Live Blogging the Tracks to the Future Conference, Pt. 2 – Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory

Part 3: Panel Discussion 1 is now online.

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McCrory: Good transit is amazing. Charlotte’s has been a success beyond wildest dreams. It’s packed. People love it in their lives.
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McCrory: Make it work. Transit has to be clean, safe, and efficient. When it works you will be amazed.
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McCrory: Stay in touch with everybody, to prevent anti-transit from sneaking up on you.
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McCrory: One recommendation: make sure decisions are based on fact, not politics.
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McCrory: Private sector has to be involved with government. Takes an effort from both sides – private and government as a team.
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McCrory: There’s nothing wrong with the private sector making money. They need to be a part of this. Treat them as partner, not enemy.
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McCrory: The more choices in transportation you have, the more competitive you’ll be. Rail, bicycles, buses, etc.
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McCrory: It’s all about transit AND land use. It has to be integrated into every facet of the city. DO NOT think of transit in isolation.
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McCrory: Do not allow things to be built that you won’t be proud of 50 years later. Sprawl’s “corridors of crap” are not sustainable.
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McCrory: Mayberry & Metropolis – we can have the best of both. Small town values, big city amenities and mobility.
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McCrory: Places like Trinity Bluff, etc. are the sort of places we can have all around Fort Worth if we invest in transit.
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McCrory: Don’t treat transit as a “project.” It is unending.
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McCrory: Sell rural counties on the success of the city, because they’re tied to it. Gets them on board.
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McCrory: Don’t sell individual projects. Sell the vision of what these transit projects bring to the city and state.
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McCrory: Development along Charlotte’s light rail line has been “unbelievable.”
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McCrory: I am convinced that any organization that prepares for the future as opposed to reacts to the future will thrive.
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McCrory: I’ll be frank: Fort Worth is behind in transit.
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McCrory: Fort Worth has done a lot of great work in sustainable urbanism. But guess what – everyone else is, too.
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Moncrief has turned it over to former Charlotte, NC Mayor Pat McCrory.
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Moncrief: Rail is the future people mover in this city. Focusing only on roads is short-sighted. We cannot ignore the affects of mobility on our air quality and our quality of life. We must build up, not out. We must concentrate on transit-oriented development.
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Moncrief: Fort Worth does some things very, very well. When we have something we’re proud of, we take ownership. This is ours. We want to enhance it, improve it, strengthen it, protect it. But when we have something we’re not proud of, like our challenges with transportation and mobility, we do something different: we take responsibility.
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Moncrief: “Quality of Life” trumps everything else to him.
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Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief is at the podium to introduce the keynote speaker.