The Tolls are Coming!

Charlotte may soon have a toll road (I-485) in order to pay for additional lanes. This precedence setting progressive move is happening under the watch of a Republican controlled General Assembly. Considering NC has the 3rd highest gasoline taxes in the nation (soon maybe the 2nd highest), does NC need to raise transit revenues with yet another tax….sorry, fee?  Yes, because several months ago the Republicans in the General Assembly decided to divert transportation money from roads and highways to very expensive light rail along transit corridors that are currently serving commuters very well.

 

I-485 has unquestionably needed widening for years. Twice a day, Monday-Friday, I-485 resembles a parking lot more than a highway. It is a major corridor for people and commerce needing to reach a variety of destinations.  In 2008 (latest figures found) roads and highways made approximately one cent per passenger mile more in fuel taxes and fees than NC spent on roads and highways.  Charlotte’s light rail replaces existing bus routes, cannot be rerouted as demographics change, cannot carry commerce, is subsidized to the tune of just over $20 per passenger and fares only cover 17% of its operating costs (an expense that extends into the future as long as there is a light rail). Light rail costs each of us tremendously and benefits only a few whose destination is a small area downtown.

  

After a fast start to please the conservative base that propelled NC Republicans into the majority of the General Assembly for the first timein over a century, NC Republicans now appear ready to disappoint.  Disappointment has become a way of life for Charlotte conservatives that have watched Republicans collude with Democrats for years to approve one glitzy expensive boondoggle after another (downtown arena, light rail, Whitewater, NASCAR Hall of Fame). It’s like being tied to a chair and watching children run through a toy store with your credit card.

 

Charlotte is the highest taxed and largest debtor city in North Carolina, a legacy started long before liberal Democrat Anthony Foxx became mayor. Soon NC Republicans may be scratching their heads trying to figure out why their base isn’t showing up to vote…….just like Charlotte Republicans are now doing after a disastrous 2011 election (2009 and 2010 weren’t much kinder to them). They just don’t get it! Some Republicans like Governor Bobby Jindal get it. He just won a second term in Louisiana where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2:1.