CAROLINA Journal
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• Churchill Discusses • Still Wrestling With Islamist Terror, P. 6 Title IX, P. 12 All Eyes on Black Eye Bill, P. 9 Funeral Home Fights, P. 16 Statewide Edition A Monthly Journal of News, Analysis, and Opinion from March 2006 • Vol. 15, No. 3 the John Locke Foundation www.CarolinaJournal.com www.JohnLocke.org Funding Gaps, Delays Plague N.C. Roads By MICHAEL LOWREY dependence Boulevard — also known Associate Editor as U.S. 74 — the state’s busiest nonin- CHARLOTTE The state’s lagging road terstate, which the state is rebuilding at or most drivers, there’s a road that projects, such as I-540 in an average rate of about one-fourth mile frustrates them. It’s a project for per year. In Wake County, the highway is which there’s an obvious need, Raleigh shown at right, the Interstate 540 loop, with completion Fbut it never seems to be addressed. likely to occur about 2030. In Shelby, the For George Walker, a teacher at Inde- are the result of fund- road is a U.S. 74 bypass. All-important pendence High School just outside ing shortfalls estimated projects, all seemingly delayed and Charlotte, that road is U.S. 74 through delayed more. Monroe. to reach $30 billion over Problems with the North Carolina “Highway 74 is old, yet you still highway system — such as being 10 back up in Monroe and Rockingham, the next 25 years. Some years behind on building roads — are adding 30 minutes to a three-hour and legislators are calling for nothing new. In 1989, gasoline taxes were 15-minute trip to the coast,” he said. “temporarily” raised to fund the con- Of course, it isn’t just the drive major reforms in the way struction of specific projects such as U.S. to the beach that can be a problem for highway funds are 74 and the rest. All 36 of the highways Walker, his friends, and fellow teachers. designated by the General Assembly to There is no lack of problem roads, even allocated. be built with the extra tax revenue were in residential areas. CJ Photo by Don Carrington originally supposed to be completed “They may widen roads, but things by 2003. Today that completion date like adding turn lanes wait long after the he said. about building or improving for years remains in the distant future. homes are built. Most North Carolina cities have a — and with completion scheduled for “When they address the roads situ- road such as U.S. 74, a critical highway the far future. ation they usually are a decade behind,” that state officials have been talking In Charlotte, that highway is In- Continued as “Funding” Page 3 Transit — Especially Rail — Likely To Be Hot Session Topic By MICHAEL LOWREY regional rail line underscores the difficul- rules, though, which includes detailed with the TTA’s proposal — and on both Associate Editor ties rail transit faces in North Carolina calculations of a variety of factors that sides of the equation, ridership numbers CHARLOTTE in general. FTA officials think are important in and associated time savings, as well as ransportation is likely to be a hotly assessing the viability of a proposed the cost of the project. debated topic in Raleigh when the Cost effectiveness the key rail line. In 2004, the FTA rejected TTA’s General Assembly returns to ses- One critical factor in obtaining FTA ridership projections. The federal agency Tsion in May, and attention will naturally funding for a project is that it be cost-ef- found the TTA’s assumptions and mod- Rail transit projects, even if built fall to rail transit in particular. fective, that it generate significant time- eling to be questionable and withheld using existing rail corridors, are pricey. Although Charlotte recently start- savings for commuters for the amount final approval until the problem was ed work on the state’s first rail transit As a result, local and state governments of money invested. The FTA measures corrected. To date, the issue has not line, it’s uncertain whether additional typically look to the Federal Transit this by calculating the incremental cost been resolved; recent model runs do not lines will be built soon. The collapse of Administration to pick up a substantial per hour of transportation system user the Triangle Transit Authority’s bid to portion of a project’s cost. Those seeking benefits in the forecast year. obtain federal funding for its proposed federal funding have to play by the FTA’s It’s here that the FTA has problems Continued as “Transit” Page 2 Do you support repeal of the 80recently imposed 3-cent gas tax? The John Locke Foundation NONPROFIT ORG. Contents 200 W. Morgan St., #200 U.S. POSTAGE Raleigh, NC 27601 PAID RALEIGH, NC State Government 3 PERMIT NO. 1766 CJ Special 6 Education 8 Higher Education 12 Yes 69 % Local Government 16 No 29 % Books & the Arts 20 Not Sure 2 % Opinion 24 Parting Shot 28 John William Pope Civitas Institute Poll, February 2006 CAROLINA C A R O L I N A North Carolina JOURNAL JOURNAL Transit Issues To Dominate Upcoming Session Richard Wagner Continued from Page 1 amount of tax revenues to be transferred “Charlotte is not immune to these Editor to the capital plan,” the FTA noted in the problems,” UNC-Charlotte transporta- show enough benefits to justify funding New Starts report. tion studies Professor David Hartgen Don Carrington the line even under the less-demand- The TTA has projected revenues said. “Questions were also raised about Executive Editor ing criteria the FTA used in approving to grow faster than inflation while costs the South Boulevard line’s projections. infrastructure projects before last year, will increase more slowly than inflation. The other corridors are significantly Paul Chesser, Michael Lowrey much less the current standard. Donna Martinez This creates smaller out-year operating weaker in their ridership potential and While ridership projections have Associate Editors losses, leaving tax revenue available to are more costly.” been the best-publicized challenge fac- help build the system. Charlotte Area Transit System Chad Adams, Shannon Blosser, ing the Durham-to-Raleigh rail line, the The capital plan also presumes officials hope to extend the South Bou- Andrew Cline, Roy Cordato, newly released FTA New Starts report development around rail stations will levard line from uptown Charlotte to Paige Holland Hamp, David Hartgen, notes a number of other serious concerns net $65 million in joint development pro- the northeast of the city and eventually Sam A. Hieb, Lindalyn Kakadelis, about the proposed project. ceeds during construction, an amount UNC-Charlotte, and to build a commut- Mitch Kokai, George Leef, In any attempt to meet the cost- FTA officials think “can only be con- er rail line from the center of Charlotte Maximilian Longley, Rick Martinez, effectiveness threshold, the TTA has sidered speculative at best at this point northbound to the towns of Huntersville, Karen Palasek, Marc Rotterman, twice in the last two years reduced the in time.” Part of the problem is that the Davidson, and Mooresville. Mike Rouse, R.E. Smith Jr., scope of the project. In July 2004, among TTA doesn’t have a signed agreement The plans for the last two corridors, Jack Sommer, John Staddon, other changes, the agency reduced the with a main developer. running from uptown Charlotte to the Jim Stegall, George Stephens, length of its proposed opening-day line Jeff Taylor, Michael Walden, The FTA has given the TTA until west to Charlotte/Douglas International by deferring the construction of track to Karen Welsh, Hal Young Sept. 30 to address its various con- Airport, and to the southeast along In- Contributing Editors north Raleigh. This change would leave cerns. dependence Boulevard to Mathews, the line 28 miles long with 12 stations are less well-defined. A choice of mode Richard Carney, Travis Fisher, instead of 32 miles with 16 stations. The South Boulevard, then what? of transportation is not due before late Guillermo Peña, Brent Lucas, TTA estimated the total cost of the project this year. Jenna Ashley Robinson, at $694.6 million. While the Triangle’s attempt to CATS officials envision building Matt Stephenson More-detailed design work showed build a rail transit line has hit a serious these routes sooner. Work on all of the Editorial Interns the shorter line’s cost would be nearer snag and might ultimately falter, work routes is to start by 2010 and most work $900 million. In response, the TTA was has begun on a 9.6-mile light-rail line in is to be done by 2012 or 2013. Published by again forced to make changes, includ- Charlotte. The route runs from uptown Whether that’s realistic is another The John Locke Foundation ing altering the type of train to be used, Charlotte along South Boulevard to near matter. None of the proposed additional 200 W. Morgan St., # 200 deleting some grade crossings, redesign- Pineville. Completion is scheduled for Raleigh, N.C. 27601 rail lines has progressed to preliminary ing stations with shorter platforms and 2007. (919) 828-3876 • Fax: 821-5117 engineering status with the FTA yet, www.JohnLocke.org different canopies, and eliminating a The $427 million project is far from much less to the final design phase that pedestrian bridge. the end of the rail transit story in the comes before a full funding grant agree- Jon Ham All told, more than 20 changes were city, though. Charlotte’s transit plan is ment can be finalized. Vice President & Publisher proposed to get the project down to a cost based upon five transit corridors, with It took nearly five years from en- of $809.9 million.