Charlotte City Council takes deep dive into transit at annual retreat

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Charlotte City Councilmembers spent Tuesday, at their annual retreat, taking a deep dive into transit – and they’re hearing from the former mayor of Oklahoma City, Mick Cornett.

He has extensive experience in getting transit referenda passed.

Oklahoma City voters have approved four transit referenda since 1990. That’s allowed projects, including the two streetcar routes, that help people get to work, sporting events, and other hotspots.

Channel 9′s Joe Bruno was at The Restoration Hotel in Asheville for the council’s retreat. He said councilmembers asked Cornett how the city drummed up support for the measures in the community.

The former mayor said teaming up with the business community was key.

“The elected officials can’t put money into a campaign,” he said. “We can use our bully pulpit, we can talk about it but we mainly relied on the business community.”

Cornett talked about how Oklahoma City went from a place no one wanted to be to a city with transit options and a bustling downtown. He also shared what he would tell people who questioned their vision.

“I would say, all I can tell you is we are building a city where your kids and grandkids would choose to live,” Cornett said.

Charlotte city councilmembers said they were grateful to hear his perspective as they figure out how to convince voters to support a similar measure, assuming the General Assembly gives its blessing

“We have to move forward. Charlotte is big,” said Councilwoman Tiawana Brown, D-District 3. “A lot of people moving here, but we want to move forward for everybody, collectively.”

Councilman Malcolm Graham, D-District 2, said every geography is different.

“Every local politics is local to its own geography, so obviously, we got to put together a winning combination to do that,” Graham said.

Councilman Ed Driggs, R-District 7, cautioned that Oklahoma City is not a direct comparison because its sales tax had a sunset. Charlotte’s sales tax, if approved, will continue forever.

Road projects in the pipeline

Some of Charlotte’s future road projects:ith 100 pages of road and sidewalk projects that will happen if the one-cent sales taxS increase passes.

However, some caution that more work must be done

Here are some of Charlotte’s future road projects:

• An upgraded intersection at South Boulevard and Tyvola Road.
• New street crossing and a safe place for bikers.
• In Hidden Valley, an overhaul of Sugar Creek Road plus improvements at the Hidden Valley and Sugar Creek intersection.
• In Midtown, bike connections into Uptown.

There are possibly hundreds of projects in the pipeline if voters pass the sales tax increase for transit this year.

At the city’s retreat, leaders were assured each district has projects in the pipeline.

“We have to create a regional network that goes well beyond the boundaries of District 2,” said Graham.

The city says the impact the funding will have on roads and buses is underreported in Charlotte’s quest for a sales tax increase.

Road improvements make up 40% of the funding, which would be $5.7 billion over 30 years.

Buses account for 20% of the new funds. Much of the $3.8 billion would go toward ensuring buses pick people up every 15 minutes on the busiest routes.

“Think about the impact that has on our city, frequency in the bus system is freedom,” said Ed McKinney, special assistant to the city manager.

The discussion marks significant progress for a city determined to show the General Assembly the council has a plan that prioritizes roads.

Councilman Tariq Bokhari, R-District 6, said they need to go a step further and get price tags on these projects.

“If we had a full plan, one key component we would see here is, ‘OK these are all the projects, these are the costs, these are the timelines,” Bokhari said.

Bokhari is encouraging the city to think big about innovation in terms of transit. He says 20 years ago the iPhone didn’t exist let alone Uber or Lyft. The city plans to dedicate $300 million toward innovation projects.

Charlotte City Council will likely rely on the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance to push for the tax’s passage. The business group leads campaigns for the city’s affordable housing and road bonds.

If Charlotte gets permission for the ballot measure, the council needs to convince voters to raise the sales tax to fund the transit expansion.

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