CATS Long Term Transit Plan - Silver, Red Lines

[carolinaboy]

Maybe Charlotte should give up on the idea of light-rail as a people mover and let it be what it has been, an economic development engine. Forget the 8 billion to build out the silver line and only build a segment from the airport to a blue line station in uptown. Put money and effort into improving the service already available. New trains, higher frequency, more capacity, more frequent maintenance, expansion/upgrade of existing stations, better paid operators, maintenance, security people, fix the tracking app, better signage...............

Put money into BRT and improving the current bus system. 

Make heavy rail a priority (commuter/passenger) and finish Gateway Station.

Feels like all of this could be achieved for much less than 8 billion.

[15895]

 

https://www.governing.com/transportation/transit-funding-minnesota-budget-metro-gas-tax

Mass Transit about to get a huge boost in funding in Minnesota; an additional $450M/year. It includes changes to gas taxes, a new interjurisdictional commissions, etc. 
 

““The agency has been underfunded for so long that the ability to think big has just been squashed. They haven’t had the resources to be able to deliver on a big vision, so in a way, why waste the time creating it? We now have a completely different paradigm, and we need to make sure that the transit agency feels empowered to go big,” Rockwell says.”

Funding, obviously, is probably the root of our complaints for CATS. Though unfortunately, I don’t see that happening soon due to the NC GOP. Leaving us to fight over Pennies.

Edited June 1, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[kermit]

CBJ had a nice story on the current Council views of the mobility plan. TLDR: we are going nowhere and expect to see any increased sales tax to mostly go to roads (I thought that was what gas tax was for?)  and expect bike infrastructure to stagnate or shrink.

Quote

Three years after it was unveiled by city leaders, the plan currently has the unequivocal support of five of 11 Charlotte City Council members and Mayor Vi Lyles. Four council members told CBJ they do not support the plan; two more say they support it if adjustments can be made to the mix of projects, which would in the end be a different plan.

All agree there’s little chance of advancing its key funding mechanism — an additional 1 cent sales tax that requires state legislative approval — until the city gets its existing transit system in order.

That is where the consensus ends.

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2023/06/08/charlotte-area-transit-system-light-rail-roads.html

Edited June 10, 2023 by kermit

[RANYC]

12 hours ago, kermit said:

CBJ had a nice story on the current Council views of the mobility plan. TLDR: we are going nowhere and expect to see any increased sales tax to mostly go to roads (I thought that was what gas tax was for?)  and expect bike infrastructure to stagnate or shrink.

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2023/06/08/charlotte-area-transit-system-light-rail-roads.html

I read this article as well.  The article's points are pretty obvious.  CATS has been framed as a high-profile disaster for a while now, and given CATS was essentially going to be the executor of the bulk of the Transit Plan, of course there's little confidence in the plan as designed by the Gantt Commission.  Unfortunately, a credible transit plan will need new leadership, IMO.  I don't think this mayor is the one to do it.  She should take her UDO victory, pack it up and go home. 

In addition, a "roads first" strategy doesn't have to be just big, Florida-style boulevards cutting through genteel neighborhoods.  It might also be better-designed roads with traffic calming inherent in their configurations, with wider sidewalks and tree-covered medians to compensate for the fact that Duke Energy has butchered a sizable share of our streetscape canopy.  Additional roads could be implemented to nudge us closer to a grid pattern in certain parts of town, better distributing traffic and mitigating bottlenecks.  Roads-first could mean more textured, patterned, or colored roads shown to reduce speeds and improve pedestrian confidence, and such a strategy could be implemented across the 300 square miles of the city versus a narrow, linear snake of a transit line.  Roads-first might also include adjacent, protected bike lanes.  A de-emphasis of the Silver Line might actually free up funding for a massive acceleration of the greenway network, widely popular across many constituencies in the city and its own means of mobility.

It is also my belief that young people today are being subconsciously programmed to watch their backs in a society where you're fewer and fewer degrees removed from a mass shooting victim and mass shooting trauma.  As a result, the waning appetite to be confined in shared public spaces for something like mobility is quite likely to carry forward into the next generation.  Consequently, if I were a trading man, I'd be bearish mass transit usage and favorability toward it.

Edited June 11, 2023 by RANYC

[atlrvr]

^^^ Said differently, the current economic development engine and mobility enhancement in South End isn't actually the LRT, but the Rail Trail at 1/50th(?) the cost and none of the operating headaches.

[JRCLT]

5 minutes ago, atlrvr said:

^^^ Said differently, the current economic development engine and mobility enhancement in South End isn't actually the LRT, but the Rail Trail at 1/50th(?) the cost and none of the operating headaches.

MORE TRAILS & GREENWAYS!!!

[davidclt]

Even Lynx isn't immune to bad parkers. This van from Florida parked on the sidewalk delayed our train just past the convention center by 5 minutes today. So not just stupid but rude. 

[RANYC]

43 minutes ago, davidclt said:

Even Lynx isn't immune to bad parkers. This van from Florida parked on the sidewalk delayed our train just past the convention center by 5 minutes today. So not just stupid but rude. 

Florida indeed 

[KJHburg]

read this headline from an attendee at the CNU convention 

""What Los Angeles Transit Could Learn From Charlotte""

https://commonedge.org/what-los-angeles-transit-could-learn-from-charlotte/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

[RANYC]

7 hours ago, KJHburg said:

read this headline from an attendee at the CNU convention 

""What Los Angeles Transit Could Learn From Charlotte""

https://commonedge.org/what-los-angeles-transit-could-learn-from-charlotte/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Please send this link to City Council, CDOT, NCDOT, and the State Legislature.  Also, did anyone from the State Legislature get invited to the CNU?  Might have been a worthy attempt at outreach to invite them along.

I loved what the writer said about how Charlotte's transit line creates warm & inviting interactions for transit riders through its integrations with the adjacent built environment.  He's right, there's something appealing about segregating the rail experience from cars.  Sadly, as I read many of the points he made, it made me increasingly bearish about extending the Gold Line. Instead we may want to focus on rail segregation from car traffic.  It's the same reason the greenways should be a priority - and frankly, I believe we may need wider greenways to accommodate both walkers/jogger, mechanical bikes and e-bikes.

Edited June 16, 2023 by RANYC

[kayman]

13 hours ago, RANYC said:

Please send this link to City Council, CDOT, NCDOT, and the State Legislature.  Also, did anyone from the State Legislature get invited to the CNU?  Might have been a worthy attempt at outreach to invite them along.

I loved what the writer said about how Charlotte's transit line creates warm & inviting interactions for transit riders through its integrations with the adjacent built environment.  He's right, there's something appealing about segregating the rail experience from cars.  Sadly, as I read many of the points he made, it made me increasingly bearish about extending the Gold Line. Instead we may want to focus on rail segregation from car traffic.  It's the same reason the greenways should be a priority - and frankly, I believe we may need wider greenways to accommodate both walkers/jogger, mechanical bikes and e-bikes.

Agreed we do need rail that is segregated and grade-separated as well.  It's the only way to further create  such an experience

[15895]

The only way any rail expansion happens in Charlotte is with a Democratic Majority in North Carolina, and a Democratic governor. I mean. At least according to Tim Moore. It’s just that simple. Democratic Majority = Silver Line. Republican Majority = No Silver Line. 

I just don’t see NC getting a Democratic trifecta for the foreseeable future. I mean. Even people on this board rave about the performance of NC, etc. The Democrats would just have a totally different vision for NC focused on sustainability, Equity, green policies (pro-density, pro mass transit, pro investment  in greenways etc), raise corporate taxes, etc. NC Democrats have been very clear on those agendas. The biggest cheerleaders on here for Charlotte, the things they tout just don’t even match the priorities of NC Democrats so it’s hard to imagine them galvanizing broad support to win a trifecta. For example raising the corporate tax rate alone would have NC go down the list on business friendly states and that’s a top legislative priority for them. Business friendly Ranking list are like a holy grail for some folks. 
 

NC Democrats are ready to go full steam ahead with mass transit otherwise (See Senate Bill 643 https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2023/S643 )

Currently, 94% of transit funding goes to highways in NC. The NC Democrats want to change that to require 20% of transit funding go to non-highway projects. Particularly. They stress that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach and that urban areas need more investment in mass transit, bike lanes and alternative forms of transportation as the grow and densify. 

Their bill would also:

- lift the cap from using .5% local tax for transit to 1%

- Eliminate a provision that currently bars NCDOT from spending non federal $’s on pedestrian & bike projects that aren’t tied to road improvements for cars. 

- Remove the funding criteria that NCDOT uses to prioritize projects which is currently weighted towards width and lanes for roads & it would add environmental quality as part of the funding formula. 

There ya go. There’s your blue print to the silver line. 

Per the NC GOP:

“If you put more bike lanes in, that doesn’t mean more people are going to ride their bikes to work — that’s not going to happen,” Moore said, according to Charlotte NPR station WFAE. “You need to build and expand roads because we are driving cars.”

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[kermit]

Taylor Swift: transit advocacy superstar

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/passenger_rail/news/Taylor-Swift-fans-boost-ridership-on-US-transit-agencies--69529

Edited June 23, 2023 by kermit

[DCMetroRaleigh]

On 6/16/2023 at 6:33 PM, AirNostrumMAD said:

Per the NC GOP:

“If you put more bike lanes in, that doesn’t mean more people are going to ride their bikes to work — that’s not going to happen,” Moore said, according to Charlotte NPR station WFAE. “You need to build and expand roads because we are driving cars.”

 

He needs to stick to topics he knows. Like group sex.

[JRCLT]

17 hours ago, DCMetroRaleigh said:

He needs to stick to topics he knows. Like group sex.

How does he think cars became more popular…?? or does he think cars have always existed…wouldn’t put it past him after he said that about bike infrastructure.

[videtur quam contuor]

My paternal grandparents (b. 1869 and 1871) married in 1895 in Indianapolis where their families had moved a few years before from other locations to the thriving industrial city. 1890's were a time of bicycle craze:

https://www.si.edu/stories/19th-century-bicycle-craze

For their honeymoon they cycled from Indianapolis to Madison, In*, the birthplace of my grandfather and where his extended family lived. It is today ~90 miles. More about this I do not know. 

There was a time when bicycles were king and motor vehicles were the uncommon and disfavored method of transport.

(Perhaps you had an adventurous honeymoon. Would you attempt this on the bicycles of that time and not those of today?)

*This is not the place to describe it but if you have any interest in visiting the 1890's today it can be done in Madison, Indiana. It has not changed and has been protected and preserved for quite some time once the residents realized what they had.

edit: NONE of my four grandparents ever drove a car. My maternal grandfather was a farmer and in later years operated a Ford tractor. That was it. I knew all these people though my paternal G-father died when I was three so my memory of him is from the comments of other family members and photos of he and I together. 

Edited June 24, 2023 by videtur quam contuor

[KJHburg]

consulting fees a part of driving up transit costs.

https://www.wfae.org/politics/2023-06-29/consultants-fees-add-to-light-rail-costs-for-the-silver-line-in-charlotte

[Matthew.Brendan]

ahh yes Consulting.

noun: grift;

1. a petty or small-scale swindle.

[southslider]

On 6/30/2023 at 10:18 AM, Matthew.Brendan said:

noun: grift;

1. a petty or small-scale swindle.

See also Steve Harrison's "reporting"

[CltFlyer]

On 6/16/2023 at 6:33 PM, AirNostrumMAD said:

 

Currently, 94% of transit funding goes to highways in NC. The NC Democrats want to change that to require 20% of transit funding go to non-highway projects. Particularly. They stress that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach and that urban areas need more investment in mass transit, bike lanes and alternative forms of transportation as the grow and densify. 
 

 

94% of all funding goes to highways, but the best they could muster for I-77 was adding toll lanes built by a sketchy overseas company while also eliminating HOV lanes too????

[kayman]

18 hours ago, CltFlyer said:

94% of all funding goes to highways, but the best they could muster for I-77 was adding toll lanes built by a sketchy overseas company while also eliminating HOV lanes too????

I am still puzzled as to why we don't have HOV lanes.

[Desert Power]

On 6/30/2023 at 10:18 AM, Matthew.Brendan said:

ahh yes Consulting.

noun: grift;

1. a petty or small-scale swindle.

The no-bid contract is with InfraStrategies, a California-based transit consultant, for “financial modeling.” The consultancy is run by former Charlotte Area Transit System chief executive Carolyn Flowers.

Yup.

[southslider]

On 7/2/2023 at 3:30 PM, CltFlyer said:

94% of all funding goes to highways, but the best they could muster for I-77 was adding toll lanes built by a sketchy overseas company while also eliminating HOV lanes too????

The express lanes are open to HOV 3+ for free (NC Quick Pass transponder set to HOV), plus motorcycles and CATS Buses

[tito_m9]

On 7/5/2023 at 10:48 AM, southslider said:

The express lanes are open to HOV 3+ for free (NC Quick Pass transponder set to HOV), plus motorcycles and CATS Buses

This still doesn't fix the REST of charlotte though. Why doesn't 85 or the rest of 77 south have HOV lanes?

[kermit]

3 minutes ago, tito_m9 said:

This still doesn't fix the REST of charlotte though. Why doesn't 85 or the rest of 77 south have HOV lanes?

because none of our political leadership (local or state) has the sack to take lanes away from cars (even for HOV).