The basics of Charlotte's new transit plan

Let's unpack some of the details, shall we?

You’re reading Transit Time, a weekly newsletter for Charlotte people who leave the house. Cars, buses, light rail, bikes, scooters … if you use it to get around the city, we write about it. Transit Time is produced in partnership between The Charlotte Ledger and WFAE.

---

FAQ: What is the revised transit plan? What would it do, how much would it cost and what happens next?

This month, city and county leaders announced that they had achieved a breakthrough to advance the region’s long-stalled transit plan after years of delays.

If you haven’t been tuning in to the details over the last few years — and we can’t blame you if you haven’t — it can all seem like a big jumble: rail, buses, roads, negotiations, support, opposition, taxes, spending, votes, blah blah blah.

Today, we’re un-jumbling it all for you.

We’re drawing on our expertise of following this issue closely over the last 5+ years — watching the meetings, talking to people involved, fielding readers’ questions — and are unpacking the details in an easy-to-read, easy-to-understand FAQ, or frequently asked questions.

Our Transit Time newsletter will continue probing the big questions about this plan and other transit and transportation issues in the coming months. But today, let’s be sure we’re all up to speed on what this plan is — what it would do, how much it would cost and what it would mean for the Charlotte region.

❓ Ask questions: And if you have additional questions about this plan, let us know. We’ll get them answered in a future edition. —Tony Mecia

—

Q. What is the transit plan?

Charlotte and surrounding communities have been working for years on a possible expansion of public transit. Now, that idea is as close as it has ever been to actually happening — although there are still a number of potential roadblocks.

The main components would be

• A new commuter rail line to northern Mecklenburg (and potentially southern Iredell), known as the Red Line

• An extension of the Blue Line light rail to Pineville and Ballantyne

• A new light rail line called the Silver Line. It was originally envisioned as running from the airport area to Matthews, although the uptown-to-Matthews segment now appears destined to be bus rapid transit, not light rail.

• An extension of the Gold Line streetcar down Beatties Ford Road to the west and down Central Avenue to the east

• Increased funding for bus service, roads, sidewalks and greenways

Q. What’s the big deal?

This is a plan that is estimated to result in $25 billion in spending on transit and transportation infrastructure. That is a huge amount. If you look at it as a single project, it would be the biggest project in North Carolina history.

Proponents describe it as a “generational investment.” It would touch nearly every part of Mecklenburg County in some way.

Q. How would it be paid for?

The bulk of the money — an estimated $19.4 billion over 30 years — would come from a 1 percentage point increase in Mecklenburg’s sales tax, which is now 7.25%. (It would go to 8.25%.)

The rest ($5.9 billion over 30 years) is estimated to come from federal grants and fare revenue.

Raising the sales tax in Mecklenburg by 1 percentage point, to 8.25%, would raise an estimated $19.4 billion over 30 years, backers say. The money would go toward a variety of transit projects and roads. (Slide from city of Charlotte presentation)

Q. Who would oversee the money?

Of the money collected from the new sales tax:

• 40% would go to roads

• 40% would go to rail

• 20% would go to buses

Now, transit in Mecklenburg County is run mainly by the Charlotte Area Transit System. It is a department of the city of Charlotte, though a regional transit panel has some input, too.

Under the revised plan, transit in Mecklenburg would be overseen by a newly created 27-member transit authority, which would have members appointed by the city of Charlotte (12), Mecklenburg County (12, including six from the six towns), the General Assembly (two) and the governor (one). CATS would transfer its assets to the new authority, which would also receive the new transit money from the sales tax.

Backers say this structure is more in line with how big metro areas run regional transit systems.

The money for roads would go directly to the municipalities, which would determine how to spend it. Backers are saying the amount of road money would be “unprecedented.” In Cornelius, for instance, it would be an estimated $5.75 million in the first year, which would be about 15% of the town’s budget. In Charlotte, it would be $102 million in the first year, which the city says it would spend on “strategic investment areas,” and congestion mitigation and safety and bike and pedestrian projects.

Q. Why are we talking about this now?

For years, the idea of expanding transit has languished. Mecklenburg’s northern towns — Huntersville, Davidson and Cornelius — were unenthusiastic about a new sales tax without a transit line in the area. The rail corridor envisioned for commuter rail was unavailable, because railroad Norfolk Southern was unwilling to sell it.

Last year, though, Norfolk Southern changed its tune and said it was open to selling the rail line. Now, that deal is expected to close by early September, with the city of Charlotte buying it.

That has unlocked new enthusiasm for a plan in northern Mecklenburg. At the same time, Charlotte leaders have worked to accommodate the preference of Republican leaders in the General Assembly to build more roads instead of weighting heavily toward rail.

On Aug. 9, city and county leaders and leaders of almost all of Mecklenburg’s towns announced they had reached an agreement on draft legislation that would make the plans happen.

Q. Who supports the plan?

The agreement was reached among the staff of the city of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County government and the managers of Mecklenburg’s towns. Elected leaders are expected to vote in the coming weeks on endorsing the proposed legislation, which would then be presented to legislative leaders in Raleigh.

This week, Cornelius commissioners voted unanimously to endorse the plan.

The Charlotte City Council is scheduled to vote on it Sept. 3. The city, the county and five of the six towns are expected to pass resolutions supporting the plan.

Business leaders connected with the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance and the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council have also backed the idea and say that it is needed.

Q. Who opposes the plan?

Last week, Matthews commissioners voted to oppose the plan.

That’s largely because the uptown-to-Matthews corridor for years was expected to be a light rail line. But because the new plan gives heightened importance to road-building, to accommodate concerns from legislative leaders, there is believed to be not enough money coming in to build all the light rail as originally envisioned.

The uptown-to-Matthews segment of the proposed Silver Line is thought to be the most expensive, so it would be the logical one to pare back to bus rapid transit, backers say. Bus rapid transit is a step up from regular buses because the buses would operate in their own lanes — though it remains unclear how this might work in the uptown-to-Matthews segment. Backers say nothing has been officially decided, although it sounds as though leaders believe sticking with rail on that segment is doubtful.

Matthews leaders say it’s unfair to make that decision without public discussion.

That’s the only formal opposition, at least so far. Anytime you talk about increasing taxes, and have a detailed plan, there are going to be questions about whether it is a wise use of money.

For instance, there could be questions about whether the benefits are spread equally enough around the county, or whether it makes sense to build more passenger rail lines to uptown at a time when work-from-home arrangements are still popular and other employment centers are growing more rapidly.

Q. What happens next?

Municipalities will vote on whether to endorse the plan over the next few weeks. The city of Charlotte votes Sept. 3.

By Sept. 9, Charlotte is expected to close on its purchase of Norfolk Southern’s “O-Line,” which would be used for the Red Line commuter rail to northern Mecklenburg (and potentially southern Iredell).

After that, backers are hoping the General Assembly takes up the issue in November. They hope that a referendum could go before Mecklenburg County voters in November 2025.

New rail lines would still be many years away. The Red Line to northern Mecklenburg, for instance, would open to the public between 2034 and 2037 under the best-case scenario.

Q. Is this actually going to happen?

It’s hard to say.

The main hurdles seem to be…

• whether the General Assembly will pass the legislation allowing the plan to go forward. The decision would rest largely with Republican legislative leaders, who so far have not weighed in.

• whether voters would approve a referendum agreeing to a higher sales tax in exchange for more transit and roads. Polling has suggested that residents favor the idea of more transit and transportation options in general, but it is unclear if they would support this particular plan.

Q. Do you have any neat maps of the possible transit expansions?

Why, yes we do. Thank you for asking.

◼️ Gold Line. A third phase of the streetcar would add up to 17 new stations along Central Avenue in east Charlotte and Beatties Ford Road in west Charlotte:

◼️ Red Line. This is 25 miles of commuter rail along the Norfolk Southern rail line, between the future Charlotte Gateway Station uptown and northern Mecklenburg or southern Iredell counties. (Iredell and the new transit authority would have to agree on terms to extend it over the county line, to Mooresville.):

◼️ Silver Line. As originally envisioned, this was a 26-mile light rail line stretching from the airport in west Charlotte to Matthews via uptown. The revised plan would likely convert the uptown-to-Matthews segment to bus rapid transit.

◼️ Blue Line extension to Pineville and Ballantyne: The extension would add 5.5 miles and five stops to the south of the existing Blue Line, which now ends at the I-485/South Boulevard station:

—

Recent related Ledger/Transit Time articles:

• “Cornelius endorses new transportation plan” (Aug. 21)

• “The plan for buses to Matthews faces doubts” (Aug. 15)

• “Charlotte backs transit plan, but Matthews calls it ‘inequitable’” (Aug. 12)

• “Matthews and eastside leaders slam light rail cuts” (May 31)

• “Revised transit plan would scrap 1/2 of Silver Line, Matthews mayor says” (May 30)

—

More to come on transit plan coverage; what ideas or questions do you have?

Editor’s note: Our weekly transit/transportation newsletter, Transit Time (produced in partnership with WFAE), is committed to thorough and fair coverage of the Charlotte region’s transit plan. What questions or suggestions do you have? Leave them in the comments, or send us an email.

We will answer them in a future newsletter.

—

Tony Mecia is executive editor of The Charlotte Ledger. Reach him at tony@cltledger.com.

---

Transit Time is a production of The Charlotte Ledger and WFAE. You can adjust your newsletter preferences on the ‘My Account’ page.

Did somebody forward you this newsletter and you need to sign up? You can do that here:

Other affiliated Charlotte newsletters and podcasts that might interest you:

• The Charlotte Ledger Business Newsletter, Ways of Life newsletter (obituaries) and Fútbol Friday (Charlotte FC), available from The Charlotte Ledger.

• The Inside Politics newsletter, available from WFAE.