"The State of Mobility" focused on status of Triangle traffic, as well as where it's headed. Conference goers also discussed some of the challenges of keeping traffic moving as more people move to the area.

"We need to focus on transportation. It's not a problem that takes care of itself,” RTA Executive Director Joe Milazzo said.

Milazzo said the location of Research Triangle Park makes dealing with the area's problems a little different.

“We're unique in terms of how our commuting patterns are, because people will leave Raleigh, leave Durham and Chapel Hill in many cases and go to Research Triangle Park,” Milazzo said. “So they're actually leaving the city in the morning, which is somewhat unusual compared to the rest of the country."

But Milazzo said the area can learn lessons from other cities. Taking early action, he says, will “make sure that some of the problems we've seen in Atlanta and Northern Virginia and other places … don't happen here."

Most of those issues deal with the need for new roads, and making existing highways more user-friendly.

Alliance members call Interstate 40 the Triangle's Main Street. And they say in 2008, they were able to help accelerate a widening project between Raleigh and Cary and push through new sign programs to make things easier to read for Triangle motorists.

RTA’s 2009 projects include advancing funding and planning for bus and rail transit as well as ensuring that construction projects – like the Triangle Expressway on I-540, the widening of I-40 between Raleigh and Cary and the proposed Durham East End connector – move forward. They also plan to work to improve traffic flow at congested intersections, upgrade busy commuter routes and help increase the number of flights and destinations at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

All are key challenges to accommodate the 1 million people expected to move to the area over the next three decades.

The conference also touched on the need for light rail and its success in Charlotte, Triangle Transit Authority's record ridership in 2008 and new non-stop flights from RDU to Paris coming next year.