Wake County Commissioners have decided to delay a voter referendum planned this fall for a half-cent sales tax that would fund new transit – light rail, commuter rail, and bus improvements throughout Wake County.
“It’s not going to be this fall because there is no plan yet,” Tony Gurley of Raleigh, a Wake County commissioner, said Wednesday. “That’s the big issue.”
The release of the final transit plan is expected this Spring, giving commissioners and voters nearly half a year to absorb proposal details prior to a October or November referendum. Even so, commissioners worry that the current economic climate is not ripe for voter approval of a new funding stream.
The real challenge lies in better understanding the need for new transit, particularly during an economic recession. New transit projects create and sustain new jobs and business, and have the potential to make our region more competitive.
- Wake leaders give up on transit tax, Bruce Siceloff, News & Observer
- Economic benefits of transit, Capital Area Friends of Transit