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CATS Long Term Transit Plan - Silver, Red Lines


monsoon

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I can't imagine there being political will to increase parking fees during a recession. City leaders might even consider reducing them, to entice more people to consider driving in from the suburbs. I remember seeing that tried during the 1990s recession in California by some valley towns.

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Of everything listed, the changes to the Gold Rush lines are the least impressive. The Orange Line would "no longer operate south of Morehead," and the Red line will not, as I was hoping, extend to Midtown/CPCC. They would also decrease service frequency between lunch and rush hours to 15 minutes. Given how terrible they are at spacing the trolleys, the frequency change will hardly be noticeable.

The changes to 12 (South Blvd), 36 (Midtown) and 59 (Scaleybark/Marsh) make some sense. 12 will no longer end at Woodlawn station but will extend all the way to Carson station, providing unbroken bus service to the whole corridor. It will fill the gap left by 36, which will end service at East/West Blvd and no longer run down South. 59 will cease service on Marsh Road (unsurprisingly). I'm not really sure who their target audience is for the 36 at this point, as it would only serve to connect East Blvd to Midtown. I guess its in the same awkward position as so many of the other "circle" routes that don't actually go Uptown.

Update: CATS has a presentation PDF available for some of the new routings (That I think are final?)

The presentation doesn't include timetable adjustments and doesn't list the lines that are axed completely, but the Observer lists:

Route 59 Scaleybark/Marsh

First Ward Shuttle

Route 96 Davidson

Route 202 Washington Heights

Route 234 Cityview

Route 238 Paw Creek

For those of you that expressed concern about the 29, it looks like it was saved. It is still shown to be running from UNCC to Southpark.

Neither source, however, mention changes to 36-Midtown or 12-South Blvd. 25-Clanton appears to be absorbing the Midtown route, however, so I expect it is disappearing. I would expect/hope that 12 is being extended to fill in the rest of South Blvd. 59-Scaleybark/Marsh is going away completely. Marsh is loosing service entirely, and 30-Woodlawn is being rerouted to serve Scaleybark and Scaleybark Station. From what I can tell, New Bern Station will have no connecting bus routes unless 12 is extended/36 remains along that stretch of South Blvd.

Edited by tozmervo
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One more thing -

I've already sent CATS feedback asking for them to make their timetables available to Google Transit, but Google has now added an additional feature that makes this even more desirable. Certain cities now have their transit data available on a Transit Layer. Taking advantage of this would make CATS routes far more accessible than they are now through the route planner. It would also let you check times from your phone. Basically, I think they should dump half of their site and let Google handle it.

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I submitted a request for better visualization of transit lines I kid you not - 2 days ago. Wow, talk about quick turnaround! No seriously, they must have had this in the pipeline for some time.

Some cities appear to include bus lines (Chicago for example) while others only include rail. But on the whole, I think it needs a lot of work. The transit layer is ugly and really gets in the way. Particularly when in cities where buses are included.

For an idea of how I think it should be implemented (and proof that google can do it) take a look at Google Maps Korea, which just went live a little while ago. Google also does a tolerable job of transit visualization in Japan and Australia, too. The key in all three of these cases is to include transit in the base map rather than layering it on top seperately.

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One more thing -

I've already sent CATS feedback asking for them to make their timetables available to Google Transit, but Google has now added an additional feature that makes this even more desirable. Certain cities now have their transit data available on a Transit Layer. Taking advantage of this would make CATS routes far more accessible than they are now through the route planner. It would also let you check times from your phone. Basically, I think they should dump half of their site and let Google handle it.

I know that the Google Transit is something CATS has been working on. It would have been done earlier...but most of last year their focus was on getting the Blue Line up and running.

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I can't imagine there being political will to increase parking fees during a recession. City leaders might even consider reducing them, to entice more people to consider driving in from the suburbs. I remember seeing that tried during the 1990s recession in California by some valley towns.

City leaders don't control parking prices. 95% of Uptown parking is owned privately.

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Thats true, C_C, but what if it were hypothetically possible to tax parking spaces? What if businesses were taxed per parking space that they own?

Ideally, there would be no free parking anywhere, which would in turn cause people to think more carefully about their desire to drive as opposed to taking transit or living in a place that does not make driving mandatory.

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^While I don't disagree about the effects of free parking, in NC, cities don't have the authority to start new taxes such as this without first getting the NC Legislature to approve a full bill that would allow it. A few years ago the city tried to get a very seat tax proposal passed. This would be a tax on anyone going to the movie theatre, sporting events, concerts, etc. The money, I believe, was to be used to pay for one of the arena proposals. The Legislature turned this down.

Generally what has to happen is that if it is specific to Mecklenburg, then one of the local legislators has to submit it on a bill. Eventually if it makes it through committee then representatives from all 100 NC counties vote on it and the governor signs it into law. In order to get any kind of serious consideration, 100% of the local delegation has to be behind it, or it will never make it through committee. It's a tough thing to do as other state business will always be in the way. This might be a little easier if we had a mayor who is able to make the necessary political connections but McCrory has done a great job at pissing off the Legislature over the years. And he basically called them, the ones who did get re-elected and hold the power, corrupt.

I would think that a parking tax to build trains, given that Mecklenburg already has 2 specific mass transit taxes, is going to be a non-starter. At least one, and I suspect there are more, local representative has said he will not support any further proposals such as this for trains. Charlotte is absolutely free however to simply pay for the train out of its general funds. This would no doubt require an increase in the property tax and no member on the city council believes enough in light rail to take on this kind of political risk.

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Strangely well timed with "Streetcar plan hitting the fast track?," I saw a presentation today that included a preliminary design rendering of a Purple Line station prototype. The presenter also commented that design work for Gateway Station is proceeding in earnest. The impetus is that already-tired phrase: "shovel-ready."

The design direction is decidedly more traditional (I use the term loosely) than the Blue Line platforms. The predominant material is brick with exposed and painted steel structure and pointy central tower element with signage. It, in general, looks very much like one would expect a train stop to look, which I'm sure will please North Meck politics.

It will be interesting to see if financing for any of these projects shakes out this year, obviously there is a lot of hope and preparation going into it.

* I was looking for the North Line dedicated thread for this post, but couldn't find it to save my life - did it get archived or something?

Edited by tozmervo
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Hey that reminds me. Everyone go down to Elizabeth Ave and check out the rails in the street. Most of the construction equipment is gone now, and the streets are cleaned up. You can see the rails very clearly, and the poles and cantilevers are up too!! They're even going to string up the wires, aren't they?

Edited by The Escapists
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I like Elizabeth Ave except for I can't understand why they didn't place brick pavers for the sidewalks. As built, the street and sidewalk are both poured concrete and it is very difficult to tell where the curb is. Brick pavers would have eliminated this potential safety hazard as well as be much more aesthetically pleasing considering all the brick buildings CPCC is building/recladding.

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By the way, the House Stimulus Bill ended up with about $9 billion for mass transit, as compared to $30 billion for roads. There is also an $800 million grant to Amtrak and $300 million for intercity rail service.

It is being said that mass transit, specifically, got axed down to cancel out increased tax cuts.

Edit:

It appears there was a last minute add of $3b, but I'm having trouble finding clear documentation of that. In any case, several sources list $12b as the total for mass transit.

Edited by tozmervo
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:o Don't put the cart before the horse. Charlotte's tax shortfall could brake Lynx progress according to the Charlotte Observer. Revenues expected to be $252 million less than anticipated over the next decade. Article can be found here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/597/story/514717.html On top of that, the senate last night was short of two votes to approve adding $25 billion to the economic stimulus package that would have improved interstates/mass transit in this country. <_<
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I would not put much stock in Observer articles just as I wouldn't on articles from the local TV stations and the Charlotte BJ. They routinely just parrot whatever they are told by local officials without question.

The money, as far as I know, will not come directly to Charlotte in any case unless it is specific pork that has been added for some local politician. I am pretty sure the stimulus money goes to the state of NC which will parcel it out as it sees fit. I believe that Purdue and the Legislature are expecting to get $800M-$900M in transit money which they are planning to hand over the NCDOT to address the $5B deficit in road building and repair needs projected for the state. My guess, is they are not going to cough up $300M of this to Charlotte to build a train. Especially since Lynx is cutting back service. I believe that if McCrory went up there and asked for that, the laughter would be so loud you could here it here in CLT.

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I agree that Perdue isn't going to give one dime more to mass transit than she has to. NCDOT is the love child of most NC residents whether they agree with their decisions or not. The majority of residents simply want roads repaired and widened, not to see mass transit in any of the state's major cities. I would imagine Fayetteville has as good a chance of getting money for a light rail system than Charlotte does for getting money for one of its mass transit projects if the decision is left up to the state.

I'm not sure what the extra $25B included, but considering politicians aren't known for doing the 'right thing' for society as a whole, I wouldn't count on a specific line item in the favor of CATS.

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* I am just acting as a reporter here, not commenting on accuracy of the quoted statements *

Christopher Dodd (senator from Conn) just gave a speech at the emerging issues form (topic: managing growth in NC) in Raleigh on the "National Infrastructure Imperative." He cited the blue line as a model project for infrastructure stimulus based on its "ridership that has wildly exceeded expectations, $2 billion in private development along the line and property values which, unlike the rest of the nation, have remained stable." Dodd attributed the lines success to "the intensive coperation between all municipal agencies responsible for transport, planning and finance." The core of the remainder of the speech was that the federal govt (in his view) should substantially increase its funding for "transformative" projects such as the lynx.

I am under no illusions that this was nothing more than an effort to stroke the home state crowd, however, it is, to an extent, an indication of the image of CATS in the elected elements of DC policy makers.

FWIW

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Eisenhower's vision was transformative, albeit damaging, to this nation. It would be nice to now see new vision from our new leader, say transformative, green infrastructure, like the Blue Line. But instead, it looks like we will be relying on appropriating millions of "gap funding" to existing entitlements and programs, including the North Carolina equity formula to fund more of the same in rural roads, moving drivers more quickly to nowhere.

I don't question the total cost of the "stimulus." It's that "bang for the trillion" that is seriously lacking. As a Keynesian, I think it's okay to increase the ratio of debt to GDP, but you have to actually stimulate GDP growth.

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FWIW:

House, Senate, and Final Versions of the Stimulus Bill

Program : House Bill :Senate Bill : Final Bill

Grants to Amtrak : $800 m : $850 m : $1.3 b

State Rail Grants : $300 m : $250 m : 0

High-Speed Rail : 0 : $2 b : $8 b

Total Rail : $1.1 b : $3.1 b : $9.3 b

Transit Formula Funds : $7.5 b : $8.4 b : $6.9 b

Fixed Guideway Modernization : $2 b : 0 : $750 m

New Starts : $2.5 b : 0 : $750 m

Discretionary Grants* : 0 : $5.5 b* : $1.5 b*

Total Transit : $12 b : $8.4 + $5.5 b* : $8.4 + $1.5 b*

Edited by The Escapists
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What I get from that is that CATS isn't going to get much from this stimulus package. This probably was to be expected, not because of anything having to do with CATS but because a ton of cities submitted rail proposals that in total would have added $10s of billions more to the plan. Miami alone asked for close to $6B to expand its very under utilized rail service. Looks like congress was not convinced these projects were worth investing in without much more due diligence.

The good news however is the $9B for high speed rail is a quantum leap ahead in spending in this arena compared to the last 8 years. For Charlotte this may mean the SEHSR project, which would connect downtown to Washington DC, may actually be built in the foreseeable future. If this were to happen I could see the state moving up construction of the downtown train station.

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So the funding for the high speed rail will be distributed by a system of "competitive grants" set up by the Federal Railroad Administration. This sounds somewhat similar to the New Starts process.

I have a feeling that California will walk away with $3 to $4 billion of the high speed rail stimulus, if nothing else because they already put their money where their mouth is with a $10 billion bond issue. $14 billion could probably build a functional "MOS" through mostly rural areas, say San Jose to LA.

Some money will also undoubtedly go for Northeast Corridor upgrades as well.

But where does Charlotte and North Carolina fit into all this? Well, Southeast HSR is further along in the EIS and engineering/design process than just about anybody else. Hopefully, the competitive grants process won't be designed to put everyone on a level playing field, and will rightly give SEHSR the advantage because we've been putting resources towards planning and engineering for years. For this to actually function as a stimulus, dirt would have to be turned in very short order. That's not really compatible with my understanding of the NEPA, but assuming that hurdle can be cleared by accelerating the EIS and ROD, the entire line will then have to be awarded to private firms (like Archer Western for example) as a series of design-build contracts.

The only estimates I've seen peg the entire HSR corridor from Charlotte to Washington at $4 to $6 billion. But if we could score $1 billion of the HSR stimulus money (perhaps a stretch, but by no means impossible) and throw in some matching funds from NC and VA, we could build by far the most important part of the project, the S-line from Raleigh to Petersburg. It probably wouldn't buy us any gleaming new trainsets, build new stations, or pay for improvements south of Raleigh or north of Richmond, but even that would bring CLT-WAS down from 9 hours to 7, and RGH-WAS from 6 to 4. Most importantly, it would serve as the backbone for future improvements as well.

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There is also a $1.5 billion competitive transportation grant program in the Stimulus package that the State may seek $80m out of to fund the CRISP project. It might also be eligible for HSR funds. Charlotte Gateway Station may also be eligible for funding.

http://www.ncdot.org/download/about/financ...micStimulus.pdf

"P-5002 10 Mecklenburg Statewide CRISP-Charlotte Rail Improvement and Safety Project. Grade separate NS from CSXT and provide crossing for CATS O-Line project, close 9 at-grade crossings, enhance freight, intermodal, commuter and intercity passenger access."

I understand there may have been an engineering meeting yesterday in Charlotte with NS, NCDOT and CATS to talk about the CRISP project. This would improve rail access to the ports for CSX, and is also necessary for the North Line commuter rail. It is also part of bringing AMTRAK to uptown CLT. It meets several criteria in the $1.5b grant program

Here are details on the $1.5b

discretionary grants to be awarded to State and local governments or transit agencies on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant impact on the Nation, a metropolitan area, or a region: Provided further, That projects eligible for funding provided under this heading shall include, but not be limited to, highway or bridge projects eligible under title 23, United States Code, including interstate rehabilitation, improvements to the rural collector road system, the reconstruction of overpasses and interchanges, bridge replacements, seismic retrofit projects for bridges, and road realignments; public transportation projects eligible under chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, including investments in projects participating in the New Starts or Small Starts programs that will expedite the completion of those projects and their entry into revenue service; passenger and freight rail transportation projects; and port infrastructure investments, including projects that connect ports to other modes of transportation and improve the efficiency of freight movement"

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