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'A fatal mistake' | Councilman describes city's misstep on transit plan

On Flashpoint, Braxton Winston said city must include other parties in transit planning.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With the city's long-range transit and transportation plan in limbo, Charlotte City Councilman Braxton Winston said current councilmembers have made missteps in their approach.

"We have really taken that hands-off approach. And I think that's been fatal in this process," Winston, councilman at-large, said.

Winston co-chairs the city's intergovernmental committee and is running for re-election. He said the city has lost substantial time in engaging with regional, state, and business stakeholders.

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"I was very disappointed that city council decided to take a kind of laissez-faire approach," said 

Charlotte City Council has proposed a one-cent sales tax to create revenue for the Transformational Mobility Network which includes having 110 miles of rapid transit corridors like the light rail, 140 miles of bussing, 115 miles of a greenway system, 75 miles of a bicycle network, and more.  A ballot referendum for the tax would need the approval of the General Assembly.   City leaders originally hoped to have the referendum on the November ballot, but most agree the timeline is looking nearly impossible for 2022.

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"I think that was a fatal mistake. And that's the feedback that I've been getting from other partners both in government and beyond," Winston said.

Council has worked with groups like the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, but Winston argues the effort has left out regional stakeholders, including businesses, municipalities, and state lawmakers.

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"I don't think City Council has engaged the fortune 100 companies that we have to figure out how we can not only use public dollars but use those public dollars to be leveraged amongst private dollars," Winston said.

Transit issues are front and center during Charlotte's municipal primary.

"The efficiency of the transportation, getting people to be able to their jobs on time, and making it be reliable," Carrie Olinski, a republican candidate running at large, said.

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Olinksi said public safety is her number one priority, but said all the issues facing city leaders are connected.

"We have transportation and housing and jobs, all of them are intertwined," Olinski said.

The primary is May 17.

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Flashpoint is a weekly in-depth look at politics in Charlotte, North Carolina, South Carolina, and beyond with host Ben Thompson. Listen to the podcast weekly. 
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