From the Winston-Salem Journal today comes this report about a meeting on a proposed Triad choo-choo:
“We need to look at how we develop land and put in changes that are compatible with transit,” said Brent McKinney, PART’s executive director. “This is a whole different way of thinking.”
PART is planning a system of 33 miles of passenger rail between Winston-Salem and Greensboro, with service planned to start within 10 years. The project is expected to cost $400 million, with half of the money coming from federal sources, a quarter from the state and the other $100 million from local sources.
Such planning issues as setback, density and parking requirements need to be considered, McKinney said. The need to either set aside money from existing revenues or levy new taxes to pay for the proposed light rail system was also discussed.
Take away property rights. Force land use to be ?compatible? with transit. Adopt “a whole different way of thinking,? meaning a 19th-century way. Grab for hundreds of millions of federal dollars. Levy new taxes.
Yes, by all means, if the Triad is afraid of falling behind Charlotte and the Triangle in the “self-inflicted wounds? department, they need to keep hold such meetings.
