Democratic mayoral candidate Craig Madans said out loud the South Blvd. light rail line will not work, which is true but alas irrelevant. The city and state are committed to wasting $450 million on the nine-mile project and nothing short of a time machine can reverse that.
Madans’ suggestion to run light rail to the airport also is divorced from the reality of Charlotte’s light rail dreams because building light rail has absolutely nothing to do with moving people from point A to point B. Such projects are all about changing development patterns and forcing people out of their cars. That is why the South Blvd. route was chosen as Charlotte’s initial foray into rail — not because anyone really expects 9100 people a day to ride the train, but because it was an easy mark for redevelopment and rezoning to the “transit oriented development” beloved of central planners.
Rail cannot work without high population densities, so now for Charlotte the goal becomes to ramp up density around those rail stations with mid-rise, mixed use development. The public is finally getting a chance to see what that means. It means rail stations without parking as land is put to other uses and residents are expected to walk to their destinations or take that $450 million train.
And keep an eye on plans for a parking deck out Pineville way at the start of the rail line. If it is cut or shrunk it will be a clear admission that the South Blvd. line has nothing to do with commuting or air quality, but is primarily a massively expensive redevelopment engine.
Most troubling is the fact that Charlotte seems bent on repeating the mistakes of other cities and no one in or out of public office seems to notice. I call the product of these mistakes Brave New Charlotte:
The evidence is overwhelming. The decades-long fight central planners have waged against so-called sprawl has been tremendously expensive and produced significant collateral damage with little to show for it. The cost of chronic traffic congestion, increased density, and purposely increasing the cost of housing all now have a clear track record.
None other than The New York Times recently noted that Portland’s decades-long pursuit of transit oriented development, a “new” idea for Charlotte, has driven families with kids from the city. Elementary schools are closing down as city planners favor smaller, more expensive dwellings. And parents with kids do not. …
… Such research reflects cutting edge-thinking. Instead of embracing it, Charlotte is in some sort of time warp, committed to the best land-use and transportation policy that 1985 can provide. Occasionally you can still catch a local official justifying Charlotte’s tired light rail and land-use plans by warning that to do otherwise would risk turning out like Atlanta. It is always unclear what this is supposed to mean considering Atlanta started building its own light rail system, MARTA, 30 years ago.
It is beyond sad that Charlotte gets to pick from two mayoral candidates neither of whom understand what is at stake.
