http://66.225.205.104/JR20080825.mp3
The Charlotte City Council is taking public comment tonight on a 227-million-dollar bond package they'd like to put on the November ballot. Three-quarters of the money is destined for transportation. In 2006, Charlotte voters approved 78-million dollars for roads. This year the city council is asking voters for more than twice that. Transportation Capital Projects Manager Andy Grzymski says that's because a recently-completed 25-year transportation plan helped the city council realize how much roadwork needs to be done. "For the first time they really had a true grasp or inventory of what the needs are," says Grzymski. "When you have the big picture, so then when you have kind of the big picture it's easier to kind of see what are the steps that need to be taken to start addressing it." If approved by the council tonight and voters in November, Grzymski says a large portion of the money will go to improving Rea Road, widening Statesville Avenue and building a four-lane connector between Freedom and Brookshire Boulevard. City officials say the bond will not require a tax increase. The Charlotte City Council meeting begins tonight at 7 p.m.