NC Senate transportation chair supports Charlotte’s Red Line — but there’s a catch: taxes

A Charlotte-area Republican state legislator says commuter rail is “absolutely” needed to connect communities she represents to uptown Charlotte. But despite some recent headlines, she’s still not fully convinced the plan to make it happen will happen.

During an event last week for The (Raleigh) News & Observer’s Under the Dome podcast, state Sen. Vickie Sawyer said “there is an opportunity” for the Red Line to come to fruition. But she questions how the plan will be paid for. Sawyer’s District 37 includes parts of southern Iredell and northern Mecklenburg counties. She’s also one of three Senate transportation chairs.

The Red Line plan — a 25-mile commuter rail line from uptown Charlotte to Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson and Mooresville first proposed in 2008 — sat stagnant for years due to a lack of access to critical railroad tracks and uncertainty about how to fund the project.

But Norfolk Southern, which owns the tracks, finally agreed to negotiate with transit officials last year, bringing renewed interest to the Red Line.

In April, the Charlotte Area Transit System held a series of community meetings to get public input on the plan. North Mecklenburg residents and leaders at the time expressed cautious optimism about potential progress, but cautioned there’s still plenty to sort out and lingering distrust in the community.

During the event last week, Sawyer recalled “promises” of transit expansion north of Charlotte dating back to 1998, when voters approved a half-cent sales tax to finance public transportation. Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, Davidson, Huntersville, Cornelius, Pineville, Matthews and Mint Hill signed onto an interlocal agreement on transit shortly after in 1999.

“They had sold a transportation tax for our area, and guess what? They couldn’t deliver on it,” she said.

Now, Sawyer said, state legislators are hesitant to back a sales tax increase to fund the project. Charlotte has discussed trying to get the increase on the ballot for transportation needs, including the Red Line, but the city needs General Assembly approval to do so.

“You’re asking for a tax increase on a promise that was made 20 years ago,” she said. “So that doesn’t necessarily go over very well. I’m not saying no, I’m just saying that you better show me first,” she said.

That doesn’t mean Sawyer thinks commuter rail along the “heavily traveled corridor” is a bad idea.

“Do I support and think the idea … is needed? Absolutely,” she said, adding that her family pays “over $300 a month in tolls” and would welcome a public transit alternative.

Moving forward, Sawyer said she’s “not holding my breath” on the project.

“If I was, I’d have been passed out a long time ago,” she said.

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