Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I love Charlotte but the state in which we are in gets nothing done. We can't finish are bypass nor Independence because the big dogs in Raleigh think that the eastern part of the state deserves all the money. It is sad to think that Raleigh has two bypasses and ares is not done. I mean the roads in the Charlotte area are a joke I can't tell you how many potholes are in Independence... I stopped counting long ago. Charlotte is never going to reach what it could be until they redo the whole gov't in this state. Thank godness I will be moving. I just had to vent. I feel better now!! I mean am I the only one that feels this way??
I can' t help but think that you haven't lived in other places. All cities and states have similar problems with funding and projects, especially municipalities. I have never seen roads as bad as roads in Wisconsin, Illinois, Connecticut and places where it gets cold. The potholes are endless. Compared to other places, Charlotte roads are actually pretty good compared to most cities. No, you are not the only one that feels the way you do, nor are you the only one that doesn't know what roads are like in other places. You are in for a surprise. I must agree with your feelings towards the state govt. Seems our new governor is out to destroy us.
There are only 2 other states that handle road building like NC and it's all controlled by the NC Legislature and Governor. Charlotte has no effective political power in the NC Legislature. You might ask why is this so with it being the largest city in the state. Here is the long abbreviated answer to that question.
It's helpful to understand the history about the roads in NC. This is a rather long history so you might not be interested.
First NC is rather unique in the USA in that it is the state controls all highway construction (with a few exceptions). This goes back to ~1924 when the Legislature took over all road building. County governments are not allowed to build highways and cities can only take care of neighborhood streets.
In the 1920s, NC was a very rural state with major industries that were based on resources in rural areas. i.e Tobacco, Furniture, Cotton Mills. It's also geographically a very large state. It's close to 600 miles across and ranges from islands 30 miles out in the Atlantic to the highest mountains East of the Mississippi River. Despite this geography, it has no rivers than can be used for commerce. The state took over road building to make these areas accessible for these industries.
Charlotte's population in 1920 was ~46K. 2nd largest city in state at the time. The city was basically the administrative and banking center for the the vast area of cotton/textile mills once found in this part of the Carolinas. While textiles were important, it did not lead to much political control because of the next item.
By far, the biggest and most important industry in reconstruction NC has been tobacco. Vast fortunes have been made in this state because of this weed. It's a legal addictive drug and NC has close to a monopoly on the highest quality stuff: flue cured tobacco. It's the reason there is a Duke University, UNC (first public Univ in NC) and many other items in NC the rest of the South did not have. Many tobacco farmers could afford to send their kids to the best universities. Duke Energy has it's roots in tobacco and the big banks in this state would not have existed without this money. The reason this is important here is because Tobacco is a Eastern NC industry. There is almost no tobacco industry in the West. Politics follows money, hence. Politics controlled from Eastern NC.
While the 1920s goals of the Legislature plan did work, North Carolina generally had a better standard of living and better economy than most of the South (which was like a 3rd world then), it also concentrated a lot of economic power in the legislature. It became a way for the Governor to hand out political appointments for his friends and supporters, and of course a way to hand out political re-payments for favors done.
So from the above about politics being based in Eastern NC, it's no wonder why all the road building has been oriented there. There also is a bias towards rural counties given, again, how power has been alloted in the Legislature.
So with this history in mind, why in modern present day NC, doesn't the huge population of Charlotte, Mecklenburg county, and the Metro area give it some edge in controlling the Legislature and hence the agenda of road building priorities of the NCDOT?
Easy answer, partisan politics. Charlotte is a New South city and most residents don't understand the historical difference between the state level political parties and the national level political parties. They are apples and oranges.
I won't get into this history but basically NC is a conservative state which is obvious enough. But what isn't as apparent to non-Southerners is that in rural NC, conservative = Democrat when it comes to state matters. These counties will vote close to 100% Democrat for state offices and this is why the Democrats continue to dominate the Legislature. These are not the Democrats like Obama's Democrats. In this state you will hear the term JessieCrat. i.e. Democrats who would vote for Jessie Helms.
Charlotte's problem is that it's politics are based on the national view of the parties, and hence it always splits the vote and in effect cancels itself out when it comes to state politics. It's the reason that it doesn't get much attention from statewide candidates. Where did Pat McCrory spend most of his time in seeking the governor's seat? In eastern NC hoping to woo the JessieCrats. It's why he announced his candidacy in the rural backwash town he came from rather than from a backdrop of Charlotte.
So bottom line is Politics in NC are Eastern and Rural, State controls all road money, hence cities like Charlotte get short end of stick.
Sadly during the local elections here, we never get into this, and instead focus on items that have nothing to do with gaining political power at the state level. Sure you will hear platitudes from the Mayor and others about cleaning up the politics in Raleigh, but that is nothing but hot air. The Legislature is made up of reps from 100 counties and 99 of them could care less about the Charlotte politicians. Until we start voting on state issues and less about idealogical issues then nothing is going to change.
Really is a shame the way our state government does not back Charlotte the way it should. It seems to me to be the perfect example of cutting your nose off to spite your face. If they would just commit to making Charlotte a standout city it would only benefit the entire state in so many different ways. I do not promote letting the rest of the state to go by the waste side but the bigger city needs the most focus!
Two words can sum up your frustrations we are all having: Bev Perdue
Stay tuned there is more to come!
Umm... Bev Pedue has been governor for all of what 8 months? I moved to Charlotte almost 5 years ago and folks have been waiting on 485 for at least 5 years.
I haven't made up my mind about the governor yet, but I really hate when people add a political bias to a discussion when it is virtually meaningless.
i am soo with you , baybrook !!!!
it is highly irresponsibly , hopefully most people have some common sense and realize
it takes more than 8 months to screw up a state.
would not count on it though.
There are only 2 other states that handle road building like NC and it's all controlled by the NC Legislature and Governor. Charlotte has no effective political power in the NC Legislature. You might ask why is this so with it being the largest city in the state. Here is the long abbreviated answer to that question.
It's helpful to understand the history about the roads in NC. This is a rather long history so you might not be interested.
First NC is rather unique in the USA in that it is the state controls all highway construction (with a few exceptions). This goes back to ~1924 when the Legislature took over all road building. County governments are not allowed to build highways and cities can only take care of neighborhood streets.
In the 1920s, NC was a very rural state with major industries that were based on resources in rural areas. i.e Tobacco, Furniture, Cotton Mills. It's also geographically a very large state. It's close to 600 miles across and ranges from islands 30 miles out in the Atlantic to the highest mountains East of the Mississippi River. Despite this geography, it has no rivers than can be used for commerce. The state took over road building to make these areas accessible for these industries.
Charlotte's population in 1920 was ~46K. 2nd largest city in state at the time. The city was basically the administrative and banking center for the the vast area of cotton/textile mills once found in this part of the Carolinas. While textiles were important, it did not lead to much political control because of the next item.
By far, the biggest and most important industry in reconstruction NC has been tobacco. Vast fortunes have been made in this state because of this weed. It's a legal addictive drug and NC has close to a monopoly on the highest quality stuff: flue cured tobacco. It's the reason there is a Duke University, UNC (first public Univ in NC) and many other items in NC the rest of the South did not have. Many tobacco farmers could afford to send their kids to the best universities. Duke Energy has it's roots in tobacco and the big banks in this state would not have existed without this money. The reason this is important here is because Tobacco is a Eastern NC industry. There is almost no tobacco industry in the West. Politics follows money, hence. Politics controlled from Eastern NC.
While the 1920s goals of the Legislature plan did work, North Carolina generally had a better standard of living and better economy than most of the South (which was like a 3rd world then), it also concentrated a lot of economic power in the legislature. It became a way for the Governor to hand out political appointments for his friends and supporters, and of course a way to hand out political re-payments for favors done.
So from the above about politics being based in Eastern NC, it's no wonder why all the road building has been oriented there. There also is a bias towards rural counties given, again, how power has been alloted in the Legislature.
So with this history in mind, why in modern present day NC, doesn't the huge population of Charlotte, Mecklenburg county, and the Metro area give it some edge in controlling the Legislature and hence the agenda of road building priorities of the NCDOT?
Easy answer, partisan politics. Charlotte is a New South city and most residents don't understand the historical difference between the state level political parties and the national level political parties. They are apples and oranges.
I won't get into this history but basically NC is a conservative state which is obvious enough. But what isn't as apparent to non-Southerners is that in rural NC, conservative = Democrat when it comes to state matters. These counties will vote close to 100% Democrat for state offices and this is why the Democrats continue to dominate the Legislature. These are not the Democrats like Obama's Democrats. In this state you will hear the term JessieCrat. i.e. Democrats who would vote for Jessie Helms.
Charlotte's problem is that it's politics are based on the national view of the parties, and hence it always splits the vote and in effect cancels itself out when it comes to state politics. It's the reason that it doesn't get much attention from statewide candidates. Where did Pat McCrory spend most of his time in seeking the governor's seat? In eastern NC hoping to woo the JessieCrats. It's why he announced his candidacy in the rural backwash town he came from rather than from a backdrop of Charlotte.
So bottom line is Politics in NC are Eastern and Rural, State controls all road money, hence cities like Charlotte get short end of stick.
Sadly during the local elections here, we never get into this, and instead focus on items that have nothing to do with gaining political power at the state level. Sure you will hear platitudes from the Mayor and others about cleaning up the politics in Raleigh, but that is nothing but hot air. The Legislature is made up of reps from 100 counties and 99 of them could care less about the Charlotte politicians. Until we start voting on state issues and less about idealogical issues then nothing is going to change.
This is a great post and sums it up well. The western part of the state gets punished for electing Republicans. Even if we elect DEMS, they are freshman so it takes a while for them to get on committees that have power.
When we get a Republican GOV, things improve in the western part of the state for a while (especially if we can elect GOP legislators) . . . then a DEM gets elected and things go to hell again for us in this region. This is not my baised opinion . . . you can do a timeline from the 60s and you will figure it out for yourself.
The more folks who move here and vote DEM, the more screwed we are. But no one but the locals seems to get it . . . so I have gotten tired of explaining it. Thanx, Lumbollo, for being very balanced about your info.
to the op -- whenever i read a post like this, i have to ask myself if the person posting has actually driven in eastern north carolina in, oh i don't know, the last ten years.
i have driven back and forth from the far reaches of eastern nc to charlotte every 8-12 weeks since february 2007, and charlotte has very little to complain about in terms of road conditions.
are the roads perfect? no. do certain projects need to be finished? yes.
are charlotte's roads far, FAR better than most in eastern nc? in my humble opinion, and judging by the condition of the shocks and tires on my car, the answer is a resounding yes.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
