All Aboard The Crazy Train
Not sure what else you can call Charlotte’s continued mad lust for all things rail transit, other than flat-out crazy, although misguided, irresponsible and irrational pop to mind pretty quick.
Not content with hitting the federal government up for $25 million to help build a $37 million streetcar line that will stretch all of 1.5 miles, Charlotte Area Transit System now has its eyes on another $20 million grant, this one to pay for a two-block extension of the Lynx Blue line. Total price tag: $25 million for about 2,000 feet of track. CATS officials peg the estimated cost equivalent to $62 million a mile to build.
If it lands the grant, the city would need to kick in $2.5 million to buy a piece of uptown property to house a rail station. Nobody’s sure where that money would come from, which should sound familiar. City councilmembers had to raid several different pots of money to find enough loot to pay for its share of the streetcar freight, and still have no idea how to cover an annual operating cost of $1.5 million.
The city had to carry funding responsibility for the streetcar because CATS is running low on cash, with transit sales tax revenue plummeting. Which, of course, explains why they’re hitting Uncle Sam up for another $25 million. It’s free money, you know.
Full steam ahead.
We need your help! If you like PunditHouse, please consider donating to us. Even $5 a month can make a difference!
Short URL: https://pundithouse.com/?p=2709
