City wants federal streetcar grant

The city is applying for a $25 million federal grant that could help pay for 1.5 miles of streetcar track in uptown Charlotte.

The city council voted 7-4 Monday night to submit an application. Republicans Andy Dulin, Warren Cooksey and Edwin Peacock and Democrat Warren Turner voted against the motion.

Federal officials announced the grant funds for streetcar projects in early December, and city officials hope to get money to pay for a portion of the 10-mile line that will eventually run from the Rosa Parks Transit Center on Beatties Ford Road through uptown Charlotte on Trade Street to Eastland Mall on Central Avenue. The line is estimated to cost roughly $450 million.

The city has laid roughly half-a-mile of streetcar track on Elizabeth Avenue, but until now, the city couldn’t afford any more construction.

The project fell fourth on the Metropolitan Transit Commission’s priority list and wasn’t available for funding through the half-cent transportation sales tax.

The federal grant would cover nearly $25 million of the $37 million project. The city will pay the remaining $12 million with leftover streetcar planning and economic development money.

“This is one we hope will be successful. This is one we know will be successful,” James Mitchell, the council’s District 2 representative, said. Mitchell represents parts of the Mountain Island and University City areas.

But District 6 Councilman Andy Dulin criticized the city’s decision to proceed alone on the streetcar project, calling it a “slap in the face” to regional transportation efforts. He said the council’s decision also might sent a “mixed” message to Washington about which projects the area really wants.

“The people in the north, in Huntersville, Cornelius and Davidson, have a reason to be spooked because the city has taken their eye of the ball,” Dulin said.

The three northern towns have long lobbied for a commuter rail line from city center north to the Lake Norman area and for extending the Lynx light-rail line to University City.

But Foxx dismissed Dulin’s complaint and called the threat to regionalism “overblown.”

“The truth of the matter is that source we would be seeking for this mile-and-a-half stretch would not support the north line,” Foxx said.

“This is dedicated streetcar money.”

City Engineer Jeb Blackwell also told council members the grant wouldn’t affect eligibility for other federal transportation grants.

But at least one University City leader criticized the council’s decision also. NorthEast Coalition President Clair Green Fallon said, “The fact is we don’t have the money ($12 million) to start, and they are as clueless as the U.S. Congress. They are again spending money we don’t have for more pie in the sky.”

Cornelius Mayor and MTC Member Jeff Tarte said he knows why the vote was made but doesn’t know the impact to the rail lines. He doesn’t feel the move was a slap in the face.

“This is like winning the lottery,” Tarte said. “Go buy your ticket by putting in for the grant, and you could get $25 million. This was a limited opportunity … and the streetcar is part of our transit equation. This could be a good thing for all of us.”

Tarte said he was in contact with Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx prior to the vote and understands the city’s motivations. Tarte is, however, concerned about how operational costs for the streetcar will be paid. He wants to make sure the money is taken from the city’s budget and not Charlotte Area Transit System’s.

Ken Lucas, commissioner of Huntersville and member of the Lake Norman Transit Commission, said he understands why commissioners voted the way they did, but was concerned that the decision made by the Metropolitan Transit Commission, CATS’ legislative body, was overlooked.

“We at the LNTC and those at the MTC decided that we were going to seek a two-line strategy,” he said. “We never discussed the streetcar in that context.”

The mile-long streetcar track would start at the Charlotte Transportation Center on East Trade Street and connect with the already constructed tracks on Elizabeth Avenue that end at Presbyterian Hospital.

The line would also tie in to light-rail tracks around Time Warner Cable Arena and use the light-rail maintenance facility there.

The city doesn’t have a method to pay for the line’s estimated $1.5 million annual operating cost.