Matthews Town Attorney Daniel Peterson on Monday urged local governments to stand with Matthews, Charlotte and other communities in opposition to the proposed Interstate 77 toll lane project.
The DOT has been urging communities to reverse an earlier decision and support the toll lanes. Meanwhile, the Republican-controlled General Assembly included a provision in the state budget requiring local governments that voted against the toll lanes to repay the state for money spent designing the project.
Peterson said the wishes of local governments should be respected.
“Neither Matthews nor any other local government seeks this conflict, but cannot stand by and tacitly consent to be treated this way,” Peterson said. “Whether one agrees with the I-77 toll lanes project as proposed or not, this style of legislation should have no place in our state or our country, and I call on cooler heads to prevail at the state level than have thus far.”
The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization is scheduled to take another vote on the toll lanes in late September.
