NorthEast Coalition of Neighborhoods

NorthEast Coalition Minutes for September 20, 2009

Hugh Fisher has been so nice to attend the NorthEast Coalition's meeting I have decided to take what he writes and send to each of you in the hopes you haven't already read it. If you have enjoy a second time. Thanks Hugh!!!

Transportation issues in abundance for northeast residents
Hugh Fisher 25.SEP.09

Although the theme of Sunday's NorthEast Coalition of Neighborhoods was crime prevention, transit issues were the afternoon's recurring theme.

Residents far from the proposed tracks are unhappy following Charlotte City Council's 7-to-4 vote last week to spend $4.5 million on an engineering study for downtown streetcar lines, overriding Mayor Pat McCrory's veto.

They made their discomfort clear to Charlotte City Manager Curt Walton, who was invited to give a brief presentation on community issues to open the meeting.

Walton first detailed current plans for the Lynx Blue Line Extension. The new 11-mile, high-speed rail line will eventually have 13 stops, including at least one station on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

This is a welcome change, Walton said, because in the past, UNC Charlotte administrators did not want the train to cross through the college.

"Now they want it to be an integral part of campus," he said.

Walton said he believes the Blue Line Extension would be the next rail project to begin construction.

"There are other lines, particularly the North Line to Davidson and Mooresville, that other parts of the county want to have built," Walton told University City residents.

The rail line through University City is scheduled to open in 2016, Walton said, "if the sales tax stays at this level."

The Blue Line Extension will cost more than $1 billion, but Walton said the federal government will likely fund half of that cost, with the state government picking up an additional quarter of the cost.

Closer to home, Walton said nothing has changed with regard to completing Interstate 485.

"We have worked with the governor's office since she (Gov. Bev Perdue) was here. Nothing has happened yet," Walton said.

But the city will not support taking money from the Independence Boulevard project to pay for 485.

"Independence has been on that list (of road projects) since 1965," Walton said. "It moves about one mile every 10 years."

He said that since so many businesses along Independence now sit vacant, now is the time to support that project in hopes of bringing economic recovery.

"It certainly is a glaring problem to have one-fourth of a loop in the largest metropolitan area in the region left unfinished."

Perdue's original promise to begin work on the final leg of 485 this year has proven unworkable due to the poor economy.

But during a visit to Charlotte last week, Purdue repeated she hopes to find a way to finish the beltway without sacrificing Independence or other projects.

Even so, University City resident Jo Anne Dickens said she doesn't believe Perdue could make that happen. "She knew she couldn't do anything about it the first time she talked about it," Dickens said.

The Charlotte City Council's streetcar vote drew ire from Dickens and other residents because of the money the city is fronting for a project with no promise of completion.

Streetcars would run from Eastland Mall through uptown Charlotte to Beatties Ford Road, along what Walton said are high-traffic bus lines. A section of track is already in place on Elizabeth Avenue in anticipation of the project.

Estimates have placed the cost of the complete streetcar line around $450 million.

A consensus among residents who spoke was that construction shouldn't start until money has been earmarked to build the line in full.

Walton took issue with that argument, noting people don't save the full cost of a new house before they buy it. "You go to the bank with a pot of money, and you get a loan."

The engineering study, he said, will move the project forward and identify the locations of 80- to 100-year-old water and sewer lines along parts of the route, lines so old that accurate maps don't exist.

The "visionary" appeal of a streetcar makes it superior to buses, he said, and would attract more businesses.

That argument didn't impress residents.

NorthEast Coalition President Claire Green Fallon said the NorthEast coalition had sent a message to city council members opposing the streetcar study. "Nobody listened to us," Fallon said. 

During a later panel discussion for Charlotte City Council candidates, prospective members Patrick Cannon, David Howard and Darrin Rankin were pressed for their positions on the streetcars.

"We should be working that hard on 485," Rankin said, adding he'd like to know where funding for the line would come from.

"I don't want to see three major projects left incomplete."

"This is definitely one of the situations where me and Mr. Rankin disagree," Howard said. "I would definitely have voted to override the mayor's veto."

He sees the streetcar as a solution for congestion uptown and said the line will save money long-term over maintaining buses.

Cannon began by explaining how past votes as Charlotte City Council member were similar to the streetcar issue.

One audience member interrupted Cannon's remarks to bluntly ask, "How would you vote?"

Cannon finally said that he would have voted to support the engineering study.

"Yes, it makes sense to look at the engineering. . We have to be able to determine what the cost is going to be," Cannon said.

Fallon, who said after the meeting that she supports the streetcar project as part of an overall transportation system plan, noted that many don't seem to realize its importance. 

"Many people were very concerned that that was brought in instead of finishing 485," Fallon said.