CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In a 6-5 vote, city leaders Monday formally approved the construction of a $37 million streetcar line from the Transportation Center on Trade Street to Presbyterian Hospital in Elizabeth.
A $25 million federal grant will cover most of the cost of the 1.5-mile rail line, which could be operating by mid-2013.
Charlotte will contribute the remaining $12 million needed to extend the existing half-mile of train tracks on Elizabeth Avenue and the installation of electrical cables needed to power the system.
Passengers would be carried by three replica trolleys, which are already housed in Charlotte.
Money already allocated for a streetcar engineering study and funds set aside for economic development projects will cover the city's portion of the cost, officials have said.
Monday night's vote followed a contentious public hearing during which the audience frequently cheered and sometimes booed speakers.
"While at first glance it seems it makes a lot of sense, there are lot of strings attached that are going to cost a lot of money farther down the road," said Tariq Bokhari, one of seven speakers who voiced opposition to the streetcar project.
The estimated annual cost for operating the trolleys is $1.5 million. City leaders have not yet said how the cost would be covered.
The transit project would be the first segment of a planned 10-mile streetcar line from Beatties Ford Road, near I-85, to Eastland Mall.
Proponents of the plan predict the line would be a catalyst for economic development in some of the city's most fragile neighborhoods.
"We have a failing mall," said council member Nancy Carter before Monday's vote. "We need the help on the east side that a streetcar will bring us."
About 950 daily riders are projected for the line between the Transportation Center and Elizabeth, based on the current ridership of a bus route already running along the same corridor.
Service is expected to begin in late 2013.
