Understand Whole Story on I-77 Toll Lanes

Info session Monday, 1/7. Click for larger view

I'm a daily bus rider, so if the proposed High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes are built on I-77, I will benefit.  It will make my commute shorter and reduce traffic for me and my fellow bus riders.  Because I ride the bus, I won't even have to pay the toll.  It won't cost me a thing.  That's what I'm told to think.  That's why I should support the toll lanes.  But I try to only support things only when I know all the facts...

What you have heard is that toll lanes are the only way to widen I-77 in the foreseeable future.

What you have heard is that other options do not exist.

However, that's not the whole story.

Residents of North Mecklenburg and Mooresville will be the primary funders of this project if tolls become a reality, and we should encourage our municipal leaders to have all the information before they throw their support behind this decision.  To date, that has not been done.  Only one side of the story has been presented to most local bodies.

Below are some links to an effort to get out the rest of the story.

I would encourage people to reach out to their local boards in Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, and Mooresville.  Ask them to go into this decision with their eyes wide open.  Ask them to have all the information before they throw their support behind this effort.  Don't let them off the hook with a simple "it's a State decision, not local".  Your municipal representatives can be your most effective channel to the State representatives.  Ask them to do that job.

But first, they need the information.  Here are some resources that can provide just that.

www.wideni77.org - Citizen activist group leading effort to look at alternative solutions.

Lake Norman citizens group opposes toll lanes on I-77 CharlotteObserver.com

Opposition to I-77 Toll Lanes Grows FoxCharlotte.com




Update:  Here is another link that comes at this from a different point of view.

Unequal at Any Speed: How the Beltway's New 'Hot Lanes' Divide Us into Speed-Rich and Speed-Poor  - thebreakthrough.org

Update #2:  In a response to an email to the Davidson Town Board encouraging them to take in all sides of the story, Mayor Woods indicated that the Lake Norman Transportation Commission (LNTC) may be in the process of organizing a meeting that would bring all parties to the table including NCDOT, the Towns, and those presenting another point of view.  No date given, but it is a potentially encouraging sign that at least nobody will be able to claim they "didn't know" about other viable options.