Okay, LKN crew—grab your iced coffee, put your feet up on the dock, and let’s talk taxes. (Wait! Don’t close the tab. I promise this is the most fun you’ll ever have reading about a ballot measure.)

Here’s the deal: Mecklenburg County Commissioners just voted 8-1 to put a 1-cent sales tax increase on the ballot this November. That means you and I will get to decide if we want to chip in a little more to (hopefully) get a whole lot more in return—like better roads, rail lines (hello, Red Line, we see you 👀), and buses that don’t make us feel like we’re on a never-ending episode of Survivor: Commute Edition.

Picture this: 40% of that $25 billion plan goes toward roads (because we all know I-77 needs more than a prayer), 40% goes to rail (North Meck, your moment has arrived), and 20% will fund buses and “microtransit”—a fancy word for “Uber but make it public.” And yes, that includes on-demand ride options for folks who don’t live near bus routes.

Now, the average household would pay about $240 more a year, which breaks down to roughly one overpriced lakefront brunch per month. Low-income households would pay closer to $130. And in exchange, we get a shot at a future with less honking and more hopping on light rail to Panthers games (because let’s be honest, parking uptown is a nightmare).

The Yes crowd showed up in force at the Government Center this week—think matching T-shirts, full speeches, the works. Some folks weren’t as jazzed, like former city councilman Braxton Winston, who suggested a smaller tax bump instead. And Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell gave it a hard pass, pointing out that towns like Matthews won’t even get a piece of the Silver Line pie.

Still, the measure passed the vote to get on the ballot. Now it’s our turn.

So, what does this have to do with life on the lake? Well, whether you’re a pontoon-partying, small-business-shopping, or latte-sipping kind of local, traffic touches us all. And if you’ve ever tried to get from Jetton to Uptown on a Friday at 4 p.m., you know: the current system is not it.

This November, vote however you want. Just don’t sit it out. Because nothing kills the vibe like avoidable gridlock.

See you on the dock—and maybe, someday, on the Red Line.