Chapel Hill honors pioneer of mass transit
When Howard Lee became mayor of Chapel Hill more than 50 years ago, many people thought his plans for mass transit were far-fetched. But his idea prevailed, and now, Chapel Hill Transit has the second-highest ridership in the state.
Posted — UpdatedOn Monday, the former mayor was honored for that vision.
By Lee's own admission, the idea seemed improbable.
"In Chapel Hill, we probably could have not justified the Chapel Hill system in the early years, but it's proven itself far more valuable than we could have ever imagined," said Lee.
Back in 1969, Lee, son of a Georgia sharecropper, thought maybe he could become mayor of Chapel Hill, a majority-white Southern town.
"My goal was not ever to be mayor of Chapel Hill, my goal was to force whoever became mayor of Chapel Hill to submit to doing the things that I would do if I was mayor of Chapel Hill," said Lee.
That included creating a bus system. As a student in social work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who had no car, Lee said he had trouble getting around town — as did many others.
"When I came up with mass transit, a lot of my supporters went wild," said Lee.
"Unfortunately – well, fortunately, I guess – I got elected and all the things I had promised to do, I had to figure out a way to do," he said.
Lee figured out a way to acquire the town's first buses – he turned to Atlanta and bought 20-year-old jalopies from the city's used fleet.
The town had to shut down the system because the money ran out. But Lee was the engine that could.
"You wanted to help move our community forward by helping those who needed help getting to and from work, shopping, whatever they needed to do," said current Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger.
On Monday, a ceremony celebrated the naming of Chapel Hill's transit center in honor of Lee and his wife, Lillian, a prominent retired teacher.
"Thank you for being bold," Hemminger said. "Thank you for moving us forward as a community."
At 87, the former mayor widens his windshield to see the whole region.
"I do think that at some point, we will have to have a rail transit as well as road transit, and I hope those things come together," said Lee. The transit service has been fare-free for 20 years.
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