2005 Raleigh Road Bond

On October 11, 2005 the citizens of Raleigh will be presented with two bond issues on the election ballot. The first is a $60 million transportation improvements (road) bond and the second is a $20 million affordable housing bond. If both bond proposals are approved by voters, the bonds would necessitate a 2 cents increase in Raleigh's property tax rate, effective July 1, 2006. This would increase the property tax rate to 41.50 cents per $100 of property valuation.

There are twelve projects to be listed on the referendum. Most involve road widening and include these streets/roads: Falls of Neuse Road, Tryon Road, Six Forks/Millbrook Roads, Rock Quarry Road, Poole Road, Leesville Road, Perry Creek Road, Mitchell Mill Road, and Lake Wheeler Road.

Another project is $4 million for traffic signal system upgrades. The last project involves $8.1 million for pedestrian improvements and traffic calming, including $3 million for roundabouts (traffic circles) on Hillsborough Street.

BACKGROUND HISTORY

Maintaining roads is the responsibility of state government. In early 2005, in a bizarre move, the state announced a dramatic cut-back in funding for Raleigh's road projects, claiming that it had overspent on road projects in previous years. Shortly thereafter, Mayor Charles Meeker announced his plan to place a road bond, including traffic calming, on the ballot.

FACTS TO CONSIDER

1. Most of the projects involve road widening, while the main theme of traffic calming is road narrowing.
2. The current city council is a "smart growth" council. Smart growth advocates have long opposed adding new roads or increasing current road capacity.
3. Mayor Meeker opposed the construction of the outer loop beltline (I-540) while on the city council in 1992.
4. Mayor Meeker opposed further constuction of the outer loop beltline (I-540) immediately after being elected mayor in 2001. He was prevented from diverting the road construction funding because it came from the federal government with the requirement that it could only be used for I-540.
5. Mayor Meeker is a "smart growth" advocate. Smart growth advocates believe that widening roads only makes traffic congestion worse. They believe that wider roads encourage people to drive more, leading to worsening traffic congestion (a concept known as "generated traffic").
6. If the bond passes, the City Council is not obligated by law to build any specific list of projects (as reported by the News and Observer in the July 29, 2005 issue). This means that if the bond passes, all of the funding could be spent on traffic calming and none on road improvements.
7. The Federal Transit Authority cut funding for the TTA light-rail project due to the projection that the Raleigh area will not experience enough traffic congestion.
8. Mayor Meeker desperately wants to see the TTA light-rail project go forward.
9. Studies in areas such as Portland, Oregon prove that traffic calming increases traffic congestion.

CONCLUSION

If voters approve the road bond, what will they get? The only thing they can count on is more traffic congestion. It is incompatible that road widening and road narrowing are on the same ballot. One of these will win out: ROAD NARROWING. The only logical conclusion is to reject the road bond with a resounding NO!!!!