Cornelius endorses new transportation plan
Proposed legislation would allow Mecklenburg residents to vote on increasing sales taxes, with proceeds for transit and roads
The following article appeared in the August 21, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Cornelius becomes the first town to back revised transportation plan; called ‘game-changer for road funding’
Town commissioners in Cornelius fully support the new agreement to build roads and transit, voting Monday to become the first unit of local government to endorse the plan.
In a unanimous vote, commissioners lent support to proposed state legislation that would allow Mecklenburg residents to vote in a referendum on increasing sales taxes by 1 percentage point. The money would be divided between a newly created local government authority, which would spend money on trains and buses, and local governments, which would spend money on roads.
Towns in northern Mecklenburg such as Cornelius would be stops on a future Red Line commuter rail — something they have long wanted but that has been out of reach until recently. In the last year, though, railroad Norfolk Southern has shown a new willingness to sell its tracks, in a deal expected to close next month. That spurred a new effort to gain consensus on legislation that could be presented to the General Assembly.