Orange County voters will be asked this November to approve an increase in the sales tax to fund transit, with the proposal being heavy on light rail. Some highlights from a recent article from Carolina Journal:
But even one environmental-minded group, the influential grass-roots Orange County Voice, is balking over light rail.
“As long as light rail remains the cornerstone of the plan we will oppose it,” Bonnie Hauser, the group’s president, told commissioners. “It’s too much money for a single rail plan” that clumsily patches a light rail line to bus and commuter rail connections serving a small area and few residents. Expanded bus service makes more sense, she said.
And
“I think it is time to take it to the voters,” agreed Vice Chairwoman Pam Hemminger. She said the plan’s concept of preparing for population growth and transportation needs is more important than specific numbers because there is no way to foretell what “true costs are going to be.”
Where have we heard this before?
