Regional Resource Commuter Rail in the Southern Southern Legislative Legislative Conference States: Conference Recent Trends
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REGIONAL RESOURCE COMMUTER RAIL IN THE SOUTHERN SOUTHERN LEGISLATIVE LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE STATES: CONFERENCE RECENT TRENDS Photo by RTABus. Published under CC BY-SA 3.0 license. © Copyright October 2016 (https://creativecommons.org by Sujit CanagaRetna, Fiscal Policy Manager /licenses/by-sa/3.0/) Introduction ommuter trains (light rail and trams or expand their operations, even initiating new networks. streetcars),* a fixture in many American cit- Given that these initiatives have emerged in transit-starved ies since the late 19th century, started losing areas, this increased momentum to introduce or expand prominence in public transportation calcu- commuter rail systems is a direct response to the demands lations in the 1940s with the ascent of the and expectations of businesses and the workforce. Cpersonal car. Vast improvements in public bus services also accelerated their decline. However, in the last 30 years or Information on recent efforts in the SLC states to enhance so, particularly in the early years of the 21st century, there the light rail capacities in their transportation plans, an has been renewed interest in this form of transportation important cog in any multimodal strategy, is detailed in across the country, including in the Southern Legislative this SLC Regional Resource. Conference (SLC) member states. This renewed interest has been propelled for a variety of reasons: commuters Atlanta, Georgia choosing rail over cars for convenience; easing traffic In 1965, the Georgia General Assembly passed the Met- congestion; reducing air pollution; promoting economic ropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Act that, if development; and boosting property values. Consequently, approved by voters in five metro Atlanta counties (Clay- multiple metropolitan regions in SLC member states — in- ton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett), would create a cluding in Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, and regional transportation agency to oversee a mass transit Virginia — continue to operate commuter rail systems and system serving the Atlanta metropolitan area. The measure was approved by four counties — Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, * Light rail refers to urban public transit rail lines with exclusive rights- and Gwinnett — but funding remained a challenge. Six of-way deploying either individual tramcars or multiple units coupled years later, as a result of several political developments to form a train. Their popularity has soared in recent years due to their lower capital costs — relative to heavy rail or subway systems — and and compromises, voters in two of those metro Atlanta increased reliability. Streetcars, powered by electricity, were once the counties — Fulton and Dekalb — approved a one-cent sales primary mode of public transit in hundreds of North American cities tax to fund the system and, in 2014, voters in Clayton and towns. County also opted to join the system. In November 2016, voters in the city of Atlanta (in Ful- “Atlanta is a young city that wants transit; we are ton County) will decide whether to increase their sales ahead of national averages in Millennial and Gener- taxes by a half-cent over 40 years to raise an estimated ation X populations.” $2.5 billion in new revenue dedicated to transporta- tion. While policymakers have not specified the exact ~ Senator Brandon Beach, Georgia spending priorities, some of the projects being discussed include expanded rail routes for the city’s Metropolitan to St. Clair County, Illinois. In the first three days of Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), better bus MetroLink’s operation, some 180,000 passengers rode routes, improved technology related to operating the the system, a number that ballooned to 1 million riders system along with new and enhancements at MARTA just in the first month of operation. rail stations. The impetus for this referendum emerged from SB 369, which passed the Georgia General Assem- Funding for MetroLink came from both the federal bly in the waning days of the 2016 legislative session government and a local sales tax that was approved and authorized the referendum in the city of Atlanta. overwhelmingly by voters. Specifically, local support As noted by Senator Brandon Beach, Georgia, one of originally flowed from June 1973 when the Missouri the prime advocates of the bill, “Atlanta is a young city General Assembly passed the Transportation Sales that wants transit; we are ahead of national averages in Tax Act permitting the city of St. Louis and St. Louis Millennial and Generation X populations.” Companies County to levy a half-cent sales tax increase for either locating to or expanding in Atlanta recently— transportation. While the original legislation was to from Mercedes to State Farm, Kaiser Permanente to terminate on December 31, 1975, the collection period NCR, Sage Software to Honeywell—have reiterated was extended numerous times in subsequent years that access to transit remained a critical factor in their before additional legislation removed the sunset pro- location decisions. vision in 2000. Another referendum in 2010, a time when the Great Recession had the nation gripped by Along with the MARTA-influenced sales tax refer- anemic economic growth and rising unemployment, endum, in November 2016, Atlanta voters also will raised an additional half-cent increase in the sales tax in decide on an additional 0.4 percent sales tax increase St. Louis County with more than 60 percent of the for other transportation projects. This initiative would vote. Given that ridership on the system continues to allocate funds toward acquiring land to complete the rise, experts estimate that, since 1993, more than $2 city’s Beltline project, a 22-mile loop of parks, bicycle billion in economic development has occurred in the trails and other amenities linking the city. In addition, immediate vicinity of the MetroLink system. it would fund more bike trails, transform roads to be more pedestrian and bike-friendly, renovate sidewalks MetroLink’s expansion has been steady and, shortly and coordinate traffic signals. If approved, the additional after inauguration, the system added two stations and 0.4 percent increase in the sales tax would extend for regular service to Lambert Airport, the St. Louis re- five years and generate an estimated $300 million to gion’s primary airport. System expansion continued fund specific transportation projects. apace and, in 2013, 20 years after its launch, MetroLink had burgeoned to 37 stations along 46 miles of light St. Louis, Missouri rail in both Missouri and Illinois. Mirroring light rail Momentum to construct a light rail system to serve trends in many other cities, MetroLink has effective the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area began in the bus connections providing integrated transportation mid-1980s, with forces coalescing to begin construction options that, in turn, promote significant economic in 1990. Deploying unused rail bed and railroad rights- development. of-way that were expandable, the area’s MetroLink light rail system debuted in July 1993, the first of its kind in In June 2016, MetroLink announced that the system the region. At inception, MetroLink operated 16 sta- was commissioning three feasibility studies of further tions across 14 miles from St. Louis County, Missouri, expansions: a three-station project heading northwest 2 COMMUTER RAIL IN THE SOUTHERN LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE STATES from the Blue Line; a one-station project running north forthcoming round of project prioritization. For their from the Red Line; and a six-station project operating part, local government officials confirm that their vot- south from the Blue Line. The studies will determine ers committed a half-cent local sales tax and other local which of the routes would be the most likely to qualify revenues to cover the 25 percent portion of the project for matching federal funds. costs. Advocates of the light rail system maintain that construction should begin in 2019, with an expected Durham and Orange, North Carolina service start date of 2026. The proposed Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit Proj- ect received a significant boost in February 2016, when Charlotte, North Carolina the Federal Transit Administration announced that The genesis of Charlotte’s LYNX light rail system dates their environmental review was complete and that back more than a century and a half when the city’s the critical issues regarding track layout had been re- growth prospects were anchored around the railroad solved. The planned light rail route would be a double industry. A number of the region’s major railroad com- track line that extends for 17 miles, anchored by the panies flourished in and around Charlotte until about University of North Carolina Hospital at one end and the mid-1970s. At that time, a number of other indus- the Duke University Medical Center, U.S. Department tries (banking, technology, educational institutions, of Veterans Affairs’ Durham VA Medical Center and automotive parts manufacturers) ascended in impor- downtown Durham at the other end. The plan proposes tance resulting in the gradual erosion of the railroad 17 stations and an end-to-end travel time of 42 to 44 industry’s economic impact. Concurrently, Charlotte minutes. While the light rail trains would be powered and the metropolitan area experienced a massive influx by overhead electric wires, the system would start with of domestic and foreign migrants. By the mid-1990s, one or two cars with the option of expanding to three the region’s transportation system groaned under the cars. Projected daily ridership by 2040 was estimated weight of significant increases in traffic congestion. at 23,000 passengers, with each car carrying up to 125 passengers and seating 40 to 60 passengers. Service In an effort to mitigate the traffic congestion, in 1998, would extend between 5:30 a.m. and midnight daily Charlotte city officials sought the approval of voters with trains running every 10 minutes during morn- for a comprehensive regional rail system that involved ing and evening rush hour and every 20 minutes in nine lines spanning 77 miles; the cost in September non-rush hour time periods.