With a commuter rail line and another light rail line already in the works, Charlotte debates spending money for a streetcar line. We already have $100 million sitting aside for mass transit. What will it take for us to wake up and use it on something other than buses?
QuoteCouncil to debate funds for streetcar
Hitch is there's an $8 million design cost, no money to build the streetcar â€" and other needs for the money.
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By Steve Harrison
sharrison@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Wednesday, Jun. 03, 2009
Charlotte City Council members will debate this week whether to spend $8million to help design a streetcar through uptown when there's no money in place to build it.
The $8million is part of city manager Curt Walton's proposed budget, and would help pay engineering costs for the $373million streetcar. The 10-mile streetcar would run from the Rosa Parks Transit Center to Eastland Mall, via Trade Street uptown.
“I'm not sure where (the debate) will go, honestly,†said council member John Lassiter, a Republican candidate for mayor. “Should we be investing $8million in engineering and design when we don't have any funding?â€
The final vote on the budget is scheduled for Monday. Council members are scheduled to discuss the budget today, and could debate whether to keep the streetcar engineering money.
The streetcar's tracks would be built on streets, and it would operate alongside cars, stopping at traffic signals. A small section of track has already been built, on Elizabeth Avenue by Central Piedmont Community College.
A streetcar trip wouldn't be faster than buses, but the appeal of the streetcar would attract new riders and spark development, boosters say.
Charlotte council member Nancy Carter, a Democrat, said the streetcar would also improve service on some of CATS' most heavily traveled routes, along Central Avenue and Beatties Ford Road.
“It's serving the people who use the system right now,†Carter said.
CATS originally planned to build the Beatties Ford Road-Eastland Mall streetcar by using the money from the half-cent sales tax for transit, with the line opening in 2018.
During debate over whether to keep or repeal the transit sales tax in fall 2007, Charlotte council member James Mitchell told some African-American leaders he would work to expedite construction of the streetcar.
Last year, the city took the lead in trying to build the streetcar, hoping to open it five years ahead of schedule.
But it now appears that unless the city pays for the streetcar, it won't get built. CATS' projections show it doesn't have enough money to build the streetcar unless it gets a new sales tax dedicated for transit.
The problem is, the city doesn't have the money budgeted either.
A consultant found the city could use new property tax revenue generated from development along the line to pay for about 25 percent of construction costs.
Peter Zeiler, who works in the city's economic development office and has worked on the streetcar project, said there are other options for paying for the streetcar. The city could create a special taxing district along the line, or it could raise property taxes overall.
Another option is for CATS to get either a new quarter-cent or half-cent sales tax for transit, if Mecklenburg voters approved a new tax.
Zeiler said if the $8million is approved, engineering work could begin in 90 days. He said initial engineering work will help determine what utilities need to be moved so tracks can be installed. The total cost of engineering and design would be about $41million, Zeiler estimated.
Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess, a Democrat, said she wanted to make sure there is enough money in the budget to hire additional police officers. The city is planning on getting federal stimulus dollars to hire 150 new officers over the next three years.
If that doesn't work, it is considering shifting new money dedicated for road paving to pay for the new hires.
Burgess said the streetcar would be a “tremendous asset,†but she might lobby her colleagues to use some or all of the money to hire additional officers.
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Council keeps streetcar study in city budget
Informal ‘straw vote' is taken before formal adoption of the budget at Monday's meeting.
By Julia Oliver
joliver@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Thursday, Jun. 04, 2009
In the last meeting before budget adoption, City Council voted along party lines Wednesday to keep a $8 million engineering study of a streetcar route. The decision came despite protests from the council's four Republicans that the city doesn't know how it will pay for the line's construction, a project expected to cost about $373 million. The 10-mile streetcar would run east-west across the city.
“We have no capacity today to figure out how we're going to pay for it,†said Republican John Lassiter.
Democrat Anthony Foxx argued that the engineering study was a key step toward reaching a more exact figure for the cost of the 10-mile route between Eastland Mall and the Rosa Parks Transit Center. He also said that without it, the city was unlikely to get federal money to help build the line. He and the council's six other Democrats supported the study.
“I've never been able to pay for something when I don't know how much it costs,†Foxx said. “This is one area that holds a lot of promise as a growth strategy for our community.â€
The vote was part of a series of informal “straw votes†that precede the formal budget adoption scheduled for Monday.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/breaking/story/719057.html (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/breaking/story/719057.html)
At this same meeting the council approved a resolution to ask the legislature to approve an additional 1/2 cent sales tax to pay for expansion of the LYNX light rail system and build a separate commuter rail line.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/408/story/719242.html (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/408/story/719242.html)
They have their eyes on the prize.