Anybody else find it odd that CATS opted to spend public money on a quarter-page touting light rail in today’s Observer? Besides, the ad is blatantly false as it suggests that light rail will do something to relieve traffic congestion in Mecklenburg. That is simply not true. As the Reason Foundation’s Ted Balaker notes:
Although dozens of cities have turned to urban rail, they have yet to realize substantial mobility improvement. No comparable urban rail system in the nation carries even 1 percent of travel. Moreover, after the adoption of rail, transit’s share of work trips tends to actually decrease. Once again, the North Carolina proposals will likely follow the experience of their predecessors. Its own proponents note that the Charlotte proposal would reduce regional congestion by about one-tenth of 1 percent.
For further perspective Balaker notes that although population density in Los Angeles is rougly four times as high as that of Charlotte, light rail in LA only carries about 0.4 percent of passenger trips. Then when you consider bang for the buck, forget about it — the I485 interchange at Weddington Road will be a better deal to improve mobility and reduce emissions in the region than a nine-mile, $450 million rail line running up South Blvd.
Hence the propaganda, maybe?
