CHARLOTTE — Whether the tax passes or not Tuesday, voters will look back at this moment in history. It’s a pivotal moment that will shape Charlotte’s future.
Perhaps no side of Charlotte will have greater influence than east Charlotte.
If the sales tax increase for transit passes, 40% of the money will go to roads, 40% to rail and 20% to buses.
East Charlotte is slated for the Silver Line, which is a light rail project decades away and is currently projected to run from the airport to Bojangles Coliseum. East Charlotte also is slated for the expansion of the streetcar out to Eastland Yards.
But the tax is facing serious concerns from prominent neighborhood groups including the Plaza Midwood Neighborhood Association and Charlotte East.
Incoming east Charlotte Councilman elect JD Arias is a big fan of public transportation, but he is voting no against the sales tax increase for transit.
“What we are really talking about here is affordability,” Arias said.
He said the tax increase is too painful for many east Charlotte residents, on top of rising property tax and service fee increases passed in recent years by the city council and county commission.
He also said east Charlotte isn’t getting enough out of the deal and is critical of plans to stop the Silver Line at the Bojangles Coliseum instead of extending it further into southeast Charlotte and Matthews.
“We’re getting a lot of broken promises,” Arias said.
For resident Juan Contreras Juarez, the biggest gamechanger will be improved bus service.
“I think this is a big moment to think of Charlotte as a city,” he said. “With over 150 people moving to Charlotte every day, I think this is the moment for our city to grow in a healthy manner over the next few years.”
He said east Charlotte has a lot to gain from the Bojangles Coliseum stop and streetcar expansion. But he says the biggest deal for east Charlotte will be the improvements to bus service. Plans call for 15-minute frequency on the top 15 routes and 30-minute frequency on all of the rest. More than 2,000 bus shelters would also be upgraded.
Juarez takes the bus to the transit center and transfers to the streetcar every day for work and said he knows the pain of waiting a long time for the next ride.
“I missed my bus,” Juarez said. “I then had to wait an additional 30 minutes for the next bus, and then that made me miss my connection to the Gold Line, and I had to wait an additional 15 minutes.”
One of the reasons the Plaza Midwood Merchants Association came out against the sales tax increase for transit is because of the streetcar project. The group said the construction in Elizabeth was too disruptive.
Plans also call for east Charlotte to receive micro transit, which is a rideshare service similar to Uber that is current in place in north Mecklenburg County.
Election Day is Nov. 4.
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