rebut arguments against allowing CAT buses.

City officials said recently that they aren't concerned about two other shopping centers that don't allow access to CAT buses. Bent Tree Plaza at Strickland and Falls of Neuse roads, doesn't have the patronage to support a bus route, and another bus route provides access near Brennan Station on Creedmoor Road, officials said.