Two members of the Charlotte City Council have questioned the potential for redundancy regarding the region’s long-range transportation planning.
The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization provided an overview Nov. 30 of its 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan for Iredell, Mecklenburg and Union counties to the council’s transportation committee.
The plan establishes funding priorities for the next 20-plus years. CRTPO will spend 2021 developing the plan in hopes of finishing it by March 2022.
CRTPO Assistant Planning Director Bob Cook’s presentation prompted several questions from Councilman Ed Driggs.
Driggs asked Cook to describe the overlay between CRTPO and Charlotte Moves, a task force formed by Mayor Vi Lyles to recommend funding strategies for transportation projects.
Driggs wanted to know if there would be redundancies.
“They certainly won’t be redundant processes,” Cook replied, noting the CRTPO incorporates local projects into its regional framework.
Driggs has pressed city staff to provide cost projections on transit plans. He asked Cook if CRTPO would be doing cost projections of city projects.
Cook said there may be some analysis, considering CRTPO spans three counties; however, his group would lean on existing efforts.
He said CRTPO’s plan will coordinate with other regional transportation initiatives, including CATS 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan, Connect Our Future and the Regional Freight Mobility Plan. Representatives from such initiatives will meet soon to ensure they are on the same page, Cook said.
Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt would like a better understanding of these initiatives and their stakeholders.
“I do get a little concerned that we’re going to have overlap and sort of be bumping into each other when it comes to funding and flexibility in funding,” Eiselt said.
CRTPO will also come up with financial projections for funding and maintenance of projects at a time when NCDOT is having financial difficulties. It will also evaluate three what-if scenarios: connected and autonomous vehicles, growth and development patterns, and work-from-home trends.
CRTPO will hold a virtual kick-off meeting for the plan from 4 to 5 p.m. Dec. 17. Learn more at www.2050mtp.org.