mass transit

What North Carolina thinks: Elon

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:00:18 -0500

What does North Carolina think?

The latest Elon University Poll shows significant agreement on a number of issues that are before the legislature.

Below, the percentage who agreed with a sentiment:

77: The state should make commuter rail available in urban areas.

74: The state should not charge a fee based on miles driven each year.

67: The state should ban smoking in public places, such as restaurants and bars.

— Support a $2 billion bond referendum for bridges and roads.

66: Offshore drilling should be allowed off the coast of North Carolina.

— Except in emergencies, it should be illegal to use a cell phone while driving.

The live phone poll of 758 residents was conducted Feb. 22-26. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

After the jump, the rest of the results.

DOT names new transit boss

bkrueger — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:16:13 -0500

Jim Westmoreland, Greensboro’s assistant city manager, has been named to replace Roberto Canales as deputy secretary for transit in the state Department of Transportation.

Transportation Secretary Gene Conti said Monday that Westmoreland will take charge of DOT’s public transportation, rail, aviation, bicycle and pedestrian and ferry division, effective March 9, reports Bruce Siceloff.

As Greensboro’s transportation director for 10 years, Westmoreland was responsible for 220 full-time employees and a $40 million budget. He was a state DOT signing and traffic engineer from 1991 to 1996.

Canales, who has held several positions at DOT since 1984, will become Conti’s strategic initiatives coordinator. He has served as manager and spokesman for DOT’s effort to reorganize itself as a more efficient, businesslike and accountable agency.

Canales drew fire from legislative leaders in December after the Federal Transit Administration cited deficiencies in his oversight of federal funding for local transit services across North Carolina. The federal agency froze $25 million in grants for several months until Canales corrected problems at his agency

Quick Hits

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:30:16 -0500

* Bills would set up state and local funding options for rail and transit improvements, including a half-cent sales tax.

* Gary Robertson and Mike Baker of the capital press corps were awarded the 2008 North Carolina AP Staffers of the Year for election coverage.

* A tiny mouse named "Scoop" shuts down political reporting for an hour as reporters scramble to humanely remove him from the legislature.

* President Obama tells Camp Lejeune Marines that he wants to make sure they have 12-month deployments to Afghanistan, not 15-month ones.

Ross wants to expand transit options

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:00:26 -0500

State Rep. Deborah Ross wants to let other cities follow Charlotte's model.

The Raleigh Democrat plans to reintroduce a bill that would allow municipalities that come up with regional mass-transit plans levy an additional sales tax to fund it.

A half-cent local sales tax in Mecklenburg County levied since 2007 has paid for city buses and a new light-rail line in Charlotte.

Because they are viewed as to a certain extent voluntary, sales taxes are often more popular than other taxes with voters.

Sen. Richard Stevens, a Cary Republican, is expected to introduce a companion bill. Both bills will also include requirements that municipalities show they have come up with a workable regional plan before levying the tax.

Ross noted that municipalities already have six options for paying for transit systems, including vehicle registration fees, rental car taxes and property taxes.

"This would just add one more option," she said.

On other issues, she said she would work to maintain the state's funding of the N.C. Housing Trust Fund, expand child care options for community college students, reconsider rules on children testifying in court and keep the State Health Plan affordable.

Bill includes $1b for N.C. infrastructure

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:27:33 -0500

North Carolina could see nearly a billion dollars in infrastructure cash from the economic stimulus package being considered in Congress.

Most of the money, $802 million, would go to highway and bridge projects around the state, Barb Barrett reports.

Here's how the rest of it breaks down:

* $104.7 million, to the state's Clean Water State Revolving Fund
* $88.8 million, to public transit capital projects
* $358,479, to fixed guideway modernization

The current version of the package is still being debated in the House of Representatives. It was approved Wednesday by the Appropriations Committee, the House's spending panel.

After being approved, the House's transportation and infrastructure committee ran the numbers through the federal highway funding formula to come up with the breakdown.

That transportation formula shortchanges North Carolina a bit, as the state pays more into the federal coffers in gas tax than it gets in return.

A billion dollars doesn’t begin to cover what the state says it needs. North Carolina's Department of Transportation listed 296 "ready-to-go-projects," totaling more than $5 billion, in a recent survey by a national organization of state transportation agencies.

Once the package is passed by the House, it next goes to the U.S. Senate.

Hackney: Stimulus would help N.C.

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:51:06 -0500

Joe Hackney says federal stimulus would boost the North Carolina economy.

The speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives argued at a press conference in Washington, D.C., this morning that billions in spending on infrastructure projects, social welfare programs and renewable energy projects would keep the economic situation from worsening.

"We are doing the best we can to cope with our fiscal situation," he said. "Now it's time for Congress and our next administration to support our state efforts."

As current president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, Hackney was also scheduled to speak with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by phone this afternoon. He sent a letter to President-elect Barack Obama last month requesting more funding for states.

The National Governors Association has identified $136 billion in specific transportation projects it says could be ready to begin if funding is approved by Congress.

Hackney would not identify specific projects in North Carolina, though he said that replacing the Yadkin River Bridge, extending urban highway loops and improving mass transit systems would likely be included.

"I think every state has a list of ready-to-go projects, but it serves no useful purpose to run that out today," he said.

Martin focused on pay raises

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:30:46 -0400

Rep. Grier Martin is focused on raising state workers' salaries.

The Raleigh Democrat said that his biggest budget-related goal this session will be to bring teachers' salaries closer to the national average and give state workers a pay raise.

He does not think Gov. Mike Easley's proposed 7 percent pay raise for teachers and 1.5 percent raise for state employees is enough, though he declined to give a specific percentage that he would like to see.

"We need more," he said, "but we've got to figure out how we're going to pay for that too."

Apart from the budget, Martin said he hopes the legislature does not rush a comprehensive transportation fix. He said that it's too big of an issue to solve in a short session, though he hopes the legislature will make progress on finishing Interstate 540 and providing light rail in the Triangle.

"We do not need to be solving the transportation issue (in the short session) because that is a problem that requires careful, well-informed thought and doesn't lend itself to a quick and dirty solution," he said. "We'll just screw it up."

Clarification: Martin said he supports a transportation bond this fall, but not an overhaul of the entire system in the short session.

Etheridge and the price of gas

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 10:42:07 -0500

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge says high gas prices are hurting consumers.

In an event at the Raleigh Times this morning, the Lillington Democrat said that an economic stimulus package would help ease the pain of rising gas prices.

"I don't know where the threshold is," he said. "I always thought it was three dollars (a gallon) and it got to three dollars and people kept buying it. We now find out that people have to drive to work, so what they did was cut out the extra cup of coffee."

Etheridge said that mass transit is currently "not an option" in the Triangle area, but he stopped short of saying that a regional rail system is needed.

"I think we need alternatives available," he told Dome. "We've got to find ways to move people cheaper."

Dome asked if higher gas prices don't have some benefits as well: Encouraging people to buy more fuel-efficient cars and promoting alternative transportation, among other things.

But Etheridge said Congress is meeting those goals by raising the fuel-economy standards on cars and trucks and providing funding for biofuels.

Moore unveils energy plan

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:31:15 -0500

Richard Moore unveiled an energy plan today.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate called for promoting alternative fuels and energy sources, the state government more efficient and improve mass transit.

To promote alternative energy, Moore called for making the state government a leading consumer of alternative fuels, reforming utility rates to encourage conservation, encouraging research and condcuting long-range planning on energy generation.

He also said he would improve the energy efficiency of state buildings.

"The time to begin planning for a cleaner energy future is now," he said in a statement. "We can become a national leader in conservation and alternative energy, creating new businesses and an agricultural model that will ensure the prosperity of rural North Carolina for years to come."

Previously: Moore convenes global warming panel.

Raleigh officials ride McCrory's train

ryanteaguebeckwith — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 09:28:05 -0500

A delegation of Raleigh officials rode Pat McCrory's pet project this week.

Sixty civic leaders and politicians traveled to Charlotte to ride the Lynx Blue Line, the 9.6-mile transit line a decade in the making that launched in November.

The $472 million trains have been packed with 12,000 riders a day so far, well above forecasts, Bruce Siceloff reports. It's already spurred new development expected to increase city property tax revenue by $8.5 million per year by 2011.

The project was applauded by leaders as diverse as state Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat, and Tony Gurley, a Republican on the Wake County board of commissioners. They also saluted the city—and McCrory's—efforts to defeat a repeal of the half-cent sales tax that funds the project.

"It was beautifully done—and, frankly, Wake County struggles with that," said Ross.

Still, McCrory rarely talks about the train—not to mention the tax—on the campaign trail in the Republican primary, perhaps because of fear of criticism from fiscal conservatives.