Transportation Funding: Impacts from the downturn and funding cuts

How Will Recent Statewide Funding Cuts Impact Transportation Projects in Wake County?

Join Capital Area Friends of Transit (CAFT) on Friday, July 17th, in a conversation about the state of transportation funding in our county and throughout North Carolina. During this free virtual event, we’ll be joined by NC Senator Mike Woodard (District 22), Wake County Staff, and nonprofit leaders from throughout the Triangle and greater Triad region.

Register for this free event HERE

State and local economies have been reeling since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring, when businesses and schools were forced to shut down. In turn, the pandemic and subsequent economic downturn have had a dramatic impact on municipal budgets throughout the country, including here in Wake County. In Wake County, sales tax revenues could be down as much as 7% for the last fiscal year, which ended in June.

Earlier this year, Congress allocated funds for transit agencies and state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) through the CARES Act. This emergency funding could help keep agencies afloat, staff employed, and some projects operational. However, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) started the year with a deficit of nearly three quarters of a billion dollars. In light of the recent perfect storm of events, the NC General Assembly has decided to address this budget problem by cutting transportation-related spending by over half a billion dollars.

Project funding through the Public Transportation, Bicycle, and Pedestrian Fund and the Rail Fund are now wiped out, meaning the state cannot help municipalities build protected bike lanes or repair greenways. Heading into an already uncertain future, North Carolina cities and towns will have to come up with their own sources of funding for these and other transportation projects.

How will transportation funding cuts affect projects in our neighborhoods? How long will these cuts remain in effect? Do major transportation projects like Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and Commuter Rail still have a chance?

Let’s find out. On Friday, July 17, 2020, Capital Area Friends of Transit will host a panel conversation to learn what the future might hold for transportation projects here in Wake County and throughout North Carolina.

Join us for Transportation Funding: Impacts from the Downturn and Funding Cuts, a free virtual event, on Friday, July 17 at 12:00pm, EST.
Register Here

The following elected officials, experts, and statewide, local, and regional leaders will join us for the conversation:

• Senator Mike Woodard – NC State Senate District 22
• Nicole Kreiser – Assistant County Manager for Wake County
• Antony (Tony) Wambui – Transportation Program Analyst for the Town of Cary
• Meg Fencil – Program Director for Sustain Charlotte
• John Tallmadge – Executive Director of Bike Durham
• Nathan Spencer – Associate Director of WakeUP Wake County

Register for this free event HERE

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