Mayors Request Transit Help

But state legislators are divided on whether state funds should be allocated to the cities to alleviate transit woes.

Durham Mayor Nicholas Tennyson said he believes many of the transportation problems can be attributed to dividing the responsibility for managing traffic among several agencies.

"The challenge is that we plan transportation with two different agencies, and then the transportation (service), which is a third agency," he said.

The mayors have devised a plan, dubbed the Regional Transportation Strategy, which they hope will ease future transportation planning, Tennyson said

He said the plan calls for a multifaceted effort in combating the transportation problems, including revamped transit systems and land-use strategies.

Tennyson said the mayors hope to fund the strategy using a combination of funds from the local, state and federal levels of government.

But he said he does not believe the current budget shortfall -- which is reaching nearly $800 million -- will affect what money, if any, the cities will receive.

But N.C. legislators are divided on whether the state should pay for transportation improvements in the region.

Sen. Elle Kinnaird, D-Orange, said she believes the mayors are asking state legislators to allow them to raise funds for the transportation improvements on their own and not necessarily asking them to completely foot the bill.

"The strategy is a combination of allowing local governments to raise money on their own and asking the state for help with the big projects," she said.

Kinnaird said she thinks the cities might raise funds through county entertainment, sales or food taxes.

She also said she believes officials should work on transportation improvements now and not wait to see if the problem will improve over time.

But Sen. Robert Carpenter, R-Buncombe, said he opposes the use of state funds to fix the transportation problems, especially in light of the shortfall.

Carpenter said he believes Triangle leaders should take the responsibility to find ways to fund their strategy.

Carpenter, a member of the Senate Transportation Committee, said he believes many of the problems in the region result from the area's population growth. "The population explosion has created a situation where there are triple the number of cars on the roads than 10 years ago," he said.

Carpenter said he believes local officials should examine tactics of other urban areas which used bond packages to raise transportation improvement funds.

While transportation in the Triangle has become an issue in recent years, Carpenter said he does not believe officials should focus only on the region because transportation has become a problem throughout the state. "I think across the whole state of North Carolina we have transportation problems."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.