Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line

[tozmervo]

There were a few days a long while back (December?) where the trains centered on the platforms, rather than pulling to the end. That seemed to work really well and was very convenient. I guess that's why they went back to pulling to the end

[New Name]

Somewhat related: there is going to be a photo exhibit called "Life on the Line" by a local photographer at 1318 Central Ave #A8 tonight 3/8. Plaza Midwood is having an art crawl and this is part of it I am told.

[Raintree21]

CATS has decided to change up it's warning system on Lynx when it passes through residential areas. Instead of the horn, it will now use bells as a warning device. At big intersections like Clanton Road, it will still use the horn.

[tozmervo]

I bet the folks in 3030 South are popping champagne

[MZT]

3030 is one thing, but the horns are not really that noisy for most people. My old home in Starmount was basically 2 residential streets away from the tracks. You had to pay attention to even notice the horns. Ambulance and Fire Truck sirens on South Blvd, are worse.

Edited March 11, 2008 by MZT

[tarik]

The UNCC diversion bewilders me. The environmental impact of this tangent off the line, in my opinion, could be avoided if CATS had the progressive stance of asking UNCC to create an inter-university bus/ shuttle system, such as any other large/growing campus. The electric limo golf carts don't cut it...

[monsoon]

^Without a station directly on UNCC's campus, the NE LRT will not have the ridership to possibly qualify for federal funding. That is why you see the odd loop in the line to place a station in the center of the campus. The Feds changed the rules since the South LRT was built to much more tighter requirements and they need this part or the line simply would not get built. BTW, the South LRT would not have qualified either.

CATS and other organizations have tried various local bus schemes in the University area over the years and they all failed because people would not ride them. I think it was a combination of bad implementation, and the fact the area around the campus is completely designed for the automobile.

[uptownliving]

I would also add that CATS has been running an Inter UNCC shuttle for over a year now. They use the Goldrush sized buses to run 3 different routes. If there wasn't some type of succus with these shuttles then they would not be running them anymore.

You can look at the Campus Shuttle Map here.

The have not done an in depth environmental study yet on the UNCC portion...however as part of the Preliminary Engineering they will be doing that so we will get a better picture of the environmental impact of crossing the creek and wetlands.

I agree with monsoon that if they don't have a direct connection to the main UNCC campus then their chances of getting Federal Funding drop tremendously.

[dubone]

It seems odd that an electric train crossing a little tributary would be seen as something so environmentally damaging that it shouldn't be done. Electric vehicles do not have those fun little drips you see from cars and trucks at every stop light. The track bed is made from stones which allow water to permeate through, and the concrete and steel of the tracks are stable and don't drip the nasty stuff that the non-permeable asphalt does for roads. How many roads cross through in that area and people are worried about some tracks for electric vehicles on environmental grounds?

The NE line would not have anywhere close to the value to the city if it dropped the UNCC connection. If the alternative is a better shuttle that takes students to a station on Tryon, then you'd need a road to connect (which I have already mentioned would be worse for the environment). Otherwise, you'd have the shuttle routes take the current roads to Tryon, which would be significantly longer and less convenient, which would reduce the ridership.

Putting the line onto UNCC's campus is a very good thing for connecting the campus to the city and providing a significant reverse-commute destination. Without that, the NE line would not only fail to meet federal standards, but would not really be worth it.

I do agree with earlier comments that strategically, the MTC and CATS should have focused on simply staying in the railroad corridor all the way to 485. That would provide better options for inevitable extensions to Cabarrus county, and would be close enough to UNCC's academic buildings that it might have not needed to leave the corridor. But who knows, maybe by not being near the other stuff on Tryon like the hospital would have been even more of a loss that a simpler all-rail corridor could not have made up for.

But we all know how it evolved, and so to get this LRT to connect with UNCC, crossing that natural area is the only way to do it.

[staffer]

The UNCC diversion bewilders me. The environmental impact of this tangent off the line, in my opinion, could be avoided if CATS had the progressive stance of asking UNCC to create an inter-university bus/ shuttle system, such as any other large/growing campus. The electric limo golf carts don't cut it...

I do not see running service through the UNCC campus as being a "diversion". It would clearly be the largest trip generator along the line, and requiring bus transfers for any of the tens of thousands of potential users on campus (students, faculty, staff, visitors, etc) greatly cuts down ridership. While one should not minimize stream protection, everything has to be weighed in balance.

[Windsurfer]

I do not see running service through the UNCC campus as being a "diversion". It would clearly be the largest trip generator along the line, and requiring bus transfers for any of the tens of thousands of potential users on campus (students, faculty, staff, visitors, etc) greatly cuts down ridership. While one should not minimize stream protection, everything has to be weighed in balance.

If they would only elevate the track! Just think how cool it would be to look down on some natural land for a change. I guess all those woods and streams will soon be eaten up by UNCC's ambition anyway.

[Andyc545]

The UNCC diversion bewilders me. The environmental impact of this tangent off the line, in my opinion, could be avoided if CATS had the progressive stance of asking UNCC to create an inter-university bus/ shuttle system, such as any other large/growing campus. The electric limo golf carts don't cut it...

Like uptown living said, we have 3 routes and a very nice bus system that is heavily used. I ride it every so often and it they are usually running full. It's quite a hike from the main campus to the research campus without it. Not only do we have the gold rush busses, but there are express busses too. Also on campus, are several bus routes going to and from the University to other areas around UCity and Uptown. With the addition of LYNX, this is only going to help the university and connect it more efficiently, so students that can't afford 4 bucks a gallon of gas can still go to classes, as well as live/work uptown (since we do have a high working population that are students). The loop onto campus was one of the most genius ideas behind the whole project, as it added tremendous ridership that helped increase the chances of federal funding (like mentioned). If not mistaken, it added something in the 5000 riders per day range. I'd have to go back and read that report to say for sure though. It also helps connect the University to other areas and restraunts where students that live on campus can now have a little freedom to see what's off. I know I'm partial, since I'm a student, but I really think it will do wonders for the whole city of Charlotte.

[monsoon]

....as it added tremendous ridership that helped increase the chances of federal funding (like mentioned). If not mistaken, it added something in the 5000 riders per day range. .....

It was 2,200 riders by 2025. That added just barely enough riders for the models to qualify the line for a request for funding assuming they can contain the costs of building it.

[dubone]

I'll be interested to see how the numbers turn out given the higher factors they get to use from the experience of the current blue line. The 2200 bonus from UNCC and the 17k total (or whatever it was) were the numbers estimated up front before we had true local experience.

I'm also sort of curious how the next year or two will play out for federal politics. We now have all 3 remaining presidential contenders believing in Global Warming and the need to do something about it (we'll see whether any put their money where their mouth is, or whether they'll make the connect that transit is an important factor in that.). However, we also have massive deficits, so I'm not sure we'll see a major boost in infrastructure funding.

[Raintree21]

If they would only elevate the track! Just think how cool it would be to look down on some natural land for a change. I guess all those woods and streams will soon be eaten up by UNCC's ambition anyway.

While I'm sure it would be more expensive and a logistical nightmare, I agree. It would be nice to have it up on pillars or something to have the track elevated and above the wetlands, not only to give a view, but to minimize the disruption of the natural area below.

[tozmervo]

WSOC is reporting that Lynx ridership was up 18% in February over January. And that's despite February being two days shorter. They also said CATS presold 20,000 special weekend Lynx tickets. Holy. Crap. It might be easier to drive uptown this weekend!

[Mobuchu]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but I rode the Lynx down to SRW today and every park and ride was completely full (actually, couldn't see Tyvola, but the others were). To the point where there were cars parked along the curbs. After very light turnout for the first couple months in the lots, the tourny has shown their need.

Edited March 14, 2008 by Mobuchu

[Neo]

^And I'm not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but I rode the Lynx down to SRW today and every park and ride was completely full (actually, couldn't see Tyvola, but the others were). To the point where there were cars parked along the curbs. After very light turnout for the first couple months in the lots, the tourny has shown their need.

It is really great to hear about the lots being slammed, but a bit worrysome too as it sort of maxes out the capacity. If you can't find a place to park and ride then you're not going to be riding. My wife and I have a reservation for dinner on Saturday so I'm hoping we can find a place to park at the Tyvola station.

[MZT]

The Tyvola lot is in two sections... one under the tracks that most people use, and another next to the First Citizens' bank building off South Blvd. This morning, there was ONE car parked in the extra lot. So, plenty of room there.

[rockhilljames]

Honest to goodness, I drove to lunch today (RuSans) and the platforms we passed by were PACKED. The entire Woodlawn platformed was FILLED with people, as was the next two stations. I didn't envy trying to cram into those trains.

[tozmervo]

I can verify that I did, in fact, have to let a train roll on by me because there was absolutely no room for myself or the other 15-odd people at the platform. It was a double (they all have been) and people were even packed up onto the upper platforms.

Sufficed to say I called 336 RIDE mostly with the intention of "WTF?" The lady said that they were running every train in the system on a 10 minute schedule.

This leads me to three conclusions: 1) When they run all double trains they max out at 10 minutes, and can only do the 7.5 minute schedule by running singles. 2) The system can be maxed out with surprising ease. 3) I'm pretty sure I won't even try taking the train into uptown tomorrow.

[rockhilljames]

Do the trains have more capacity than a double? Can they stack another car on the end?

[monsoon]

Do the trains have more capacity than a double? Can they stack another car on the end?

Nope. Platforms limit trains to 2 carriages. The original plan called for platforms that allowed for 3 carriages, but when Tober blew the budget that he was alotted, he reduced the platforms to 2 carriage size.

[ChiefJoJo]

I'll be interested to see how the numbers turn out given the higher factors they get to use from the experience of the current blue line. The 2200 bonus from UNCC and the 17k total (or whatever it was) were the numbers estimated up front before we had true local experience.

I'm also sort of curious how the next year or two will play out for federal politics. We now have all 3 remaining presidential contenders believing in Global Warming and the need to do something about it (we'll see whether any put their money where their mouth is, or whether they'll make the connect that transit is an important factor in that.). However, we also have massive deficits, so I'm not sure we'll see a major boost in infrastructure funding.

You make a good point above about the environmental issue being minimal compared to highway footprints. Filling in a a few acres of wetlands for rail line is a good tradeoff. Wetlands are mitigated for on road projects all the time, and at much higher impacts. I would not think this will be a big deal.

You make another good point about the blue line ridership. The NE extension should get a nice bump from the ridership on the S line. Although the Bush Admin has been clamping down on transit spending, it wouldn't take much to increase spending over the paltry ~$1.6B/year sum the FTA doles out now. Compared to our overall transportation spending, that is peanuts. No one knows for certain, but I would bet on some new policies at the FTA. This blog has some good discussion of the issues with FTA.

I'm guessing a lot of the increased ridership the last couple of days is for the ACC tourney, yes?

[Spartan]

^ Indeed. They could also run all trains as doubles, assuming they had enough cars for that.

Lets not forget that the ACC tournament is going on, and there are massive amounts of people in town for that, and it remains to be seen what the effect is on the Lynx line. In fact, the crowds in Uptown have been much larger than normal. It feels a more like we're in a larger city with the kind of volume thats around, and all the tourists taking pictures and asking for directions.