Rail escapes largely unscathed in Perdue budget – stimulus funds available for conventional speed rail?
Last week, Gov. Perdue unveiled the state’s budget for FY 2009-2011. I don’t envy her position – North Carolina, like most other state governments, is constitutionally prohibited from running a deficit. The recession means that tax revenues are declining, and the state HAS to make cuts.
I voted for Pat Mcrory last fall (in the interest of full disclosure). In my mind, he offered a more urbanist outlook towards state policy than Perdue, who hails from the thriving metropolis of New Bern. As mayor of Charlotte, he spearheaded the campaign for capital improvements in transportation and the introduction of light rail, not to mention support for the city’s greenway systems. All this from a Republican!
Perdue’s priority is education – and that is what’s reflected in the budget. I support the budget, largely because NCDOT Rail managed to avoid any substantial cuts in their budget. Mind you, their budgets weren’t increased, either – but I’m happy with what we got.
The big question now is whether NC will receive any grants for federal HSR money from the Recovery act. We won’t know until June, but as of now the state remains silent on the issue. True, Gov. Perdue sent in a letter of interest to the US DOT early this year, but as other states – Washington, Wisconsin, New York, and California, for instance – line up plans that range from ambitious to pedestrian, we remain largely silent.
