For years, the city of Charlotte has labored to advance a plan that would expand transit.
It has formed commissions, spent millions on studies, consumed countless hours in discussions and repeatedly made the case for more rail and better buses to serve the needs of a growing city.
But now, after all that work, the future of the transit plan that the city has shaped and pushed lies largely outside of the city’s control.
The fate of the $25 billion plan, which calls for a referendum on raising the Mecklenburg sales tax to pay for rail, buses and road-related projects, rests with others, such as state legislators, county commissioners and voters.
City leaders have made some significant steps that materialized this month — such as buying the tracks for the Red Line to northern Mecklenburg and securing the backing of five of the six Mecklenburg towns. But there’s only so much the city can do.
When the city was largely calling the shots, the plan didn’t exactly move quickly.
Now that the future rests almost entirely with other entities, there are signs that slower pace could continue.
Local leaders had hoped that the General Assembly would green-light the plans in a session in November, with an eye toward placing the referendum on the ballot in November 2025.
But this week, Vickie Sawyer, a Republican who represents Iredell and northern Mecklenburg and co-chairs the N.C. Senate’s transportation committee, told the Charlotte Business Journal that it is unlikely legislators would consider taking up the measure this year because of election-year distractions and procedural requirements.
It is possible legislators could take up the matter in early 2025 and leave enough time for a referendum the following November, but that’s uncertain. Waiting until early 2025 would mean it could be considered by new legislators, including a new speaker of the N.C. House, as longtime speaker Tim Moore is running for Congress.
Asked by Transit Time about Sawyer’s comments this week, and whether that’s a setback to the transit plan, Mayor Vi Lyles said: “I always listen to what the legislators say, and I try to make sure that as they make those statements, if there’s a way that we can help explain things, that we get involved with them and work through it.” She added: “We’ll just keep being patient until we get it done.”
Asked if there is a new timeline for the transit plan, the mayor replied: “There is no timeline, because we’re not in charge of that timeline.”
At the same time, as the city’s role recedes, Mecklenburg County commissioners will play an increasingly larger role. If the legislature approves the proposal, commissioners would have to vote to place the referendum on the ballot. And then if a majority of voters back the measure, commissioners would be asked to vote again to approve the hike in the sales tax to 8.25%, from 7.25%. Commissioners would also vote to create a countywide transit authority.
“Mecklenburg County is in total control of how and when this gets before the public,” County Manager Dena Diorio told commissioners last week.
With no clear timeline and the plan now resting in the hands of other leaders, Charlotte’s push for expanded transit could be poised for continued delays. That’s a scenario that feels familiar.