CATS Long Term Transit Plan - Silver, Red Lines

[abttown]

And I had a headache BEFORE I read this! How likely are Republicans to block this money?

[DEnd]

And I had a headache BEFORE I read this! How likely are Republicans to block this money?

Dunno about actually getting it past Perdue, but I think it stands a good chance of passin the House and Senate. So I sent this e-mail to my Representative (who's a Republican):

Represenative Hastings,

I am writing to you today because I am asking you to oppose House bill 422. I recently read about Representatives Killian and Frye introducing this legislation to require the state to decline the $461 million in Federal Fast Trains Grants that the state recently secured. I believe this legislation, House Bill 422, is extremely bad for the state and Cleveland County.

While the grant money is designed to decrease passenger travel times between Charlotte and Raleigh, it will also do the same for freight traffic. At the same time it will also increase saftey along the rail corridor, by decreasing the number of grade crossings along it's path. The grants the state has secured will also bring jobs to the state, or at the very least put more money into circulation within the state.

For Cleveland County one of our selling points to potential new employers is our proximity to Charlotte's rail connections. By strengthening those connections we increase our attractiveness to potential, and current manufacturing and distrubtion employers. Our county's unemployement situation is too bad for us to allow the state to turn down federal money to improvements to our state's infrastructure which would improve our attractiveness to potential new employers.

While opposition to passenger rail is popular in many parts of the county, and with many in the Republican Party, this project is not just about passenger rail. The Federal Fast Trains Grant will Improve not just passenger travel times, but also the rail corridor saftey, and have a positive impact on the state's freight rail system. These improvements will help make Cleveland County more attractive to potential new employers. As a resident of Cleveland County in your district I ask you to oppose House Bill 422.

Thank you for your time,

Yeah I know that last paragrah is redundant, but I felt it important to restate my points.

Edited March 23, 2011 by DEnd

[New Name]

^Thanks for sharing that. I'd like to do the same.

Who can provide a list of email addresses according to where we live?

[southslider]

I find it funny that it's wasteful to upgrade tracks between North Carolina's two largest cities for less than a half billion. At the same time, the greater Charlotte region is set to receive multiple Billions in highway funding. Clearly, it's only waste, when it's not for your cause.

Surely, if we can afford to spend BILLIONS on highways (85-Yadkin, 485-NE, 85-Cabarrus, 74-Union, 74-Independence, 485-S), we can afford millions on NCRR from Charlotte to Raleigh.

[49er]

Apparently no one in the NC House is crying over 2 billion dollars worth of toll roads with questionable need and very questionable revenue generating forecasts.

[kermit]

^Thanks for sharing that. I'd like to do the same.

Who can provide a list of email addresses according to where we live?

You can find out who your state reps are from this site (although its kinda clunky)

http://www.ncga.stat...esentation.html

The zip code lookup (you need a zip +4) provides links to the rep profiles which includes an email address. I will send my emails today

Cross posted on NC Intercity rail thread

[kermit]

Good news for the red line this morning (if you believe in the transitive property of news)

After a slow start commuter rail in Austin (on a route similar to the red line) has now exceeded its capacity (in less than a year)

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/newly-packed-trains-a-mixed-blessing-for-metrorail-1336164.html

(I thought it would be nice to have some good news this morning)

[abttown]

If you haven't emailed your rep yet about the huge step backward our state legislators want to take, here is a good and easy way to voice your concern. Save the train!

[New Name]

^Great Link! Easy!

[abttown]

Well...at least I got a response.

"I'm not convinced that this is the best use of our money. I think we

need to spend more on highways. I seriously doubt that very many people

who want to go to Raleigh will ride the train. The annual maintaince

cost will be in excess of 50 million dollars. That's a lot of money to

spend on a train that people will not ride."

Rep. Edgar Starnes

[15895]

Well...at least I got a response.

"I'm not convinced that this is the best use of our money. I think we

need to spend more on highways. I seriously doubt that very many people

who want to go to Raleigh will ride the train. The annual maintaince

cost will be in excess of 50 million dollars. That's a lot of money to

spend on a train that people will not ride."

Rep. Edgar Starnes

Meanwhile, he forgets this is for the future. To make sure in the future we are as great (or greater ) than we are today.

[kermit]

Well...at least I got a response.

"I'm not convinced that this is the best use of our money. I think we

need to spend more on highways. I seriously doubt that very many people

who want to go to Raleigh will ride the train. The annual maintaince

cost will be in excess of 50 million dollars. That's a lot of money to

spend on a train that people will not ride."

Rep. Edgar Starnes

Thanks for sharing that. I have written rep Starnes (as well as the other sponsors of the bill, you can find them listed and linked here: ) to let them know that I am a regular rider of the current train (which allows me to get work done while traveling to visit friends and family) and my ridership will increase if the frequency and speed go up. While I don't expect this will change their opinion I did want to let them know that SOMEBODY rides the trains and ridership will certainly increase with the improvements.

[abttown]

Thanks for sharing that. I have written rep Starnes (as well as the other sponsors of the bill, you can find them listed and linked here: ) to let them know that I am a regular rider of the current train (which allows me to get work done while traveling to visit friends and family) and my ridership will increase if the frequency and speed go up. While I don't expect this will change their opinion I did want to let them know that SOMEBODY rides the trains and ridership will certainly increase with the improvements.

I plan on writing him back as well. I'm trying to think of a pleasant, yet objective response.

[DEnd]

Well...at least I got a response.

"I'm not convinced that this is the best use of our money. I think we

need to spend more on highways. I seriously doubt that very many people

who want to go to Raleigh will ride the train. The annual maintaince

cost will be in excess of 50 million dollars. That's a lot of money to

spend on a train that people will not ride."

Rep. Edgar Starnes

I fail to see how annual maintence costs will be 50 million. Track Maintence is paid for by Norfolk Southern, Line improvements are paid for by NCRR. The state currently pays 17-20 million for operations of 3 trains (I think it's three anyway). I fail to see how adding two will cause this number to jump to 50 million. I could very well be wrong but I'd like to know how he got that number.

Edited April 1, 2011 by DEnd

[49er]

Spending ALL of our transportation funding on highways is like ordering fries for your main course with a side of fries and fries for dessert. Can't we have options? Why must all of our money be spent primarily on one form of transport. And when did people stop using the train to travel between Charlotte and Raleigh? Last I checked, the route is gaining significant passengers ridership annually

[kermit]

Good old rep Killian (the writer of the anti HSR bill who happens to be from Mecklenburg) has apparently also sponsored a bill to cap the NC gas tax. Per today's Business Journal

One of Killian's main concerns is to have more of the existing transportation budget spend on roads

The Business Journal suggested that Killian would like to see DOT funding pulled from ferry, airport and rail projects. This clearly threatens the blue line extension as well as any other transit projects relying on state matches. Clearly the fabricated concerns about the HSR funding are just the tip of the wedge.

[Sabaidee]

I don't even know what to say anymore. I don't blame Killian's ideology, I blame the apathetic voters in 2010 to allow people like Killian in office.

[cltbwimob]

I wouldn't worry about losing transit funding too much. Gov. Perdue would veto any such bill I am sure considering that she is a proponent of the Obama rail plans. Plus Mayor McCrory, who seems likely to unseat Gov. Perdue next November, championed the transit cause in Charlotte....I am sure he would veto any anti-transit bill as well.

[kermit]

I wouldn't worry about losing transit funding too much. Gov. Perdue would veto any such bill I am sure considering that she is a proponent of the Obama rail plans. Plus Mayor McCrory, who seems likely to unseat Gov. Perdue next November, championed the transit cause in Charlotte....I am sure he would veto any anti-transit bill as well.

Its not existing funding that I am worried about, its clear that Bev will veto any effort to take it away. Its the new funding (that the state has not yet allocated) that is at threat here.

While I am no expert on the NC budget process I don't think the Governor (no matter who it is) can provide new funding without the consent of the legislature. I suspect that the state portion of the blue line extension money ($250 million?) falls into this category. I am also concerned about the state match for the next rounds of HSR funding (including a portion of the Florida reallocation).

[NcSc74]

It amazes me that people would let politics get in the way of transit progress. Livivng in Europe for the last couple of years has certainly opened my eyes to what rail travel city to city can be. I tell ya the US is going to get left behind in a lot of innovative areas by clinging to bygone stereotypes, dead idealologies and the belief the world needs us for innovation and inspiration. Im so sick of the current state of politics and this HSR fiasco is the last straw. I was truly hoping that NC would be a national leader and stay above all of that crap. Oh well I look forward to riding our intercity rail on my vacation this summer.

[tozmervo]

CATS has quietly launched their transit app for Android! It's still a little bit buggy, but I'm already making use of it. Next step: real time GPS location

[Urbanity]

CATS has quietly launched their transit app for Android! It's still a little bit buggy, but I'm already making use of it. Next step: real time GPS location

Only a year+ after the iPhone app and a few weeks after their own deadline. Not too impressed

http://www.markdoesclt.com/2011/03/charlotte-apps-strategy-elitist.html

[abttown]

Sure you're all busy doing something other than reading UP at this very moment, but I just came across this article in the Observer. I'm so very happy that our politicians had some neurons firing in their brains.

[dubone]

That's a relief. These funds are going to very basic improvements benefiting all rail in the state. I'm glad we got the stimulus money and glad we are moving forward with it.

[kermit]

Very interesting discussion on the Overhead Wire and the Transport Politic about the general failure of commuter rail (e.g. the red line AKA the north line) to generate ridership and TOD.

I won't restate the arguments here but generally the discussion is center around the reliance on single destinations (e.g. uptown) in areas with poor transit circulation (e.g. Gateway station which is not on the LRT), low frequencies and park and ride passenger sourcing leads to low ridership of the lines. The argument continues to state that the low ridership results in 1) a lack of TOD, 2) a significantly higher cost per passenger than LRT and 3) provides transit opponents ammunition. The Overhead wire provides ridership figures for many commuter routes, I was surprised by how low many of them are.

While none of this makes me convinced that the North Line will be a failure it does provide a useful perspective for Charlotte's future transit planning. The politics of regional development clearly require some type of transit to the burbs -- it just becomes a matter of thinking about how the line can be designed to avoid the mistakes made in Portland, Austin etc.

One thing I took way from it is that opening the North Line before the streetcar runs to Gateway would be foolish. A direct connection to the blue line would be better (perhaps by running the North Line down Atando junction and connecting to the lynx on the NCRR between 10th and Parkwood)

Edited April 19, 2011 by kermit