Can art, transportation, and more livable communities be joined together?

According to the Triangle Transit Authority, TTA, it will happen through the form of a Regional Rail Transit System.

The regional rail project will consist of 16 train stations that will connect from Duke Medical Center in Durham, areas in Chapel Hill and as far as Spring Forest Road in North Raleigh.

According to the TTA, the transportation will be “convenient and very diverse.”

Most importantly, there will be a station called “Alston Avenue/NCCU,” which will cater to N.C. Central students’ transportation needs in and around the Triangle.

The trains will run in the existing railroad "rights-of way" on new tracks.

The station will be located east of the rail bridge over Alston Avenue. NCCU and Durham Technical Community College students will have a shuttle bus to the trains.

Each station will incorporate a different artistic theme displaying the North Carolina tradition of arts and crafts.

According to the TTA, the artwork will be decided “through a public participation process that will develop concepts that reflect the character of each particular stations’ neighborhood that will give a sense of ownership and pride to the community.”

Proposed creative themes are “Thinking” in the Research Triangle Park and “Eclectic/Funky” at Ninth Street.

“Public art engages us by creating a connection between a community and an artist," says TTA. "Public art makes spaces more inviting and welcoming."

There is an $800,000 budget estimated for the project at this time.