Transit is 'process that can never stop'

Tampa Bay Online ^ | November 3, 2009 | TED JACKOVICS

[Willie Green]

TAMPA - Charlotte, N.C.'s mayor politely suggested Monday that the Tampa Bay area was behind its competition when it comes to the transportation networks necessary for job recruitment.

Then Mayor Patrick McCrory shared with 300 community leaders the experiences that led to Charlotte's recent transit-oriented success.

The strong turnout for the regional transportation session provided a further example the local transit movement is gaining momentum. Hillsborough County leaders are trying to get a 1-cent sales tax referendum for transit on the November 2010 ballot.

"You are taking a very courageous political step," McCrory told elected officials advocating improved transit. "You will be called every name in the book."

McCrory did not campaign on transportation issues 14 years ago when he first won election as Charlotte's mayor, but quickly learned the area's job and economic well-being would depend on much-improved transportation, he said.

"The right wing didn't want to do anything but build roads," said McCrory, a conservative Republican. "The left wanted to put transit everywhere out of a fairness issue.

"Both were wrong."

McCrory said persuading the public to support improved transportation with tax dollars to gain federal matching funds requires a huge sales job.

Mecklenburg (N.C) County approved a half-cent sales tax to finance public transportation in 1998. Then voters in 2007 turned back a surprise tax repeal movement just two weeks before the light rail portion of Charlotte's transit network opened.

"Do not treat transportation as a project, treat it as a process that can never stop," McCrory said.

[edcoil]

I am always disappointed by grown men in professional business bow to government.

[sten]

I’m sorry but the roads and traffic flow in Tampa is head and shoulders above washdc and other areas I’ve lived. Public transit here is a bit limit... unless you want subways using real subs

Besides, the real problem isn’t just driving around... you have to have a reason to want to go somewhere, ie: work. Tampas big issue is that we have not recovered from losing the IT sector after the passage of the h1b bill on 2000. Sure, retail business is going crazy... but we need another industry

[tbpiper]

Since this issue directly effects my wallet, I have an opinion (big surprise). I can live my entire life in my part of the county, spend all my money here and never need their transportation system. Therefore, I'm not exactly thrilled to give them another penny of sales tax for a 'benefit' that I don't need.

[MortMan]

Pouring tax money into a venture because you can get more tax money (matching federal funds) is like saying “I’ve gotta buy twelve of these things while they’re on sale so I can live off the money I’ll save!”

[jjw]

who is going to wait for the train in 92 degrees or torrential rains? and transfer trains after waiting another 10 - 20 minutes? and then walk 6 blocks to work? right, nobody. we’ll be paying for this bs for years and they will be begging people to ride the trains, just like they beg us to ride the bus.

[org.whodat]

Mayor Patrick McCrory

This man's eyes turned brown years ago and now they float.

[Willie Green]

I can live my entire life in my part of the county, spend all my money here and never need their transportation system. Therefore, I'm not exactly thrilled to give them another penny of sales tax for a 'benefit' that I don't need.

You can probably live your entire life in your part of the county, spend all your money there, and never need their fire department or public library either.
But to say that you don't benefit from these services simply because you don't "need" them yourself is myopic.

Well designed mass transit systems benefit the entire community with increased economic activity, regardless of whether you personally utilize the service or not.

[Willie Green]

This man's eyes turned brown years ago and now they float.

YouTube: Crystal Gayle - Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

[Darth Reardon]

You’re not going to see well designed mass transit in Tampa. Too late for that. We’ll see how the push to get people to live (and work) downtown turns out. The work on 275 and 4 and the Vet/Airport/60 fiasco the last few years has been great.

[tbpiper]

and never need their fire department or public library either

I'm not complaining about money for fire departments and libraries. That's not the topic.

I don't like the idea of being further taxed to pay for a system from which I will derive little or no benefit. How 'bout we add a penny to your sales tax for our transit system? You won't see any benefit probably, but at least our economy will get a boost.

[Willie Green]

I'm generally opposed to sales tax increases because they tend to suppress economic activity.
Instead, I'd rather see regional transit authorities obtain funding directly from the transportation infrastructure: tolls on local limited access highways, parking fees, etc. They would then use those revenues in whatever way best suits their local needs: road and/or rail maintenance/construction... in whatever proportion is best for the community.

[tbpiper]

Very good point. I would like to see more public transit in this area, but it always seems the first(and easiest) activity they engage in is to raise taxes.

[jimt]

"Do not treat transportation as a project, treat it as a process that can never stop," McCrory said.

If I were picking the public's pocket, creating vast armies of overpaid workers, enriching all my buds with needless studies, and doing very little that was worthwhile, I'd like it to be a "process that can never stop" too !!

Pubic transit is a wasteful boondoggle - Houston has proven it.

[jimt]

I’m sorry but the roads and traffic flow in Tampa is head and shoulders above washdc and other areas I’ve lived. Public transit here is a bit limit... unless you want subways using real subs.

Don't let them screw you like we got screwed in Houston.

Here they peddled "Metro", which was going to save the environment, vastly improve traffic flow, you name it.

First we got the bus system - with busses running 75% to 95% empty, bus drivers making $100K a year, etc. The system is so ridiculously costly that we could buy every bus rider a new Mercedes every three years !

Not being satisfied with only a tax-sucking bus company, the campaign began for "light rail" so we could be a "world class city". Main street was hosed for over a year, dramatically impeding traffic and ruining many businesses. The toy train was built, and voila ! OVER 80 ACCIDENTS THE FIRST YEAR. Now we're not subsidizing just the bus riders, we subsidize the toy train riders too.

Pubic transit is nothing but a vacuum cleaner directed at your wallet. It will make a few well-connected "engineering" firms very rich, a few bus drivers very comfortably well off, and provide a deep well of patronage jobs for politicos. And you'll pay for it.

[jimt]

Oh, I forgot to mention - unless you work downtown, and 98% of Houstonians DON’T, you’ll find the system, regardless of cost, utterly impractical.

I could use it to go to work. As long as I didn’t mind walking two miles or so on each end, standing outside in Houston’s torrential rains and 100 degree heat, and spending 2 hours each way that I can drive in 20 minutes max - yeah, I could use it.

Are you nuts ?

[MitchellC]

"You are taking a very courageous political step," McCrory told elected officials advocating improved transit. "You will be called every name in the book."

Give me a break!

I like McCrory, but his views on both the fiscal feasibility of light rail and how the entire situation has gone down here in Charlotte is warped to point of being a joke, if he believes the above.

Light rail is transportation welfare. Period. End of story.

A city will NEVER come close to recouping the costs through rider fees, nor does running a few lines through town ever act as enough of an economic spur to justify the thing.

And how many *productive* people do you think will move into town to take advantage of the transportation welfare?

As far as being called every name in the book, McCrory had everyone in town to the left of _me_ (and that's virtually everyone) hawking for the thing - and the few voices of opposition were portrayed as backwards knuckle-dragging retards.

[MitchellC]

Amen to all that. When they were hawking the light rail in Charlotte, then-local host Jason Lewis (who is now national and was previously a sub for Rush) was a voice in the wilderness, pointing to your situation in Houston.

They used all the same ‘you want this to be a world class city, don’t you?’ schtick here and everyone immediately fell in line. They market this stuff to the public like corporations, and they do that with the public’s money, too.

[Willie Green]

When they were hawking the light rail in Charlotte, then-local host Jason Lewis (who is now national and was previously a sub for Rush) was a voice in the wilderness, pointing to your situation in Houston.

Well from what I can see, Charlotte should be very proud of GOP mayor Pat McCrory.
The Charlotte transit system is very successful and has ridership that's double what was originally projected.
Houston could use a good mayor like that.

I'll tell you what... you send us McCrory and we'll send you Annise Parker.
As I understand it, she prefers buses anyway.
Houston's First Openly Lesbian Elected Official in Runoff for Mayor

[MitchellC]

The Charlotte transit system is very successful and has ridership that's double what was originally projected.

That's a low standard of success you're using there. They low-balled their ridership projection as part of their marketing campaign - and worse, they severely low-balled their cost projections, too. And, again, the thing will never be paid for by the people who actually use it, nor will it produce enough jobs to justify it (assuming one would even try that erroneous line of reasoning).

How is it any different than the federal government's scamulus make-work, or any of its welfare programs? Those create jobs for bureaucrats, you know.

[Tax-chick]

That would be “ex-Mayor Pat McCrory” ... and long may he enjoy his private life *far far away* from Charlotte, NC.

[Willie Green]

That would be “ex-Mayor Pat McCrory” ... and long may he enjoy his private life *far far away* from Charlotte, NC.

Yes, ex-Mayor Pat McCrory was the longest serving mayor in Charlotte history.
In 2008, he ran for Governor instead of an 8th term as mayor.
He almost won the gubernatiorial race too! It was the closest governor's race in the nation.

Pretty impressive in a year that was the worst for the GOP in living memory... 'Rats being swept into office with Obamamania while the GOP got flushed down the commode with the dismal failure of global Bushonomics.

Yep, I wouldn't mind at all if McCrory came to Texas and ran for mayor of Houston.
He served the people of Charlotte well, even if you're not smart enough to realize it.