NDL

Mine might seem like a stupid question, but I am no longer in my 20s-30s; I very seldom, if ever, venture in and around Uptown CLT. I first became familiar with the CLT region in 2008, and at the time, it reminded me a lot of Queens. What do I mean? Outside of a few districts, Queens is (was) often regarded as a "place with density; an area that - outside of a couple of distinct districts - it's a place that lacks distinction and, to a lesser extent, cohesion. There are parts, for example, that have generic mid rise apartment buildings, but the complaint most often heard about Queens - sans a handful of districts like Bell Blvd - is that the borough is a place "where there's nowhere to hang." In other words, it's kinda boring. When I first became familiar with the Downtown CLT area in 2008, much of it reminded me of Queens: handsome, but there are swaths of development, with "nowhere to hang." I can visit in and around CLT, but my experience is nothing like the experience of someone who *lives* in South End, Uptown, etc.; do you feel that there's sufficient cohesion? That the CLT area as a whole - and I am not talking about compact and trendy areas like NODA - has a genuine and satisfying nightlife scene? What brought my question about? Thanks to y'all, I have been keeping track of development in and around South End, and much of it's impressive. But I wonder what life is like; there are a handful of non descript mid density apartment buildings, and then you have mid density commercial buildings, that encorporate little retail/nightlife. So...what say you?

The above article, in my view, makes a specious argument, which ignores all other sources of revenue. I have yet to find out how much revenue SC gets from the federal government, yet here's an interesting blurb: "The chart below shows the shares of state fuel taxes and vehicle fees diverted to non-highway uses. South Carolina, for example, diverts 31 percent. " https://www.cato.org/blog/highways-gas-tax-diversions

Per the source material: "“Only 4 cents out of the 16 cents in gas tax returns to Greenville County.” This is false. The numbers do not lie, but the opposition does. From 2002 until 2011, drivers bought 2.2 billion gallons of gasoline in Greenville County, and paid $353 million in taxes on that gas. Greenville County received $567 million in funded road projects from the Department of Transportation. We actually received 27 cents in projects for every 16 cents in gas tax Greenville County sent to Columbia. This rumor is rooted in the fact that 4 cents of the 16-cent gasoline tax is dedicated to a program for maintenance of county- and locally-maintained roads. However, only 30 percent of all roads in the state are maintained by counties or cities. The rest are maintained by the state. It is only fair for the state to receive the largest portion of the gasoline tax that drivers pay. Even so, the state spends their funds where the needs exist. The fact that Greenville County has received a larger share than it contributed speaks to the need to repair and maintain our county’s roads." ******* The above material only sites gas tax revenue, as if it's the sole source of revenue for the SC DOT. What about all other sources of revenue? Do they not contribute anything to our roads?

Great points, all around. I agree that selling a new tax to residents, via a referendum, would be a hard sell - nor do I fault residents for being leery over the fact that funds might not be properly appropriated. Had I not lived in York Co for a few years, I would not have seen the results of their "penny's with progress" program. That said, I don't think that inaction is a reasonable alternative. And as much as this might seem incendiary, the truth of the matter is that the SC DOT isn't doing the job that it's supposed to be doing. The question is why? Insufficient funding? Inefficiency? Poor structuring? According to our local representatives, the State is sitting on funds. Perhaps restructuring the system might produce better results. Thanks for the link; I look forward to reading the material.

*** To anyone interested, check out York Co's "Penny's For Progress" website: https://www.penniesforprogress.net/ *** York County's tax structure isn't any different than Greenville's. There might be a way to restructure the system locally, in a way that uses funds more efficiently.

York County's Penny's For Progress program adds a one percent surcharge, to the local sales tax that's levied, and it is *only* used on roads. What you're saying, is the idea that was floated here, was very different than York Co's program?

Thank you very much, for your edifying reply. So...locally, Greenville City has it's hand in planning, while the County and State, not so much. Do you know if there's any local motivation to rehabilitate the system? Is there anyone, locally, who might be interested in taking a look at York County's "Penny's For Progress" program? I lived in York Co for a few years, and the County deserves recognition for the job that they've done. For while the system can't make up for the deficits that take place at the State level, the County roads are miles ahead, of the roads here. Do any of our representatives, at the local level, have the wherewithal to take this on, or is this too much of a hot topic to handle? Thanks for the welcome DL!

Many of the roads that traverse the Eastside, and in and around Greer, feature two lanes, on top of which are developments with some density. I would have loved to see an alignment of roads, and if not that, it would be great if the City/County/State mandated that the roads that serve new developments, feature right and left hand turning lanes. At the very least, it would keep traffic moving (to some extent). Currently, when a motorist seeks to make a left turn, the only travel lane gets cut off from use. This could be a problem for emergency vehicles. York Co has made good use of their "Penny's With Progress" program; no question about it. Even so...York Co's online "presence" tells me that some degree of infrastructure planning takes place. Conversely, Greenville has a very poor online presence when it concerns planning/infrastructure, which makes me wonder about how much attention planning/infrastructure receives. And I am not even talking about large budgetary increases; I am simply talking about spending money more wisely. As I mentioned earlier, much of the lighting along Pelham Road features short truss arm fixtures, which illuminate the sidewalk, and little else. Taxpayers are spending money on inefficient lighting, whose placement doesn't illuminate the roads. The problem with the lighting setup is quite obvious, yet nothing is done, which makes me think that the "system" is either apathetic, or that a proper "system" hasn't yet been put into place. Here's my perspective: it isn't today's conditions which concern me; it's what will likely become tomorrow's reality. There's A LOT of open land on the Eastside of Greenville, which comes in the form of single residency homes, which sit upon several acres. At some point, these huge parcels will be redeveloped, into new, dense, housing developments. Traffic is bearable now, but at some point, many more cul-de-sac developments will be built, whose sole dependence is upon secondary roads (no neighborhood cut throughs). It's at that point when Greenville's traffic will be terrible, and it fixing the issue will have become cost prohibitive.

I am not challenging what you both wrote, but sincerely ask: are Greenville County's taxes that much lower than York County's?

That's a fair point - and given that Greenville is the principal city in our region, shouldn't all the more attention be paid to her? And why is York County ahead of Greenville, when it comes to her infrastructure (not that York County is *the* model of excellence, in the area of planning). *** Unfortunately, when people hear the concern that I raise over our infrastructure, it's seen as complaining on my part. I assure everyone, I am not complaining; why is the system not "fine tuned," and what can be done to improve it? Have our local reps not pressed the SC DOT for additional funding, for what is the State's most POPULATED County? Are our local representatives unconcerned? What is it?

We relocated to Greenville from the Charlotte area, and while I like Greenville, and while I see and appreciate the area's advantages, I have a HUGE problem with the way in which infrastructure planning/execution is handled. What specifically? When looking at her peers, namely Rock Hill, the Greenville area falls far behind, with respect to roads, planning, signage, and lighting. For as much as York County itself is lacking, the County has comprehensive plans, at both the micro and macro level. Conversely, the Greenville area does have comprehensive plans in place, but only for select areas and roads. What is my issue with Greenville? The County's online presence, when it comes to planning/infrastructure, is simply poor. If anything, it tells residents that much of the County is run like an unmanned train; street signage in many areas is poor; signs are small, oftentimes faded, etc. The street lighting, on many roads, features lighting with short truss arms. A perfect example is Pelham Road: a five lane road, whose lighting fixtures are much like those found on narrow side streets - rendering the streetlights ineffective, yet no one notices nor do they care. Another issue: many roads lack sufficient left and right hand turning lanes, and unlike our neighbor NC, developments go up, yet no turning lanes are installed. What's alarming is that our area continues to add residents, and many buildings are placed in close proximity to the roadside - making future road improvements unfeasible. I have never seen such a scenario...when I lived in NC, I used to think that the NC DOT was road alignment happy, until I moved here; have *any* major roads been realigned? Traveling in one direction, often requires a series of turns/change of roads. What's going on here? Is it a matter of our area lacking proper infrastructure planning departments/personnel, or what...? Is the County not leaning on the State for proper representation? The State seems to be sitting on a lot of newfound gas tax revenue, yet no one is acting. I don't get it, and this thread is not for the purpose of complaining, as much as it is drawing forth answers and possible solutions. Ours is a lovely area, yet if we continue to add population while ignoring the infrastructure, at some point, our quality of life will go down.

The Charlotte approach: spend tens of millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements, and six months after the whole thing is built out, start bemoaning the fact that there are no bike lanes. I am not being snarky, but where should the truck load/unload?

I hate to say it, but the routing of your River District leg is far, far, superior to the current Silver Line routing. Heck; imagine if the line could stop at the Outlet center as well; this would give Millenials in South End, UNC students, etc., rail access to what could be a major shopping and employment district to/for them. *** As someone who loves his (personal vehicle) truck, I can't help but acknowledge the fact that society is trending towards alternative forms of transportation. The City really dropped the ball in routing the Silver Line, and I can't help but feel that a major policy objective was to run it into Belmont - all other consequences be damned. A Silver Line into the planned River District, combined with the area's natural water feature, could conspire to come out with a development that would *really* put Charlotte on the map. Everyone loves the River Walk in San Antonio, and the Reedy River/Falls Park in downtown Greenville. Why can't we have something like that, but better, in Charlotte?

Exactly, and I can't help but feel that the whole thing is nuts. Everyone's clamoring for a line through Ballantyne, yet the City has shown no interest in incorporating rail into an integral part of the next Ballantyne, which is the River District. Everyone wants for Charlotte to be her own city, to the extent that her attachment with NC as an identifying mark, will no longer be necessary. Imagine if the River District planners took advantage of both their clean slate, and the natural water feature of the area, and created a development that fully incorporated light rail from the get go. Imagine the possibilities that come along with the City's opportunity... Alas, I am afraid that the City and developer will eschew light rail access in designing the area, and I can only hear the comments now: "The roads can't keep up" "No one could've anticipated the River District's popularity" "485 suffers severe backups, but we're running out of room to widen the road - especially around the Outlets" "In order for Charlotte to compete with the big boys, we really need to have rail access to all parts of the City, and this means the River District" "NCDOT said that 485's service levels are poor, but Matthew's/S CLT commuters cannot access rail into the River District"

*** I find absolutely amazing the widespread support for light rail into Ballantyne. Meanwhile, the City sees rapid bus service into the yet-unbuilt River District as a satisfactory alternative to light rail. Amazing. We should throw our widespread support over a River District that is built around light rail access. Such a development, if done right, (coupled with unique riverfront development) would truly set Charlotte a part from other cities.