The editor's opinion
There is no federal requirement to close the East Elm Avenue at-grade railroad crossing in Wake Forest nor to close Mason Street in Franklinton, Main Street in Youngsville.
The State of North Carolina has itself imposed that requirement. (This is in a state government where the State Bureau of Investigation laboratory and staff are being shown to be inept and untrained at best, malicious at worst, and protected all the way to the top. Where is the protection for our small towns?)
We need those three crossings, at a minimum, to remain viable and connect the east and west sides of our towns. They can be more than adequately protected by crossing safety systems now available.
We call on the railroad division in the North Carolina Department of Transportation to rework the current plans to prevent the division of our towns.