I really cannot tell if Triangle transit boosters are working a “big lie” strategy where they know they are spouting nonsense or if they are truly ignorant of the facts. I suspect the latter.
To recap, Charlotte got about $250m. of the $463m. it took to the build the South Blvd. light rail line from the feds. The Triangle’s $810m. plan had no hope of winning federal funding, so they yanked it from FTA consideration.
Next the Triangle train types come down, ride Charlotte’s train and get all excited about trains. Again. “We want one of those!” Well, you can’t have one. Offer void.
More precisely you do not have two-thirds of the right-of-way you are gonna re-use, keeping the price per mile to an only slightly insane $48m. per.
Figure on at least $70m. per, perhaps more, Charlotte has to — which runs smack into the fact that half-cent for transit cannot pay for that kinda of expense. This is why Charlotte is already poised to use future property tax dollars to pay for trains.
At a minimum, a $2b. train-building program for the Triangle is gonna take a half-cent hike in the sale takes plus millions in property tax revenue diverted from local General Funds to pay for trains.
Were the Triangle train brigade remotely serious, its next stop would be Huntersville to find out why town leaders are extremely skeptical of the plan to use $70m. in debt secured by future property tax dollars to build the $450m. North line commuter rail. Maybe even wonder why it is that projections on the value of development around that line’s train stations — and hence future property tax revenue — vary by $555m. — with the train builders taking the rosy high side.
Instead, it sounds like they’ve already entered sales and spin mode.
