[Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line]

^I agree. I think a full funding grant should be pursued by CATS. You couldn't ask for a better time than now to go for it. Yea, there's no way service for the extension could be ready by Sept 2012.

If some progress has been made, couldn't they allow the trains to run? For example, let's say that as we extend northwards, we can get to NoDa. Why not just call that the end of the line until the full line is open?

--Joey

[Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line]

Any chance now that Charlotte gets the convention that we could have the Blue Line extended to NoDa by 9/3/2012? The timetable for the whole thing is/was 2016 so what do you all think?

--Joey

[CATS Long Term Transit Plan - Silver, Red Lines]

Have there been any polls on the LYNX Blue line approval lately?

--Joey

[CATS Long Term Transit Plan - Silver, Red Lines]

I think he meant why BRT ridership is higher than LRT ridership if either or is placed on Independence. CATS did project that BRT will have a slightly better ridership, they have been for years,

Yup... from Wikipedia

By 2006, a study released by the Charlotte Area Transit System indicated that the cost of light rail along the corridor would be roughly double that of a busway and have fewer riders.^[7] The estimates stated light rail on Independence would be 12.7 miles (20.4 km) in length at a cost of $585 million, with a projected ridership of 14,400 in 2030; and stated a busway would be 13.5 miles (21.7 km) in length at a cost of $315 to $325 million, with a projected ridership of 16,000 in 2030.^[7] By September 2006, the MTC voted to delay on determining whether a busway or light rail should be built along the corridor until 2011.^[8]

^{I don't understand why fewer people would use LRT than BRT unless it is the extra mile on the busway that makes the difference.}

--Joey

[Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line]

Does anyone have photos of the developments along the Blue line before and after style? Or better yet, a video? I recently moved from Tampa and we are voting on a penny tax this November. It would be helpful in the "comments war"on each article to show Charlotte's progress since we are pretty similar in size and density.

--Joey

[CATS Long Term Transit Plan - Silver, Red Lines]

Why does CATS say that BRT in the SE corridor would draw more people than LRT?

--Joey

[CATS Long Term Transit Plan - Silver, Red Lines]

An interesting article appeared in today's Tampa paper on Charlotte as a model for LRT transit development (Tampa votes in November on LRT funding). It constantly surprises me when other cities hold us up as a model of success while our expansion plans are so stagnant. I have to wonder what role good PR on Charlotte's part plays in some of these stories. For example:

Other than the Sierra and UNCC, I can't think of anything that is still under construction along the blue line, where am I overlooking $522 million worth of steel and concrete?

Its getting incredibly frustrating to watch the remainder of the world hold up Charlotte as a shining example of what LRT can do while we just continue to push back the creation of a real network due to cyclical revenue issues. So I have to ask why aren't we looking for alternative funding sources? If there really is so much construction why not use some TIF bonds? What about municipal service districts? What about just a straight up bonding out the current revenue stream? Why can't Charlotte, of all places, serve as an example of innovative transit finance as well?

EDIT: Forgot the link to the story: http://www2.tbo.com/...train-as-asset/

Hey guys,

Long time lurker first time poster...

I am a native Tampan this issue has interested me a lot and I have been following Charlotte's progress since opening day. I split my time these days between Charlotte (gf) and SC. While no doubt it is disappointing that the BLE has been so slow in coming, you have to realize we have nothing like the South End with a reasonable transit connection into our core. Our closest approximation may be Channelside. We have a streetcar which is mostly for tourists connecting Channelside, the aquarium and Ybor (picture a bigger, Latin NoDa). The only problem is that people who do live in Ybor or Channelside (and there aren't a ton) can't commute to Downtown because the streetcar starts running at 9am. Moreover, up until now it stopped blocks short of downtown with a big ol' imposing overpass between the skyscrapers and the end of the line.

Since there is a chance Charlotte will be my future hometown I am curious as to the 2030 plan. If I am reading it right, will there only be ONE light rail line? Everything else is BRT, Commuter rail, or streetcars?

--Joey