‘One shot to get this right.’ Matthews mayor to hold transit summit

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — Next weekend, the mayor of Matthews will host a transit summit in hopes of getting Mecklenburg County leaders together to discuss the future of transportation in the area.

Mayor John Higdon is inviting leaders from all towns and cities across the county to come to the Valerie C. Woodard Center on October 19. He wants to talk about ways to potentially get light rail to his town.

“We have one shot to get this right,” he said. “This is going to be something that impacts our region for the next 50 to 100 years.”

It’s why Higdon wants officials in Mecklenburg County to come together to talk transportation, specifically the silver line, which would run from Union County to west Charlotte and into Gaston County. Nothing is set in stone, but current plans suggest there may not be enough funding to create it.

Meanwhile, plans for the Red Line commuter train, running north of Uptown, are full steam ahead. The city purchased part of the O-line from Norfolk Southern earlier this month and now needs the state legislature’s approval to put a one-cent transit sales tax on the ballot. It would generate billions for rail, road and bus projects in the county.

If the Silver Line falls through, bus rapid transit could be the alternative for Matthews. Mayor Higdon has been outspoken against this.

“I’m hopeful that people will open their ears and their hearts and try to come up with a plan that’s satisfactory to everyone and not one that creates winners in some parts of the county and losers in other parts of the county,” he said.

He’s calling people together for a transit summit, but he said not many Mecklenburg County leaders are coming.

“I find it somewhat disrespectful when an elected official calls others in the county to come together for something that has such an incredible ramification for the future of our county, but I guess they are convinced that the current draft legislation is good for them and so they don’t really care what happens to Matthews or some other folks in the county,” said Higdon.

Queen City News reached out to the City Council Transportation Committee Chair, Ed Driggs, who said he’s not going to the meeting but declined to comment further.

Commissioner Leigh Altman chairs the Metropolitan Transportation Committee and said she’ll be out of town during the summit. She sent the following statement:

“We are trying to secure $25 billion in desperately needed transportation infrastructure. Hopefully, the General Assembly will act favorably upon the draft legislation that was agreed upon in the democratic process by 97% of this county. When and if that happens, there will be a robust discussion involving all our communities—and ultimately a public vote by the representatives of all stakeholders—on the transportation projects that can be funded.”

We know Charlotte Councilmembers Malcolm Graham and Renee Johnson are planning to attend the summit.

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