Ballot question
City of Raleigh Transportation Bonds Referendum
- On the ballot in
- City of Raleigh
- Vote
- Yes or no
- Election
- Nov 3, 2026
The question, as printed on the ballot
Additional property taxes may be levied on property located in the City of Raleigh, North Carolina in an amount sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on bonds if approved by the following ballot question. Shall the order adopted on May 19, 2026, authorizing $101,500,000 TRANSPORTATION BONDS of the City of Raleigh, North Carolina, plus interest, for the purpose of providing funds, together with any other available funds, for various transportation related improvements inside and outside the corporate limits of said City, including, without limitation, street, sidewalk and streetscape improvements, bridges, bicycle lanes, curbs and drains, traffic controls, greenways, bus and train station and shelter improvements, and the acquisition of any related land, rights of way and equipment, and providing that additional taxes may be levied in an amount sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds, be approved, in light of the following: (1) The estimated cumulative cost over the life of said bonds, using the highest interest rate charged for similar debt over the last 20 years, would be $164,607,118, consisting of the $101,500,000 principal amount of said bonds, plus $63,107,118 of estimated interest. (2) The estimated amount of property tax liability increase for each one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) of property tax value to service the cumulative cost over the life of said bonds provided above would be $0 (zero dollars) per year.
A “Yes” vote means
Authorizes Raleigh to borrow up to $101.5 million in bonds for streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, greenways, bridges and transit stops; the ballot estimates no property tax increase ($0 per year).
A “No” vote means
Raleigh could not issue these $101.5 million in transportation bonds; the City Council could use other funds, or the projects would not move forward.
The City plans $51.5 million for three road projects (Marsh Creek and Trawick roads, Ebenezer Church Road, and lanes along the Southern Bus Rapid Transit corridor), $40 million for walking, biking and traffic-safety plans and $10 million for neighborhood traffic calming (City of Raleigh).
Sources
- Referendum Choices List Grouped by Referendum, all counties (November 3, 2026) · North Carolina State Board of Elections
- 2026 Bond Referendum · City of Raleigh
The question and plain English statement are copied word for word from official election materials. The Gist does not take a side on ballot questions.