So the poll that the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce for the longest time did not want to admit it was conducting shows that roughly half of respondents want to junk the half-cent transit tax in Mecklenburg County.
This is tremendous news.
The survey of 600 registered voters had a marging of error of plus or minus 4 points and found that 57 percent wanted to keep the tax and 40 percent ditch it. It is not clear if the Chamber released the actual cross-tabs and survey questions or just cherry picked the results. The questions would reveal that the poll subtly push-polled on the effects of repeal, mentioning travel time, congestion, and air quality — all of which would not be effected one way or another by CATS $9 billion transit plan.
Still, the fact that there is widespread support for repeal at the heart of a pro-CATS polling effort confirms that repeal is a live option for Charlotte’s transportation future.
The same poll also found that — as predicted — CMS’ bond gets more support with a lower price tag. The $620 million number gets roughly 50-50 support while a $400 bond climbs toward 60 percent support.
Bonus Observation: Would love to see a poll that push-polled toward using half-cent tax revenue for something other than CATS’ mad transit plans or mentioned 20-unit per acre transit oriented development or development subsidies around transit stations or…you get the idea.
