The Transportation Bond

The Transportation Bond allocates $101.5 million to transit priorities, roadway improvements and pedestrian infrastructure across three categories.

Road infrastructure receives $51.5 million for three specific capital projects. These include improvements to Marsh Creek Road and Trawick Road-West, Ebenezer Church Road and general-purpose lanes along the Southern Bus Rapid Transit corridor.

The remaining funds are split between two program areas. A total of $40 million is designated for citywide transportation plans and system-wide programs, while $10 million is held for neighborhood traffic management.

Funding and Financial Impact

The city plans to finance the $101.5 million housing bond without increasing property taxes.

Funding will come from the city's Steady State fund, which accumulates annual sales and property tax revenues for major capital projects. Previous municipal bonds financed projects including the Milner Commons housing project (2020) and the Atlantic Avenue roadway project (2017).

Donald Bryson, president and chief executive officer of the John Locke Foundation, wrote in an emailed statement, "Our concern is less about whether Raleigh has the legal or financial capacity to issue these bonds because the city has strong credit ratings and substantial borrowing capacity. However, our concern is more about making debt a routine way to finance government priorities."

While Raleigh's Steady State fund prevents tax increases, Bryson wrote it doesn't make recurring debt costless.