Transit News
November 8, 2007
Virginia Miller
(202) 496-4816
vmiller@apta.com
(Download In Adobe PDF format)
Voters in municipalities across the U.S. considered public transportation-related measures on the Nov. 6 ballot. Eight of the 13 measures passed. Overall, this year approximately 67 percent of transportation measures were approved.
The largest successes were in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, N.C., with an overwhelming vote in support of an existing sales tax, and in northern Virginia, for a transportation bond issue.
Passage of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County measure stops a proposed repeal of the half-cent sales tax that supports the Charlotte Area Transit System. Preliminary counts showed the measure receiving 70 percent of the vote.
“After nearly a year fighting the anti-transit crowd, Tuesday’s result sure felt great,” said Ron Tober, CATS chief executive officer. “Voters here overwhelmingly reaffirmed the need for a balanced approach to transportation solutions that includes both transit and roads. This is a clear signal that Charlotte is looking forward and investing today to manage growth and build a quality community with a choice over congestion.”
The Charlotte transit measure was watched closely around the country. Despite a vocal group advocating repeal of the transit tax, voters in Charlotte looked to the future and overwhelmingly reaffirmed the measure by an even larger percentage than when it was originally approved in 1998.
The transit tax has subsidized an expansion of the CATS bus fleet and routes, and supported construction of LYNX Blue Line light rail, scheduled to enter service later this month. The half-cent tax generated $70 million last year.
In Fairfax County, Va., just south of Washington, 81 percent of voters approved a transportation bond issue for up to $110 million. While much of the bond language refers to highway and parking improvements, the measure also provides for “capital costs of necessary land, transit facilities, rolling stock and equipment in the Washington metropolitan area.”
The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority will continue to receive revenues from a 1.5-mill replacement property tax levy that voters approved Nov. 6. The authority serves nine communities, seven in Lucas County and two in Wood County, according to TARTA spokesperson Steve Atkinson, and the total positive vote in Lucas counteracted opposition to the measure in Wood. The levy provides one-third of TARTA’s funding, Atkinson said; it is a replacement of the previous levy that takes into account new property assessments.
Two Michigan cities approved renewals of property tax millages to support transit. In Saginaw, the three-mill, three-year tax renewal for Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Services passed by a preliminary vote of 4,019 to 2,081. The measure in Kalamazoo, which passed by 5,907 to 2,311, renews the one-mill property tax levy for one year.
In San Francisco, preliminary results showed support for Proposition A, which would provide additional funds for the San Francisco Municipal Railway, at 50.7 percent in favor and 49.3 percent opposed. A conflicting ordinance—Proposition H, which would increase the creation of off-street parking—was losing by 58 to 42 percent.
In Utah, Opinion Question 1 in Davis, Weber, and Box Elder counties was for a quarter-cent sales tax increase. In Box Elder County, where voters approved the measure by 68 percent, the increase will fund a study for expanding commuter rail. The other two counties would use the tax increase to fund road improvement projects, with an option for transit projects. Weber County reported early returns of 50.4 percent in favor and 49.6 percent against the measure. In Davis County, 58 percent of voters rejected the measure.
Preliminary returns in the Puget Sound region of Washington State show likely defeat for Proposition 1, the measure in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties that proposed $11 billion for transit and $7 billion for road improvements. The proposition, also known as “Roads & Transit,” combined two investment plans: Sound Transit 2, an extension of Sound Transit service including an additional 50 miles of light rail, and a road-oriented plan dealing with highway safety, road capacity, high-occupancy vehicle lanes, and other highway issues.
Approximately 41 percent of voters in Greeley, Colo., approved a proposed one-quarter-percent sales tax increase to pay for improvements to the city’s bus system. The city’s transit services had asked the Greeley City Council to place the proposal on the ballot because of concerns that, following the 2010 U.S. Census, the Greeley bus service could be forced to become part of the Fort Collins/Loveland Transportation Management Area and lose its own federal funding for operating costs.
A proposed property tax increase to support the Capital Area Transportation Authority failed in Lansing, East Lansing, and three townships in Michigan. The current millage is 2.22 mills, and the increase would have been staggered over several years, reaching one mill by 2010. CATA said it needed the extra funding to maintain its existing service levels without raising fares.
In Lorain County, Ohio, a proposed one-quarter-percent sales tax increase for transit lost by almost 35,000 votes. The county commissioners originally passed the tax increase in March, but residents petitioned successfully to place the measure on the ballot.
For a complete list of 2007 ballot measures, click here.
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APTA is a nonprofit international association of more than 1,500 member organizations including public transportation systems; planning, design, construction and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; and state associations and departments of transportation. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical public transportation services and products. APTA members serve more than 90 percent of persons using public transportation in the United States and Canada.
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