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Charlotte is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, right? With growth have come many of the issues that face every big city. We are fortunate that we have the opportunity to look at other large metropolitan areas and learn from their successes and mistakes. We are also fortunate that we are still growing; we have the opportunity to plan and change things now, before we are too far along. Getting from place to place—transit—has always been one of the major infrastructure components of a city. Welcome to the big leagues, folks, we have issues!
If you haven’t heard or seen any of the controversy surrounding the light rail, or more specifically the ½-cent sales tax that supports it, you must be living in solitary confinement. I won’t dig too deeply into what has been brought up in the past about the transit tax, or what each side accuses the other of doing. I want to present facts and opinion regarding light rail and its potential impact on Charlotte, specifically, Charlotte’s future. I hope readers will understand the article without trying to simplify it into conservative vs. liberal or political, party-line views. As a matter of fact, local Republicans and Democrats are on both sides of the issue. This is a local issue that hardly fits those simplistic labels; it is an issue that impacts our city regardless of which side you are on, and it isn’t simple enough to take a simple view of it. It is as much an issue about our growth and how we intend to prepare for the future as it is an issue to be considered only for today.
A HOPE FOR HONEST DEBATE
My hope is that we, the citizens of Charlotte who will decide the fate of the transit tax with a vote, will base our decision on facts, and that the various interested parties will not try to win at all costs with misinformation from either side. The issue deserves true, informed interest and debate, as the impact of our decision will be felt for years to come. Tactics including attacking supporters and detractors, trying to re-form the debate by pointing out side issues, and presenting “facts” that are either skewed or simply incorrect, have been going on since the debate began. The overall tone of the debate has been acrimonious at best. If you do intend to vote one way or another, please make that decision based on facts or true opinion, not just to “beat” the other side.
MY POSITION
I also want to point out from the beginning that I personally support increased mass transit options of all types in Charlotte; therefore, I support the ½-cent transit tax as an effective method of raising funds to implement it. No hidden agenda here. Having been to many cities that have good quality mass transit and having seen how it works, I feel it is in our best interest to begin the process of building a viable and useful system now. Building this type of system after you need it will only be more difficult, more expensive, and too little too late. It will never be easy. Having also been involved in consulting and development along the south rail line, I’ve seen how many people either already have, or are preparing to move along the line to use it. Contrary to those want to repeal this transit tax and continue to state that no one will use it, we already have evidence that this isn’t the case. No one will know how many will ride rail until it is running, so that isn’t the point. The point is that people HAVE been moving closer to the line and builders and developers have plans in place to build thousands of additional residential units from South End to Pineville. More, in fact, than the city has actually anticipated.
WHAT EXACTLY IS THIS TAX AND WHAT IS IT FOR?
The first misconception needs to be addressed at the very beginning: this is not strictly a light rail tax. The ½ cent sales tax in question is a transit tax that was implemented (approved by Mecklenburg County voters by referendum in 1998) to increase our mass transit options, including expansion of the CATS bus system and contributing funds (other funds come from the federal government) to begin the first part of a comprehensive system that includes a rail component. Currently 65% of what is collected is used for the bus system. The rest is used for rail.
WHO IS CURRENTLY PAYING OUR TRANSIT TAX?
This tax is paid by anyone who buys goods or services in Mecklenburg County. Commuters and workers from outside the county, visitors and tourists, sports fans for any of our many events, conventioneers, and anyone else who decides to visit and spend money in Charlotte. They are all contributing to our bus and rail system. If we repeal this form of tax there are a couple of alternatives. We can halt new rail lines, but also cut down on bus lines (remember, 65% of this tax goes to the bus system). We could continue to grow the systems but seek a new way to pay for them. Guess what that likely means? An increase in property taxes. With the second option, those visitors and others who will not be paying property taxes won’t contribute any longer. Just we property owners in Mecklenburg County will. So if the ½ cent transit tax is repealed, more of the burden for funding light rail and the bus system, among other things, will fall to Mecklenburg County property owners.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN ISSUES LIGHT RAIL OPPONENTS SEEM TO HAVE?
Those opposed to light rail have valid issues they’ve brought up regarding cost overruns, management of the project, and possible ties to a study done for the project by UNC Charlotte that might have been influenced by rail supporters. That being said, those problems don’t change whether rail is necessary for Charlotte. Again, these are problems, but let’s focus on whether rail will be useful for the city and its future – those needs have nothing to do with how this project has been implemented. Opponents have also pointed out that fares from the rail won’t cover its operating costs. Additionally, there are concerns including those that no one will ride the train, this line is only for rich people, Charlotte isn’t dense enough to support rail, and riders, not taxpayers, should fund rail. I’ll address these below.
FARES DON’T COVER THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH MASS TRANSIT
Fares not covering costs have been brought up often as a reason that we should not move forward with mass transit rail systems. That logic is fine and fair if other public transportation (including roads) were self-supporting and held to the standard. Guess how much I-485 generates for the public coffers? Nothing, nada, zilch. Unless we institute tolls (and we can expect very little support for that), roads bring in absolutely nothing. The cost in is fixed, permanent, and will never be regained. Well, I take that back. Some funds will be regained by rising values and development (thereby increasing the property tax base) that come from access that the roads provide, but the same can be said for rail lines. The property tax base has already increased along the current line. So let’s call that even-Steven. If even a single dollar comes in from the rail line, that is 100% more than we’ll get from roads. Period.
Another parallel in the roads vs. light rail debate: have you ever seen or heard of a road project that was finished on time or on budget? Me neither. Once again using 485 as an example – hundreds of millions over budget and years and years late. I 485 is late and over budget; is it a boondoggle? Can we just agree the public projects take lots of time and lots of money, so rail shouldn’t be judged more harshly than road projects?
WHY DO WE HAVE TO PAY FOR PUBLIC WORKS WE ALL WON’T USE?
“I won’t use it” is another statement commonly made by those opposed to rail to justify why they want to support it financially. With that logic, why do any of my tax dollars go to I-485 or any other road project on the outskirts of town? I live in center city, work in center city, and might be on 485 less than 10 times a year but could easily go where I need to go without it. Funny thing is, I don’t mind supporting it for those of you that DO need it. We live in a society, and pooling our money for the common good is how societies work. If we all simply held back our contribution for the things we alone use, how would the many needs we have be accomplished? I don’t have kids, so cut my property taxes that go to schools. I have never called the fire department, so cut that part too. While you’re at it, I don’t want to contribute for trash pick-up any longer – I’ll burn it in the back yard of my office.
THE LIGHT RAIL LINE IS ONLY FOR RICH PEOPLE
The south line was implemented because that’s where the rich people live. I’ve heard and read that more times than I can count recently, but I find it very perplexing. I’m sure those living in many of the neighborhoods up and down most parts of South Boulevard, especially beyond Scaleybark Road, will be very surprised to find out they are rich. You can still buy homes there for less than $150,000, and many for under $100,000 (condos in many of these areas sell for as little as $35,000). Average rents beyond Scaleybark range from $400 - $650 a month. The first 2 miles of the line runs from uptown through Wilmore, Dilworth, and Sedgefield, but the rest of the 9.6 mile line encompasses moderate and even lower income neighborhoods. The “rich” sections of the line are much smaller than the others.
CHARLOTTE ISN’T DENSE ENOUGH FOR LIGHT RAIL
Is Charlotte dense enough for light rail? Not today, and that is what light rail opponents want you to focus on, but Charlotte is growing dramatically. Once again, this plan isn’t so much for today as tomorrow. We are growing denser and denser in town and, soon enough, we most certainly will be dense enough to support this system. The rail corridors were specifically chosen to bring density to certain areas that have available land and supporting side roads for increased density, and where most lower density neighborhoods wouldn’t be affected. This keeps higher density projects out of lower density areas and allows more folks to live closer to center city. Even if they don’t ride the trains, they won’t live in the ‘burbs and therefore won’t have to commute from the ‘burbs. The South Rail Line has this high-density development already in place, and more is coming.
A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN INCLUDING ALL PARTS OF THE CITY
The rail line along South Boulevard is intended to be just one part of an overall transit strategy that builds other light rail, tram, streetcar, and bus lines. This is only the beginning. Those on the east and west sides of town have reasonably argued that they are not being served by the south line nor the proposed line running north to UNCC and as far, tentatively, as Huntersville. Long-term plans do include those areas east and west of uptown, and CATS bus lines over the past couple of years have addressed increased needs in those parts of town. Why not now? There aren’t funds available to build all elements of the plan at once. You have to start somewhere, and the south and north lines both are on, or adjacent to, existing rail corridors. CATS didn’t have to start from scratch on these to purchase right-of-ways and build some of the needed infrastructure. The streetcar plans, which might get scrapped if we repeal the transit tax, were intended to move east and west along Beatties Ford Road, past Johnson C. Smith University, through Trade Street uptown, down Elizabeth, and eventually up Central Avenue. Eventually “spurs” could be added that would reach further into side areas and along Central. Voila, mass transit serving the east and west sides of town. Streetcars were chosen for these lines because they use, well, streets. They don’t require the same infrastructure as light rail.
WATCHING CHARLOTTE TRY TO KEEP UP WITH ROADS ALONE
I’ve lived here my whole life, other than a handful of years in college and one year in Greensboro as a child. I’ve watched us pave and pave as fast as we can, trying to keep up with our growth in an auto-oriented society. We’ve always joked that the symbol of Charlotte should be an orange traffic cone rather than a Queen’s crown. I’ve watched road project after road project start and finish, start and finish, start and finish. For years my mom drove me to school down Independence Boulevard, through mazes of traffic cones, while red light intersections disappeared and a freeway was born (been on it lately during rush hour? It’s difficult to say that this ever-widening road is any less backed up than it ever was). While in school at Appalachian I drove home to visit down an ever-widening I-77. Roads everywhere in town have been expanded non-stop, each time under the erroneous assumption that it would relieve the traffic and congestion we were dealing with. It never has. I remember the day that the first part of I-485 opened…to gridlock. So much for the shining star of hope that it would solve all traffic problems. Through it all I’ve yet to see a road project, once complete, that isn’t already obsolete or congested. This doesn’t mean I am blind to the problems and cost issues that we have had with building the south rail line. There are so many things that could have been done better, but this is really no different than any other government project, especially roads, from what I’ve witnessed over the years. Does that make it right? No, but taking apart our current method of revenues for our future because one part of the project wasn’t handled perfectly just doesn’t make sense. Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.
RIDERSHIP ISSUES
No one from CATS or the city has stated or even implied that most commuters will suddenly and immediately start riding the trains. That isn’t really what the intent is, nor was it one of the original goals of the transit tax or the projects that it funds. The intent is two-fold: built it now as we plan for the future and the continuing growth of the city, and provide an option for commuters who want to park their cars and take mass transit. If you still want to commute in your car, go for it. No one is saying you can’t or shouldn’t. But I know many people who already ride the bus, and plenty more who are salivating at the upcoming chance to take a 10-minute ride from home while reading the paper, and make it to work without battling traffic. They moved to condos along the line specifically for this reason. The second reason is to encourage denser development along certain corridors so we don’t eat up so much outlying land, thereby cutting down on pollution (even if those people don’t take the train, they won’t have to drive as far to everything), and to have higher property values along those lines, thereby recouping our investment by the increase in property values.
WHY SHOULD YOU FOCUS ON THE LIGHT-RAIL LINE REGARDING THIS TAX?
Should you? Opponents of the ½ cent sales tax, from everything I’ve seen and read, want to focus, and have you focus, on the light rail line. They refer to the “light rail tax” often, call the project names such as “choo choo” and “boondoggle.” They talk constantly about how many people won’t ride it and how many of you won’t be served by it because of which direction it runs. That focus obscures the long-term goal of the transit plan. Light rail is only the first part of a larger, more encompassing system that has a very high probability of coming to an area where you live or work.
CATS BUS SYSTEM HAS INCREASED RIDERSHIP AND COVERAGE
Not so many years ago, the bus system in Charlotte was not widely used and many empty or nearly empty busses would be seen traveling their routes. But times have changed. I rarely see even a half-empty bus during daytime hours (they may be full at other times, I’m just not out and about!). The bus stops are packed during morning and evening rush hours. The riders that I see at stops uptown have changed as well. Blue-collar workers continue to ride the bus, but white-collar workers and visitors ride as well. Certainly if these folks are willing to ride the bus, they’d be willing to ride a train, an even more efficient way of getting from place to place.
WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM LIGHT RAIL LINES?
We as residents will as a whole. If the light rail plan is implemented, many residents will have the option of leaving their cars at home or in a park-and-ride. The more lines we complete and the better connected these options become, the bigger the impact we can make on improving the environment and making the mass transit option a viable one. If the additional development along the lines continues at its current pace, revenue from property taxes will come back as a return on our investment. This won’t happen overnight, but it is already beginning.
Mass transit is necessary in a large city. It allows residents and workers to choose to not drive a car, thereby relieving some congestion. It allows non-drivers of any age to get to and from work, shopping, and school. If a city grows too much without addressing its transportation needs, many aspects of living become more difficult, quality of life is diminished, and the environment suffers. Do we choose to hope that roads are the only answer? Do we allow ourselves to put off our future needs so our children have to deal with them? I hope not. I’m voting against repeal. And I hope that, after considering the information available here, you’ll consider that option as well.
~ Scott Lindsley
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