It's election season, and public transportation is on the ballot this year.
On this episode, WHQR's city planning nerd, Kelly Kenoyer, digs in deep with a panel of transit tax experts. The 1/4-cent sales tax would raise $144 million in the next 10 years, and would stabilize funding for WAVE, develop numerous cycling and pedestrian paths and projects, and start pulling together funding for rail realignment.
Without the tax, Wave is set to hit a financial cliff in two years, and may need to cut routes. But with the tax, Wave could begin expanding services to help serve more residents in the Cape Fear Region.
Our guests are Wave Executive Director Marie Parker, Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization Director Mike Kozlosky, and New Hanover County Spokesperson Jessica Loeper. They'll explain where this tax came from, what it covers, and what it'll cost residents in New Hanover County.
Links:
- Scheduled info sessions on the transit tax
- NHC Commissioners narrowly approve quarter-cent 'transportation' sales tax for November ballot
- Transit tax would raise $144 million over the first 10 years
- Deep Dive: Can WAVE transit outrun its toxic past, and turn things around for public transit?
- Wave Transit set to replace some routes with RideMicro, double the frequency of others
