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SEEING IS BELIEVING ON CHARLOTTE'S TRAIN

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 25, 2009

After Hillsborough County's rail plans stalled 10 years ago, Charlotte, N.C., got the federal money that had been designated for Tampa's project.

On Oct. 16, a delegation of local elected and appointed officials, along with a few staff members and citizens, took a one-day trip to Charlotte to see how the money was spent. After riding the train, most members of the group said they were favorably impressed by the popularity of the line and its effect on development.

Charlotte Mayor Patrick McCrory told them his first challenge was winning voters' approval for a half-cent increase in the sales tax to help build a line from the city center to neighborhoods to the south and to improve bus service. He says his biggest problem now is, "Everyone wants it."

Read our editorial on what Tampa can learn from Charlotte. PAGE 2

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