Light rail proponent: Transit gives people choices
In an interview with the Ledger, Charlotte Area Transit System senior planner Jason Lawrence explains how development of light rail in Charlotte is proceeding – and he says it is a crucial component of helping manage the region’s growth.
The interview, conducted in June, has been edited for clarity and length:
Q: Where would the money come from to build more light rail?
The important thing is to get a community-agreed-upon vision and start advancing it. By advancing it, that means let’s define the corridor. Let’s do the design work. Let’s define down to the foot where is this line going to be and fund that piece locally. We do have a local funding source now, the half-cent transit sales tax.
At some point, there’s going to be a conversation for local and state and federal funding, just like how we built the Blue Line and Blue Line Extension. That is a conversation to come. We just need more information to understand what is the amount.
We are starting design for the Silver Line this fall. It’s an unfunded project, but we are funding the design early. In an area the way we are growing, we can’t wait to do design to say this is what we need.
Q: Does the design give you the sense of the cost?
Design will firm that up. It will give you a better idea of the scale you’re talking about, the number of stations, your park-and-rides. It’s where you do your ridership modeling. We are at this vision-building and conceptual stage and get everybody and our boards to agree this is the project.
Q: When would you anticipate the conversation about funding to start?
We have to understand the project first. At our Metropolitan Transit Commission meetings, there is some dialogue occurring about how do you build this thing? If we were to look at examples across the country, there are lots of examples out there. We will be looking at our peer cities about potential opportunities.
Q: Does light rail still make sense? Ridership numbers nationwide are down. Commuting patterns are changing, and people aren’t just commuting to the center city. They are going all over the place. Does it still make sense to have a fixed line in a time when you have Ubers and scooters and the potential for self-driving cars?
When you’re thinking about high-capacity transit – whether it be commuter rail, bus rapid transit, light rail – they are unmatched at carrying lots of people at one time. As we grow as a community, these stations are going to change and evolve over time and attract new development. One of the success measures is to build a station and an alignment that serves more than just getting to uptown. That’s an important component.
Where light rail provides these opportunities is creating these places. I don’t know if Uber or Lyft would have created South End. But light rail and the rail trail and the things around it and the development that came with that created a place that maybe would not have existed. And that place is going to be there for many years to come. Think about these as long-term, multi-year investments where billions of dollars in investment have occurred.
Q: How much of the purpose of light rail is transit and how much of it is redevelopment?
The purpose of it is a growth-management tool. We are going to grow. There’s no question that this region is going to grow. It’s how. Light rail and transit in general provide choice. It also provides housing choices that might not exist without that. It’s an opportunity to create affordable housing. One thing that has attracted interest in the country as a whole is a desire for walkable, bikeable communities, and transit really provides that opportunity.
(This interview is one of two on the topic of expanding Charlotte’s light rail. For an interview with a light rail opponent, click here.)
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