In an unposted article in yesterday’s N&R, UNCG geography professor Keith Debbage gushes over Charlotte’s light rail system:
What is happening in Charlotte is nothing short of stunning. Charlotte is emerging as a national leader in integrating transit-friendly land-use patterns with its developing rail system. According to Charlotte planning director Debra Campbell, CATS is not just about providing commuters with transportation choices. It also has as goals re-organizing land development to maintain a competitive advantage nationally and providing a high-quality environment through compact, high-density growth. Such growth should help both to alleviate the region’s air quality problems and preserve natural open spaces. Whew! Talk about lofty goals.
Fortunately, Professor Debbage slides some money talk into his discussion of lofty goals:
Yes, the feds will fund the majority of commuter rail costs, but rail systems do not come cheap and local governments frequently pay upward of one-fourth of the total costs. Also, the cost overruns speak volumes to the difficulties faces by any community trying to build a commuter rail system.
Cost overruns? Imagine that. Debbage says that the proposed Triad commuter rail line running from N.C. A&T to Hanes Mall would cost $500 million, whereas Greensboro’s Outer Loop will cost $1 billion upon completion.
No doubt a rail system here in the Triad would have cost overruns as well, pushing the cost closer to $1 billion. Federal funding is no guarantee, either. Debbage points out that Charlotte’s northern rail corridor through Huntersville has yet to qualify for federal funds. And the feds have already said no to funding for a proposed rail system in Raleigh, which has more traffic than we do here in the Triad.
Things to think about.
