The quantifiable benefits of the Plan are estimated at a total of $72 million in the year 2025. This produces a benefit-cost ratio of about 1.6, an acceptable level of return by national standards. The cost-benefit analysis is described in the next section.
Phased Implementation
Not all components of the plan can be implemented concurrently. Phased implementation allows for necessary land use changes and maximizes the potential ridership for this improved transit system. This phasing starts with initiatives to be implemented within the next five years, followed by those steps to be undertaken from years 6 to 10. Finally, phasing the plan identifies those elements to be implemented from years 11 to 25.
Figure 15:
Conclusion
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg community must make appropriate land use and transit decisions now and must implement these choices consistently over the next two decades and beyond. If not, the dispersal of jobs and households into areas outside the corridors will continue and Charlotte-Mecklenburg will confront the same difficulties as other regions struggling to sustain economic growth and faced with competition from other jurisdictions less burdened by congestion. Public transit is a vital part of the transportation investments needed to support the Centers and Corridors vision and to avoid the problems experienced in other cities.
