South Light Rail Transit

[nyxmike]

They should consider implementing commuter rail to Rock Hill before they widen I-77 in 20whoknowswhen, because traffic is going to be horrible, and it will give people the option to take the train.

[nyxmike]

They should think about extending the North commuter line to Rock Hill before they start construction on I-77 in 20whoknowswhen, because traffic is going to be horrible and it will give people the option to use the train and avoid the mess.

[Mike D]

They should consider implementing commuter rail to Rock Hill before they widen I-77 in 20whoknowswhen, because traffic is going to be horrible, and it will give people the option to take the train.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Excellent suggestion - because that way you give people the option of trying it out. If the commuter trains come with nice amenities, like reclining seats, tables and places to put their coffees or plug in their laptops - and of course, friendly conductors - it would go a long way toward building a loyal, strong customer base.

[dubone]

They should consider implementing commuter rail to Rock Hill before they widen I-77 in 20whoknowswhen, because traffic is going to be horrible, and it will give people the option to take the train.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

77 south of downtown will be widenened around 2030. (literally).

i'm not sure i see the correlation between that section and rock hill, because SC's section is already 8 lanes. SC commuters can go to the 485 park and ride for light rail.

That said, i think commuter rail or a light rail extension is something i think SC may do, though. I hope all the corridors eventually have commuter rail extensions to go further out into the metro. I think the NE line may not go one, though, as they are getting high speed rail... so Triangle, Triad, Salisbury, Kanapolis, and Concord commuters could easily take that to the "Charlotte Gateway Station" in a decade or so. (I'm sure they'll look at the Talgo trains if they have similar speeds and better reliability to the Acela).

[nyxmike]

77 south of downtown will be widenened around 2030.  (literally). 

i'm not sure i see the correlation between that section and rock hill, because SC's section is already 8 lanes.  SC commuters can go to the 485 park and ride for light rail.

That said, i think commuter rail or a light rail extension is something i think SC may do, though.  I hope all the corridors eventually have commuter rail extensions to go further out into the metro.  I think the NE line may not go one, though, as they are getting high speed rail... so Triangle, Triad, Salisbury, Kanapolis, and Concord commuters could easily take that to the "Charlotte Gateway Station" in a decade or so.  (I'm sure they'll look at the Talgo trains if they have similar speeds and better reliability to the Acela).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

True, it is 8 lanes in SC, but its 6 in NC, and thats where the traffic is, and as the years go by, traffic in the morning will begin to extend furthur into SC, especially since it goes from 4 lanes to 3 (bottleneck). Plus, is there really a need for more people driving on 485??

I can't believe they are going to wait until around 2030, it's going to be a nightmare...

[dubone]

that part of 77 south of town is THE poster child for how NC's road funding rule is messed up. If charlotte were to widen 77 now, as it is already needed, literally NO other project could be built in this region for a couple years. It is just so expensive. that is why it is pushed out beyond the 2025 horizon, so that other projects can be built as needed.

The South Blvd light rail is the only salve for that corridor for the next few decades. I cannot imagine commuting on that freeway 20 years from now. 400m will pennies against its economic usefulness over its lifetime.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

20 Years?!? Charlotte is supposed to have over a million people in the city proper and we are going to have 77 as the current size? God help us.

Your right about the LR, totally right. I agree with everything you just said.

[cltlvr]

Well, its official. This morning at 11am the FFGA was signed at the Tremont Trolley Station. This will gurantee $193M in federal funding for the South LRT. The State has already guranteed its share of the project. Now that the funding is secure for the South Line its on to the other lines to line up funding for them.

http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/A...s/PR+5_5_05.htm

[Raintree21]

Sen. Dole in town for light rail grant

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

[Raintree21]

Tober discusses light rail funding

Charlotte is going to have to pay ore than it thought for its light rail, and Charlotte Area Transit System Director Ron Tober spoke in depth Friday about how the city will fund the project.

To hear what he had to say, watch the video.

What? Charlotte has to pay MORE than expected for light rail? Go figure.

[cltlvr]

Interesting...I watched the video and he never says that we are going to have to pay more for it.

[Raintree21]

Interesting...I watched the video and he never says that we are going to have to pay more for it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I guess News14 got their facts wrong?

[cltlvr]

Well we are paying more for it than we originally thought...but that is old news....so not sure exactly what they are talking about.

[twincity]

Charlotte gets $193 million toward its light-rail system

One of four cities to win a prized grant to build a light-rail system, Charlotte received $193 million in federal money yesterday that will pay for nearly half of its project. By April 2007, Charlotte riders should be able to board the electric-powered trains. The 9.6-mile line will have 15 stations between downtown and Interstate 485, near Pineville.Along with Charlotte, New York, Phoenix and Pittsburgh also got federal money to develop light-rail projects. The Charlotte Area Transit System is already exploring development prospects on the four other planned corridors, which will need a similar amount of federal and state support.

[Raintree21]

McCrory cheers light-rail kickoff

McCrory cheers light-rail kickoff

At ceremony, he recalls hectic push for project: `Today, I'm at peace'

RICHARD RUBIN

Staff Writer

Charlotte's Tremont Avenue will never be Utah's Promontory Point, and Friday morning's Golden Spike ceremony wasn't nearly as dramatic as the 1869 creation of the transcontinental railroad.

But it was important nonetheless, marking the official beginning of the city's light-rail project and the handover of $193 million in federal money.

A giddy Mayor Pat McCrory remembered the emergency trips to Washington, the constant phone calls and the possibility that Charlotte might not meet the requirements for the federal grant agreement signed Friday.

"There were moments where I was worried that the financial, political and sweat equity that we had put in was for naught," said McCrory, a Republican who has been pushing for transit since he was elected 10 years ago. "Today, I'm at peace."

[dubone]

I noticed that a new website was put up for South Light Rail construction

http://www.charlottefuture.com/

It has a construction update section, as well as others that might be interesting.

[SmellyCat]

Cool. Love the map...its use of 45 and 90 degree angles (even for the angle-challenged I-485) reminds me of the London Underground maps.

[dubone]

Cool.  Love the map...its use of 45 and 90 degree angles (even for the angle-challenged I-485) reminds me of the London Underground maps.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i agree. i also loved that they used true north, making uptown a diamond. for some reason, it is hard to tell in a real map, because 77 goes ture north for much of its route.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

nice site. They are building bridges right now.

[dubone]

it is exciting that we are now seeing the evidence of its "official"-ness, even though it has been officially u/c for a bit.

[dubone]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/11766495.htm

...and more light rail news....

this one is from Dianne "The Chicken Little of Road News" Whitacre. She never saw an orange barrell that didn't destroy drivers' lives.

Also the SCIP webpage has lots of updates (as mentioned in the article), which give specific info on each mini-project.

[dubone]

in a CBJ interview, Ron Tober gave some impressive facts that display the value of South LRT over widening 77, as many [ironically] fiscal conservatives seem to want...

- The South Corridor light-rail line will cost $44 million per mile.

- The reconstruction of Independence Boulevard is projected to cost $43 million per mile...

- Adding a single lane to Interstate 77 South is projected to cost $650 million for the 10-mile segment to Interstate 485 or $65 million per mile.

That single lane on I-77 has a capacity during peak hour of 2,200 people whereas the South Corridor light-rail line will have a capacity of 8,600 people in the peak hour. This is approximately four times the capacity of a single lane of interstate highway during peak hour. And customers are not subject to delays due to congestion. Investing in high-capacity rapid-transit in our major travel corridors is actually more efficient.

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte...editorial3.html

I think that is VERY compelling, and has always been THE reason for LRT on that corridor, with density and revitalization being gravy on top. Those are some serious numbers.

I think the main problem is that no one ever considers just how dang expensive and inefficient freeways are.

[nyxmike]

Over the weekend, I heard an update about the status of the CATS mass transit plan from someone in Charlotte who follows these things very closely. There were several things that he mentioned that I hadn't already heard.

Firstly, the idea of streetcars in the west corridor is apprently very popular among the public and the agency. People don't seem to care that it's slower than LRT; they just like the idea of having vehicles on rails.

He also said that if there's one corridor that's most likely to end up with BRT as the technology, it's the Southeast/Independence corridor. The public is pretty much in favor of LRT, so a privately funded group has hired a consultant to look for ways to cut costs on the LRT alternative in order to bring it back in line with the BRT alternative.

Lastly, and this is news to me, there is a sixth leg of the CATS transit network currently in the Major Investment Study phase. This is the commuter rail/DMU line from Rock Hill through Fort Mill and Pineville to the future Charlotte Intermodal Station on W Trade. He said when the study is supposed to be complete, but I forgot to write it down so I don't remember. There is a chance that this line will happen sooner than you might think, depending on how much South Carolina helps out.

I think what you read is that it might share the stop at the I-485 station(or Tyvola - not sure which one), and then continue on to the multi-modal station. I doubt they would end it at I-485 - transfering there would make no sense. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I am pretty sure SC would help out because I think they are the ones who wanted the study completed in the first place. I just have a feeling that a line to Rock Hill would have a lot ridership, plus it will be needed later on since I-77 won't be widened until after 2025

Wouldn't it be nice to go from Rock Hill to Mooresville (hopefully, if Iredell County wakes up)? There is just so much potential there (especially if it connects to the South Corridor Light Rail) - for example, you can live in SC and work at Lowe's HQ, or use it to visit friends by either lake without having to drive so far and waste gas.

[orulz]

Wouldn't it be nice to go from Rock Hill to Mooresville (hopefully, if Iredell County wakes up)? There is just so much potential there (especially if it connects to the South Corridor Light Rail) - for example, you can live in SC and work at Lowe's HQ, or use it to visit friends by either lake without having to drive so far and waste gas.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have high hopes for commuter rail in Charlotte. It could serve as a base for far more comprehensive rail service throughout the whole state, and a mass transportation network the likes of which this part of the country hasn't seen since passenger trains started getting canceled in the 1940s.

Sure, cars are nice and the american dream and economic something ya da ya da ya. I, too, was fine with all that when I lived an Asheville, and I still love driving for recreation's sake (on a curvy, empty mountain road). But something I've come to learn since I moved to Raleigh is that, on the whole, I hate driving. I hate traffic and I loathe every second I spend stuck in it, I hate road hogs, I hate that the "flow of traffic" means going 15mph over the speed limit, I hate red lights, I hate road construction barrels, I hate worrying about gas prices, I hate worrying about car troubles, I hate dealing with tractor trailers, I hate billboards every 100yds along the interstate... That's a whole lot of "hate"s and a whole lot of stress that I just don't want to deal with.

I want to be able to reach my destination without having to think about any of that. I don't care if it takes twice as long as driving, and I honestly don't care if it costs more than buying gas; as long as the system is simple, efficient, and above all comprehensive, I'll be satisfied.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

here, here.