Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line

[archiham04]

^^I think that Villa Heights will see an impact.

[southslider]

^More so from proximity to Uptown and Noda. BLE access won't fully arrive until 25th St is built. Now, Optimist Park, well that's the biggest impact. 

 

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

9 hours ago, lit said:

After the BLE opens and students are able to ride the train to campus, I wonder how many will choose to live elsewhere along the line. If a student could afford it, they could live in a trendy neighborhood like NoDa or SouthEnd. Perhaps they could find something more affordable near Sharon Rd West and do homework on the long train ride or whatever. Could this cause a demographics shift in apartments around the University Area where a lot of college students currently reside?

I'd say 95% of students won't be able to afford anything in Noda or Southend (even with roommates).  I've recently looked and the prices are just so high in those areas esp for a two bedroom.  But like you said, further down the line around say Archdale, Arrowood, and Sharon Rd West, there are decent apartments (the area is so-so but more affordable).  I think you will see a shift in the University area as more transit-oriented apartments get built i.e Blu at Northline.  Prices will prob be slightly below Southend/Noda (for now), but higher than the average for the area (and will probably increase exponentially as the area builds up (entertainment district)).  Students will always have their "Student Living" apartments in the University which will help keep costs down for them like Arcadia, which is fairly close to the light rail.  I am excited to see how the light rail affects the University area and N Tryon corridors...a lot of untapped potential. 

[kermit]

^ I hate to say it but the lack of knowledge and understanding of the BLE by UNCC students continues to shock me. Hopefully they will adapt quickly,  but as of now,  80+% of students have no idea about how or why they would use the rail. Uptown remains a foreign country to most of these kids.

Edited February 8, 2018 by kermit

[videtur quam contuor]

 

I worked at Independence High School and it was common for me to have students from that area of the county who had never, NEVER been to downtown Charlotte. For anything, any reason, at any time. I also worked at Weddington High, same deal. That may have changed by today. There is nothing for a teenager or his family in central Charlotte except maybe a concert or Hornets game but high schoolers have a tough go at concert tickets with prices today. If someone else has a different experience, clue me.

So college students unaware of CATS is no surprise to me.

Edited February 8, 2018 by tarhoosier

[kermit]

^ I think it’s still the same at the high school level. My daughter must regularly school  her friends from MPHS on how to use the blue line. A bunch of them took it uptown for New Year’s Eve, otherwise there is not much in uptown to draw teens.

I would think that more uptown park programming (such as concerts) would make a big difference with this age group.

Edited February 8, 2018 by kermit

[15895]

I'm Niner now and I'm under the impression a lot of students are surprisingly excited about the light rail coming to campus. Last year, seniors were upset they didn't get to have light rail during their tenure. 

 

I think it will be super popular among UNCC students and lots of students I hear always talk about uptown and NoDa and even SouthEnd. It especially catches on with students that have interns uptown and then they drag their friends there, etc. etc.

My perspective

[CLTranspo]

9 minutes ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

I'm Niner now and I'm under the impression a lot of students are surprisingly excited about the light rail coming to campus. Last year, seniors were upset they didn't get to have light rail during their tenure. 

 

I think it will be super popular among UNCC students and lots of students I hear always talk about uptown and NoDa and even SouthEnd. It especially catches on with students that have interns uptown and then they drag their friends there, etc. etc.

My perspective

Agreed! I graduated in 2016 and I know most of my friends/classmates were upset we never got to make use of it but only felt the construction impacts. 

I think it’ll be huge for internships, class trips (ie art classes often visit uptown museums), connecting uptown campus and main campus classes and events, and night life. When I was in school the only way to safely get there on a weekend evening was a DD, a party bus, or an expensive Uber with surge pricing. 

[SgtCampsalot]

1 minute ago, CLTranspo said:

Agreed! I graduated in 2016 and I know most of my friends/classmates were upset we never got to make use of it but only felt the construction impacts. 

I think it’ll be huge for internships, class trips (ie art classes often visit uptown museums), connecting uptown campus and main campus classes and events, and night life. When I was in school the only way to safely get there on a weekend evening was a DD, a party bus, or an expensive Uber with surge pricing. 

I need to gush for a second. I biked a lot while on campus at UNCC. Before the BLE, only the following routes were possible from campus to Uptown/NoDa:

1. N Tryon St: Loud, dangerous, sidewalks routinely broken

2. Old Concord Rd (-> N Tryon St): no sidewalks or shoulders -> then N Tryon

3. Weird back way through Rocky River Rd -> The Plaza Extension: Are you kidding me?

We were literally marooned by the built environment. This progress for me is about more than just a train, it's about fixing the mistakes of the past.

[Scribe]

The BLE construction page with the map has the BLE shown just like BL (solid line instead of dashed) and stations have information Park and Ride or not... http://charlottenc.gov/cats/transit-planning/blue-line-extension/Pages/ble-construction.aspx

 

Getting closer.

[KJHburg]

Saw my first train at the 9th St stop today and caught a train on the bridges up in the university area but unfortunately I was going down hill as the train was going uphill. 

[southslider]

It's a good thing bikes are allowed on the train. Many of the new apartments, like Blu at Northline, aren't very close to a station. 

[Niner National]

8 hours ago, tarhoosier said:

 

I worked at Independence High School and it was common for me to have students from that area of the county who had never, NEVER been to downtown Charlotte. For anything, any reason, at any time. I also worked at Weddington High, same deal. That may have changed by today. There is nothing for a teenager or his family in central Charlotte except maybe a concert or Hornets game but high schoolers have a tough go at concert tickets with prices today. If someone else has a different experience, clue me.

So college students unaware of CATS is no surprise to me.

I went to Weddington High. When did you work there?

I'll admit that I was a kid at Weddington that basically never went Uptown. I went one time with my mom to have lunch when I was probably in middle school and a few times for panthers games. Otherwise, never. Of course though, this was back in the early 2000s when there wasn't much going on in Uptown unless you  were going to work or to one of the few bars there.

[Scribe]

On 2/7/2018 at 9:25 PM, Matthew.Brendan said:

Was there a schedule of running times included?

Looking at the map now, it just lists attractions, no timetables.

Edited February 9, 2018 by Scribe

[Scribe]

18 hours ago, southslider said:

It's a good thing bikes are allowed on the train. Many of the new apartments, like Blu at Northline, aren't very close to a station.

It's 1/4 mile down Tryon form Tom Hunter and < 1/2 mile from the back of the complex. And all stations have bike racks so you could just take your bike as a way to get to the station and leave it locked at the station.

[KJHburg]

How the Concord Kannapolis Connector will work to the LYNX line.  http://www.tryccx.com/   

[Cadi40]

I know most of you probably don't keep up with Theme Parks but does anyone think as Carowinds gets larger and more money is invested into the park (The Owner and parent company of Carowinds, Cedar Fair, Wants to invest millions upon millions into the park and transform it into the thrill capitol of the south) Does anyone think a light rail station at the park would be worth it? This would be at least 10 years out but I think if there was a way to get from the Airport to Carowinds all on a Light Rail it would definitely get some use. Not to mention it could have other stops such as Ballantyne, Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Etc. 

[15895]

39 minutes ago, Cadi40 said:

I know most of you probably don't keep up with Theme Parks but does anyone think as Carowinds gets larger and more money is invested into the park (The Owner and parent company of Carowinds, Cedar Fair, Wants to invest millions upon millions into the park and transform it into the thrill capitol of the south) Does anyone think a light rail station at the park would be worth it? This would be at least 10 years out but I think if there was a way to get from the Airport to Carowinds all on a Light Rail it would definitely get some use. Not to mention it could have other stops such as Ballantyne, Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Etc. 

 No. No light rail too far beyond 485

 

Edited February 10, 2018 by AirNostrumMAD

[Third Strike]

With I-77 getting toll lanes in south Mecklenburg, Carowinds basically has access to a form of pseudo-BRT. Not to mention there’s a bus line that connects this area with Pineville, which is close to the Blue Line. 

[Matthew.Brendan]

10 hours ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

 No. No light rail too far beyond 485

 

Carowinds is closer to the existing 485 Station than Ballantyne is. 

[AuLukey]

Light rail to Carowinds has about the same compelling argument as running it to Concord Mills/Speedway or any other Charlotte metro attraction. Sure it would be great, but the cost would be difficult to justify. Maybe in a long term build out of mass transit; but let’s get the other lines to Matthews, N Meck, and the airport built first.

[southslider]

4 hours ago, Matthew.Brendan said:

Carowinds is closer to the existing 485 Station than Ballantyne is. 

Yet Ballantyne has a lot of more jobs, is open year round, regularly expanding, and rethinking their urban form for even more expansion.  Plus, Carolina Place, another job cluster, can be served on the way there.

[kermit]

Its not related to Carrowinds but I have long thought that the Denton, TX A-Train model would work well to connect Rock Hill and Ft Mill to the Blue Line.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-train_(Texas)

It would use DMUs (which are regulatoryaly comparable with existing freight rail) to run from downtown Rock Hill to Pineville / 485 on the NS tracks. Ignoring that fact that NS would certainly balk without significant $$ for track upgrades the service could terminate in downtown Rock Hill and have stops at 77 / Galleria (Park and ride) and Fort Mill. Riders would have a cross platform transfer at 485 station.  A Chester extension would also be possible. 

The virtue of the system is that it could be faster, cheaper and more comfortable than LRT. Most importantly just about all the infrastructure would be in SC which would make the question of who would pay for it much more straightforward. It also renders the project something that would be doable with SC's SPLOST funding system which has been used for I-77 widening in the past.

Combined with a Ballantyne Blue Line extension and timed transfers (something that DART is not good at) this route might be far cheaper, but nearly as useful as running commuter rail from Rock Hill to Gateway via West Charlotte

(South Carolina, shrug)

[15895]

6 hours ago, Matthew.Brendan said:

Carowinds is closer to the existing 485 Station than Ballantyne is. 

But Ballantyne is still close to 485. I’m not talking about the station. The actual interstate 

[Cadi40]

1 hour ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

But Ballantyne is still close to 485. I’m not talking about the station. The actual interstate 

Carowinds is about one mile South if 485. In this scenario a line could run down I-77 and end at Fort Mill or Carowinds.