No Light Rail in Vancouver!

Charlotte to Revote on Light Rail

Jun 7

2007

Angry taxpayers raised enough money to collect tens of thousands of signatures to put a transit tax back on the ballot in Charlotte, NC. Charlotte-area voters had approved a half-cent tax to support light-rail construction in 1998.

But cost overruns made the project controversial, and opponents want to stop the transit agency from beginning construction on more lines. The voters will get a chance to repeal the tax in November, just a few weeks before the first line opens for business.

Will Charlotte drivers switch to light rail or do they just want other people to switch so they can drive on uncongested roads?

Flickr photo by jacreative.

My friend Wendell Cox has a detailed article covering the projected light-rail system on his Public Purpose web site. He points out that Charlotte’s central business district, while thriving, has only 50,000 jobs. Even if light rail takes a lot of those people to work, the other 90 percent of the region’s jobs are too thinly spread out to be served by light rail.

As a result, rail will never carry more than a tiny percent of the region’s commuters to work; planning documents predict just 1.8 percent by 2025. The 2000 census found that buses carry about 2.5 percent of commuters to work, and FTA data indicate that transit only carries about a half a percent of regional passenger travel.

Cox also notes that the planning documents for the light-rail lines projected that bus-rapid transit would cost less yet carry more people than rail. Of course, rail proponants trot out the “choice” argument. But dirigibles and personal jet packs are choices too, but you don’t see anyone proposing cities spend hundreds of millions on these technologies.

Lots of cities have seen cost overruns in their light-rail lines. The overruns in Seattle are far greater than in Charlotte; overruns in Denver look like they will also be much greater. Why is Charlotte getting to revote the matter? Apparently, some anonymous activist was motivated enough by the overruns to fund a petition-gathering campaign. The signatures (most of which were collected by paid signature gatherers) probably cost some $40,000 to $50,000. Presumably, that person will also spend a few tens of thousands of dollars on the election campaign.

The main hurdle rail opponents have to clear is convincing people that they can repeal the tax without suffering dire consequences. Rail supporters are saying that repealing the tax would require the city to refund hundreds of millions of dollars to the federal government; reduce bus service; and force the city to raise property taxes. Opponents say most of those claims are false. As always, the question is not who is right but who will get their claims, correct or not, out to the voters.

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Reprinted from The Antiplanner