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Just read a article saying that the survey came back and folks want to invest more money in public transportation and that a majority of those that wanted to invest in it are high income earners... I'm sorry but I don't buy that... NC is a car state. And high income earners aren't going to stay in a bubble of one city. I don't see anyone high income willing to take public transportation all about town. Going to restaurants, shopping, entertainment.. they are gonna hop in cars and drive to the destination not walk and wait on a bus line out in the elements.. id rather tax dollars be spent on street scaping and cleaning crews. The sts are filling up with litter and Greensboro needs to look more polished!
Thriving urban areas people want to live in have some form of quality public transit available, even if only servicing the inner downtown core area. Greensboro has 20K student attending UNCG alone, in addition to NC A&T and Greensboro College's additional 15K or so. Students aren't known for having high incomes and Greensboro itself isn't especially well-off so there is definite potential with the right routes and frequency of service.
As far as students having transportation most live in off housing apts and should have their cars with them.( I believe more student have cars then not) .Or have their own bus system like the HEAT bus. I just hope the city really thinks long and hard about allocation of dollars to this project. When there's a lot more issues Greensboro could use that money for.
Chad, I could not disagree with you more on this. If Greensboro is ever to become the more walkable, vibrant, and urban community that I believe folks here want to see, then we HAVE to move away from the mindset that everyone should always drive everywhere, all the time. The overreliance on the private automobile above all other forms of transport leads to wide, fast streets that are dangerous and unpleasant to walk on an urban environments that are disrupted by excessive parking lots. Our city is made poorer by exclusively catering to cars. Not to mention the adverse health and environmental impacts of driving. It is impossible to have the type of city we want without good public transportation.
As to your comment about high income earners, the point is to provide more transportation OPTIONS, for ALL citizens of the city. Nobody is suggesting that adding more bus routes is going to cause $100k+ folks to sell all their cars. But what if better public transportation made it possible for every household in the city to have one fewer vehicle than they do now? What type of impact would that have on our built environment? On public health? On household finances? IMO, that is a goal worthy of pursuing.
Maybe residents are are looking for public transportation investments outside traditional bus routes like light rail, bus rapid transit with dedicated right of way, street cars, et.
The light rail in Charlotte is heavily ridden by higher income residents, many of whom also own a car, but it is convenient for getting to work, special events, et.. as part of a multi-mobility approach. The property adjacent to the light rail is also worth millions as people desire a more walkable lifestyle, leading to elevated property values and gentrification of communities along the light rail route. Some residents might just want something similar for Greensboro.
Chad, I could not disagree with you more on this. If Greensboro is ever to become the more walkable, vibrant, and urban community that I believe folks here want to see, then we HAVE to move away from the mindset that everyone should always drive everywhere, all the time. The overreliance on the private automobile above all other forms of transport leads to wide, fast streets that are dangerous and unpleasant to walk on an urban environments that are disrupted by excessive parking lots. Our city is made poorer by exclusively catering to cars. Not to mention the adverse health and environmental impacts of driving. It is impossible to have the type of city we want without good public transportation.
As to your comment about high income earners, the point is to provide more transportation OPTIONS, for ALL citizens of the city. Nobody is suggesting that adding more bus routes is going to cause $100k+ folks to sell all their cars. But what if better public transportation made it possible for every household in the city to have one fewer vehicle than they do now? What type of impact would that have on our built environment? On public health? On household finances? IMO, that is a goal worthy of pursuing.
100% this. I'm one of those 100k-plus earners that took this survey and was in favor of more transportation options. Options at all income levels benefits everyone - residents, businesses, and eventually the tax base (since it allows lower-income earners more options for jobs and cost-savings that can be used elsewhere).
I do agree with Chad that I think we should continue to improve streetscapes and work on cleanliness, too, though. Both issues are currently being addressed at some level.
Edit to add: a half-cent sales tax increase is what's being proposed to pay for it.
I think we need to see far more details of where the money will be spent before favoring another tax increase. Nuts and bolts to our bus system if necessary, but forget any feelgood fantasy of light rail, we need it like a screen door on a submarine. It's not worth throwing money at. This is a sprawling car-centric southern city and always will be, and it's not a bad thing. We've got an excellent network of wide and empty streets, tailor-made for surface bus transportation and private automobiles. And let's not forget that for a city of relatively low prosperity, keeping taxes reasonable for its populace is an extremely important function of local government.
Based on what was posted on the Transit (not Transportation) side of the website, the plan most associated with this increase will likely be available in the Summer. They're planning more community input first, but there's enough info there now to gauge current priorities.
Based on what was posted on the Transit (not Transportation) side of the website, the plan most associated with this increase will likely be available in the Summer. They're planning more community input first, but there's enough info there now to gauge current priorities.
Thank you. Whether or not any plans adopted warrant a tax increase is still another discussion. In the abstract, I oppose the notion that taxpayers can't have anything over and above the current without a new and dedicated tax stream.
Thank you. Whether or not any plans adopted warrant a tax increase is still another discussion. In the abstract, I oppose the notion that taxpayers can't have anything over and above the current without a new and dedicated tax stream.
Certainly, but that's a matter of Council/CMO priorities. Without a tax increase, and barring intergovernmental or grant funds, they'll have to take from somewhere else to accommodate the budget for service increases. Considering the importance of current infrastructure maintenance needs/backlogs, they'll need to trim within necessary services to make those accommodations. What people might term "pet projects" could free up some funds, but probably less than you'd think/less than what would be needed to negate the need for additional taxation. I do think the additional services they're considering for transit are important and necessary (more frequent bus pick-ups alone could entice a lot more people to use bus services/provide more reliability for lower income residents to get to/from work).
It's not that we can't have it, it's what we're willing to give up in its place. You are correct that it needs more discussion, though. They may need to prioritize the most important aspects of the plan (or implement it in smaller steps) , if a tax increase turns out to not be an option. If you feel strongly about it, be sure to show up to the public outreach events to give your input and ideas.
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