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SUCCESSFUL SOLUTIONS TO SPRAWL : A NORTH CAROLINA APPROACH The citizens of Charlotte have already shown that they issue , the Department of Transportation hired a full. stronglysupport this type of regional transportation time bicycle coordinator to oversee the implementation planning. In 1998 , they voted for a half-cent sales tax of these plans . increase that will provide about $ 50 million per year to support the Centers and Corridors transit inati itives . This money is set aside for completely new rapid transit 1111ICKORY projects along the corridors and is separate from the funds for the existing bus system . BY CHOICE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PAVES THE WAY Local officials , citizen groups , and corporate leadership FOR PROGRESS have all worked to raise public awareness of and support After several heated disputes between city officials and for these transit initiatives . citizens over zoning and transportation issues , the city of Hickory decided to review their ordinances . A 25 - PLANNING FOR FUTURE GROWTH member task force consisting of residents of the city At this time , four of the five corridors are still being and surrounding communities was selected by city studied while the fifth, the 10 . 5 -mile southern corridor council in 1998 to produce a citizen- derived growth between uptown and Pineville, has been identified for plan called " Hickory by Choice ." Members ranged from light rail service and has entered the preliminary engi- environmental activists to wealthy developers , but all neering phase . The other studies are expected to be called Hickory home : completed by the end of 2001 . Options range from light rail or commuter rail to dedicated bus lanes . Each After familiarizing themselves with the region's current one has different benefits . To the north , for example , methods of growth and development , the committee , light rail is not feasible due to the distance and cost of not city council , selected an outside consultant . providing electrical power for those trains . A diesel powered commuter train or a bus system would be In what was probably one of the key elements to more cost- effective , the success of Hickory by Choice , public charettes were held with the help of the consultant. Residents As routes and modes of transit are identified, the city is were shown a series of examples of various types of changing land-use ordinances in those areas to encourage street and neighborhood design . Through this process , compact, pedestrian oriented developments with easy called a visual preference study, residents were able to access to proposed stations . Land-use planning along the point out exactly which elements they liked and dis- routesis an important ingredient to their success . If liked in each picture and explain why. As it turned development is of the typical, low-density suburban type out, most people from apartment developers to open and is not convenient for pedestrians , it does not provide space activists tended to like the same things — tree- much ridership for rapid transit. At the same time, cur- lined streets , sidewalks set back from the road, and rent development patterns put more cars on already landscaped medians . over-taxed highways . By combining denser development with other investments in infrastructure, Charlotte is able The citizen-led committee spent the next year develop- to offer residents more transportation choices . ing a list of over 100 very specific statements that sum- marized the desires of residents on topics from street Other modes of transportation are also being encour- design to neighborhood development . More pictures aged to reduce the dependence on automobiles . In were drawn that combined these and they were once 2000 , the planning board adopted a Bikeway again shared with the public . Afterwards , the committee Improvement Plan that calls for improvements on road- released its report and held a second round of commu- ways throughout the area to make them more attractive pity-wide meetings . This time, participation was even to bicyclists . In keeping with its commitment to this better as more people came to voice their support and