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That's a good idea. I would go further and think the state and city should create a service type road (and wall and tree lined buffer) to separate the expressway traffic and current retail traffic. RIRO idea with sidewalks isn't working and IMO, I don't think the current new retail will survive in the future. I think the city in the future should rezone the empty big box stores near the future transit stations for TOD. I think a new urbanism type development like Birkdale Village or Phillps Place could do well near one of the transit station along Independence even if it were BRT.

I think they should keep 485 toll-free, since it's almost complete, plus it's throwing more money at a problem that seriously needs to be addressed first, which is the state road funding formula. It's ridiculous that there was a 20 mile freeway bypass built between Wilson and Goldsboro that hardly gets any traffic (this is coming from a resident of Wilson County), while we continue to let the urban areas suffer. I think toll lanes, like the 91 Express lanes in SoCal would be good idea for expensive widening projects like I-77 south of Uptown. Plus HOV and bus rapid transit could implemented in conjunction with the HOT lanes.

This story gets crazier and crazier, now the Cabarrus County Commission and the Concord City Council are asking the state to rename Speedway Blvd to Bruton Smith Blvd, it's so funny, but really sad at the same time. I know the Speedway brings in a load of money, but is all this really necessary, lol. Here's a link to the article in the Charlotte Obsever.

Drag racing is what I would call a motorsport...; Even if it wasn't why would you buy within the vicinity of a MAJOR speedway, knowing that sometime in the future they could expand, when I like I stated before, there is plenty of land within the metro area to build on. I'm sorry I feel no love loss for these people. I don't agree with his atittude of "pick up and leave because I can't get my way", but I see his point.

I have to agree with you on that one. From reading the articles and seeing the headlines, the owner of the track does come off as a brat, who "cries" when he doesn't get his way, however, the home owners knew what they were getting themselves into when they purchased in the area. The track was there before subdivision, and it's not like the Charlotte area is pressed for space like, Southern California or Seattle where you have mountains and water limit the amount of buildable land in the area. They could have moved anywhere else in the area. What would be bad is if the track moved to somewhere else, and the existing home owners there would have to deal with the problem. Plus the plot is zoned for "motorsports". That's my problem with NIMBYs, not in my back yard (even though I knew it was already there), but someone elses it's okay. This would be a major blow to Cabarrus County, hopefully a compromised can be reached.

^ Now that you mention that doesn't make sense at all. I-485 was suppose to be mostly 2-lane to the west of I-77, but an extra lane was added, without any red tape. I don't know why they couldn't speed up the process for I-485 from at least 77 to Johnston or Providence roads.

Good to see that they are building more affordable "urban" condos, instead of just all high end luxury condos. Hopefully this will help Charlotte stand out with people looking to relocate from more expensive areas of the country, but while wanting to stay on a more "urban" environment.

I think turning it in to a North Hills type development (w/ some new stores and residential development) would help revitilize the area (in addition to stepping up safety in the area) and would compliment the streetcar nicely.

^ I agree, and Northlake would not only be affected, but so would Birkdale Village and other shopping centers around the area. I can see maybe adding something like that 10 years from now (and of course near one of the North line stations) when population around the lake is larger and support it.

Wow, that's insane! especially with all the growth in the Lake Norman area. Do you think this could change and funding could be allocated much sooner?

But what good is this if all the roads leading into the metro areas are jammed and congested all the time. It will still take a long time to deliver goods to an area. I think you are on point and I think connectivity is good in some cases like the US264 and US 64 bypasses which connect the urban areas in the state to the coast and I-95, but roads like the Henderson loop (which is suppose to en-circle Henderson) and the 117 bypass, which only bypass Pikeville and Fremont are a complete waste of money. I also think the urban areas should do a better job of growth management and finding other ways of moving people around like transit and building more mixed-use developments. In the same sense, I think it's selfish to tell the urban areas to come up with the money on their own, when they are the one's that are pumping most of the money into the state and paying for all these roads to nowhere.

I'm guessing the same as well, but wouldn't they need special permission to collect tolls on a federal funded road? The citizens of North Meck shouldn't have to fork over any extra dollars. The state gov't and NCDOT need to prioritize spending better.

I caught a story on WRAL about Henderson building some kind of loop now. Of course they use the argument that it will somehow miraculously spur development (Article). It's probably doing more harm than anything. The "freeway to nowhere" (new 117 bypass) is hurting some businesses. People who would once stop through Fremont or Pikeville for gas and goods on the old 117 no longer do. The exits aren't really close enough to justify getting off to grab a drink. This wasteful spending needs to stop. I don't understand how people justify building this stuff, especially seeing how the infrastructure of the urban areas of the state are suffering. Is there any legislation, currently in office now to change the spending formulas, like actually on paper or bill?

I also said that VDOT was far perfect, but keep in mind that we're talking about an area that's larger than any of NC's metro, plus you have a lot thru-traffic using I-95, that's why you see a lot of traffic delays during non-rush hour periods. I'm very familar with the HOV merge that dumps the traffic in the left lane, which is a terrible design flaw, but I think it was only meant to be temporary since plans are now in the works to extend the lanes further down. Despite that, the HOV lanes have been one of the most successful in the country and carry more people than the SOV lanes. The Beltway is also in the process of being widen with HOT lanes. I know the NCDOT has discussed HOT lanes, toll roads, and adding more HOV lanes, but I wish they would get the ball rolling and move into the 21st century in terms of roading planning and building. I see other state's implementing these ideas, but we seem to be behind. We can't just widen and pave our way out of congestion forever.

Thanks for the advice. I got experience the traffic on the beltway and 95 the other morning during a test run, needless to say it wasn't a pleasant drive, lol. Also tried taking the back roads in the evening, which weren't better either if not worse, lol, so I'll probably end up looking for a job that's closer to my uncle's house in Woodbridge until I get my own place. And to think my cousin, was talking about getting a place in Ladysmith, hahah.