The Charlotte city council is about to skip over a big threshold if it votes tonight to spend at least $10 million to make the new light rail line work within the convention center. That will mean that city revenue is fair game for finishing CATS rail stations. Recall that the terms of the 1998 vote held that the whatever transit plans flowed from the passage of the half-cent sales tax hike would be paid for with the revenue — roughly $50 million last year — from that added sales tax.
Previous roadwork up and down South Blvd. in conjunction with the light rail line could also be considered spending for the rail line, but to be fair that work probably needed to be done with or without a light rail line. Not so improvements to the white elephant of a convention center to accommodate a light rail line in the middle of it.
Bonus observation: Who wants to bet the $40 million trolley never runs again? Or at least never runs without more money. You read here back in December 2004 that the trolley’s main purpose was to condition Charlotte drivers to stop at intersections and wait for an empty train to go by. Good to see the traffic-snarling wrinkle of the new light rail line is finally getting more attention. Have fun with that South End folks. Merchants, maybe a third-shift to receive deliveries might not be a bad idea. Your vendors will be stuck out by the crossing gates while the choo-choo is running.
