No more no-shows on I-77 toll lanes

If Charlotte’s political leaders thought they had nothing to lose by skipping Monday’s summit in Cornelius on Interstate 77 toll lanes, they were mistaken.

Their absence further stoked the anger of Lake Norman-area residents who see the city of Charlotte as insensitive to their traffic troubles and blase about their impassioned fight to kill the toll lanes project.

Now State Rep. Charles Jeter, a Huntersville Republican who once supported the project, thinks he can stop it by diluting the city of Charlotte’s voting strength on the regional transportation group that green-lighted the $655 million project.

Charlotte holds 46 percent of the weighted votes cast by the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) board. That support proved decisive in pushing the project through.

That’s why the no-shows Monday by Charlotte Mayor Dan Clodfelter, mayor-elect Jennifer Roberts and council member Vi Lyles – the city’s voting representative on the CRTPO board – looked so bad.

If the city’s leaders truly believe in the value of regional transportation planning, they can’t simply skip such meetings when fearing a hostile reception. Roberts told WCNC-TV the summit “did not appear to be a true meeting with people from all perspectives.”

North Mecklenburg residents have raised some reasonable, if late-breaking, concerns about the state’s contract with the Spanish road-building firm Cintra. At the very least, toll opponents deserve a fair hearing.

It is unclear if Jeter would have the votes to pass a bill changing the CRTPO voting system. If he does, and if a revamped CRTPO board votes the toll lanes down, that could raise other sticky questions.

The lanes passed as part of a broader 10-year regional transportation plan. That plan folds into the state’s transportation plan. The regional and state plans must match before federal dollars can flow to local projects, according to Bob Cook, the city of Charlotte transportation planner who serves as secretary to the CRTPO board.

If CRTPO trims the toll lanes from its plan, would the state transportation board follow suit to avoid a state-local disconnect and possible interruption of federal dollars to the region’s 10-year plan? Or, if the state board refused to drop the toll project, would it go forward despite the CRTPO vote?

The answers to such questions remain unclear, Cook told the editorial board.

This much is clear, however: Charlotte is the central player powering the region’s development. The toll lanes, whether they survive or die, will have a huge regional impact.

If the city wants to keep its regional leadership role – and its big chunk of CRTPO votes – its leaders must demonstrate a better understanding of the fact their their responsibilities don’t end at the city limits.

This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 10:15 AM with the headline "No more no-shows on I-77 toll lanes."