By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Air quality problems lurk behind nearly every transportation issue facing local governments in this area, former Mayor Randy Kincaid said Wednesday when the four-town North Mecklenburg-South Iredell Transportation Task Force gathered for the first of a planned three-month series of meetings.

Eldewins Haynes of the Charlotte DOT (right) and Davidson Town Manager Leamon Brice discuss air quality Wednesday. (David Boraks photo)

“It’s not an issue we’re going to have a say in, but we are going to be governed by it,” Mr. Kincaid said during the nearly two hour session at Cornelius Town Hall.

The task force was formed in mid-December by the mayors of Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson and Mooresville. At Wednesday’s meeting, besides discussing air quality, the group also discussed its goals and set a tentative schedule of topics for weekly meetings over the next three months.

The meeting began with a question-and-answer session on air quality with Eldewins Haynes, of the Charlotte Department of Transportation, and Davidson Town Manager Leamon Brice.

Mr. Haynes said many factors affect air quality, but automobile traffic is the biggest contributor to poor air quality in the Mecklenburg-South Iredell area. Within Mecklenburg County, automobiles and other on-road vehicles account for about 55 percent of toxic emissions, he said.

“In aggregate, all of us are the major polluters in this region,” he said.

CARS ARE THE PROBLEM HERE

Mr. Haynes talked about broader efforts to reduce pollution in the Charlotte area, which is under pressure from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to addressing the area’s air quality problems. A three-year review currently underway likely will result in the region being declared in violation of EPA air quality standards in 2010. Meanwhile, the state Division of Air Quality has issued a draft of a statewide Air Quality Implementation Plan that also aims to improve air quality statewide, he said.

For area towns, the question is how to adopt policies or undertake projects that will fit into the broad goals of reducing air pollution as well as the specific state and federal requirements, task force members were told. That could mean a variety of measures

• forcing changes in land-use patterns to reduce driving
• improving road connectivity among the towns
• adding bike lanes, such as along Highway 115, that link the towns
• adding turn lanes or other devices or fixing traffic signals to reduce vehicle idling
• pushing for road improvements, such as the widening of I-77, that keep traffic flowing

But the task force also learned it will have to strike a balance in many cases between air quality and better traffic flow. Mr. Haynes said there’s an optimum speed – between 25 and 45 mph – where automotive emissions are lowest. Idling cars produce extra toxic gases, as do those going faster, he said.

“If you widen the roads, and add more lanes, then you add pollution,” Mr. Haynes said.

IMPROVE CONNECTIONS

A better solution may be to build more roads and road connections, he said. “It’s important to have alternate ways to get from point A to point B,” he said.

“That’s the connectivity mentality that this area has promoted for a decade,” Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain observed.

Brian Jenest, a Davidson town board member and professional planner who serves on the task force, suggested that the towns look at “coming up with a connectivity plan for all the towns.”

The question is how to pay for it. Funding for road improvements is a sore spot among local governments, which traditionally have looked to the state for money. But many essential projects in this area are listed on the state Department of Transportation schedule for a decade a more in the future.

Several members wondered if there might be a way to speed up or expand state or federal money available. Officials had no quick answer and task force members agreed to study their options.

GOAL: DO-ABLE PROJECTS

As the task force discussed its goals for the next three months, Mooresville Mayor Bill Thunberg and others suggested that members stay away from proposals beyond the towns’ reach – because of funding or regulations.

“We want it (the outcome) to be things that are in our control and we can decide what to do or not do,” Mayor Thunberg said.

WEEKLY TOPICS

The group discussed a list of proposed topics for the meetings, which continue next Wednesday, Jan. 9, with a discussion about widening I-77 with Bill Coxe, Huntersville’s transportation planner. At Wednesday meetings through the end of March, the group also will gather facts and discuss buses, land-use, bicycling and walking and greenways, the the proposed North Corridor Commuter Rail, alternative funding ideas, and a cooperative effort by local police chiefs looking at accident response on I-77.

Mr. Kincaid, who chairs the task force along with vice-chair Gary Knox, the former Cornelius mayor, said he would write a final report based on the information gathered and the proposals discussed.

“What are we going to do with the report?” Mr. Jenest asked Mr. Kincaid.

“We’re going to give it to the four mayors. And, if we don’t do anything with it, we’re going to collectively kick their butts,” he said, with a laugh.

Mr. Kincaid also said he’d like to see the task force continue after the report is out.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

See our Dec. 14, 2007, article “Mayors form transport task force.”

More information about the task force is available on the Town of Davidson website.

The task force discussed long-range transportation and air-quality plans that the Charlotte region has developed. Those are available on the website of the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO).

Meetings are to be held Wednesdays, 5-7 p.m., at Cornelius Town Hall, through the end of March. For the tentative schedule, CLICK HERE>