CATS Long Term Transit Plan - Silver, Red Lines

[JHart]

3 hours ago, kermit said:

How many more of you all would buy a CATS pass if it were $1 a day?

Having a pass has seriously changed my ridership patterns. Although better weekend and off-peak frequencies would make me ride even more.

My wife works in Uptown 4 days a week and takes the lightrail. Currently it is an extra $14.00 a month if she wanted a monthly pass versus a daily. I understand they want frequent riders to pay, but if they were to reduce a monthly pass to $70 or something lower/more economical for slightly below peak ridership, I honestly would think they would make more money. Especially if they would include people who only pay when cars are being checked or who don't have a traditional commute 5 days a week. 

[davidclt]

21 hours ago, Matthew.Brendan said:

People actually buy passes for the train???

I do for every ride. I believe in transit and believe in paying for transit.

[CLT2014]

I used to ride but couldn't find the right daycare off the light rail. I drive daily now to be able to chain trip my pick up / drop off while en route to work. If I could run more errands off the light rail while on my way home, I'd certainly pay the fare. I wish we had a better concentration of services around stations. 

Edited June 24, 2019 by CLT2014

[XRZ.ME]

Dallas seems to get 60M from FTA for extending 28 light rail station to 3 train car.


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[kermit]

10 minutes ago, XRZ.ME said:

Dallas seems to get 60M from FTA for extending 28 light rail station to 3 train car.


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We were well positioned for the necessary funding from FTA, Lewis pulled the plug on the application process for a reason he never bothered to tell us about.

but for the 1000th time: HIGHER FREQUENCY IS MUCH BETTER FOR RIDERS THAN LONGER TRAINS.  We don't need to be so obsessed with longer trains (its like the weird fettish here about building height)

Edited June 28, 2019 by kermit

[DMann]

And....

[kermit]

Here is a peak at our future: Portland is now studying a downtown rail tunnel since they are unable to squeeze enough trains through downtown on the surface route to meet expected demand.

https://www.oregonmetro.gov/public-projects/max-tunnel-study

[Scribe]

So, it's a new month and there are new rezoning applications with site plans up for browsing...

I think I've found one of the first (the first?) rezoning application that specifically lists Silver Line Extension reserved ROW.  I have to say I am very happy to see the ROW reservation already in place!

See for yourself 2019-070

[tozmervo]

21 minutes ago, Scribe said:

So, it's a new month and there are new rezoning applications with site plans up for browsing...

I think I've found one of the first (the first?) rezoning application that specifically lists Silver Line Extension reserved ROW.  I have to say I am very happy to see the ROW reservation already in place!

See for yourself 2019-070

Great to see! but then also the irony of it being part of a car dealership. At least that's not taking up space immediately next to a planned stop (village lake station would be about 3/4 mile south)

[Scribe]

3 minutes ago, tozmervo said:

Great to see! but then also the irony of it being part of a car dealership. At least that's not taking up space immediately next to a planned stop

I know, but it seems that will be the problem for a big chunk of the Silver Line corridor south of Uptown.

So, looking further, there is another rezoning petition that is just north of the one above and is asking for MUDD-O zoning for Residential Multi-Family on ~4 acres of land. Is it me, or is this a pretty good indicator developers are gobbling up the land with Silver Line in mind 10+ year ahead of speculated opening date???

 

[KJHburg]

saw this uptown today I think this Express bus was going to Rea Road I think deep in south Charlotte.   Approx. 445 pm or so. 

[XRZ.ME]

June  MTC meeting minutes still haven't been published ?

[Scribe]

Kids had soccer camp in Matthews SportsPlex... Gotta say Matthews commuters seem to use their express bus routes too. ~7:30 am bus stops have 10+ people..

[15895]

1 hour ago, Scribe said:

Kids had soccer camp in Matthews SportsPlex... Gotta say Matthews commuters seem to use their express bus routes too. ~7:30 am bus stops have 10+ people..

Ditto for LKN. 

[XRZ.ME]

Some data from twitter account CLT development.
Note that twitter user isn't fair representation of Charlotte population. And users who follows this account isn't fair representation of Charlotte twitter users.


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[CLT2014]

Not too far off from the Census Bureau data for the city of Charlotte. A higher percentage walking and taking transit, but overall still car dominated even among development enthusiasts. Not extremely suprising. I have a friend for example that drives from Stonewall apartments to Gateway Village every day (~1.2 miles) in order to not have to walk under the train tracks near the Greyhound station or walk alone at night in winter.

2017 American Community Survey, city of Charlotte data:
Drove alone: 76.6%
Carpool: 10.2%
Public Transit: 3.5%
Walked: 2.0%
Bike: 0.2%
Taxi / Motorcylce: 1.1%
Work at Home: 6.3%
 

Edited July 24, 2019 by CLT2014

[JHart]

28 minutes ago, CLT2014 said:

 I have a friend for example that drives from Stonewall apartments to Gateway Village every day (~1.2 miles) in order to not have to walk under the train tracks near the Greyhound station or walk alone at night in winter.

I definitely get not wanting to cut over between 4th and 6th or walk by the Greyhound station, but man that's a great commute! Greenway pass through by BOA stadium and up Cedar would be like a 10 minute bike ride or 25 minute walk on quiet streets. Once it gets dark I would still feel comfortable there but would feel a bit on edge of having my wife make that walk after dark so I do partly understand your friend's decision 

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

Depending upon where that person lives on Stonewall, the future streetcar could be a viable option to Gateway Village.  

Edited July 24, 2019 by CharlotteWkndBuzz

[videtur quam contuor]

À propos of most threads in this site, we could use a healthy dose of female commuting opinions. The idea of walking has very different experiences for the more-than-half  the population. Gender was not mentioned on the Stonewall to Gateway person mentioned above. Nonetheless I KNOW that my experience is different from that of the women I know well enough to query. Just walking to a car in a lot or deck is something my wife prepares for each time the elevator door opens. Walking, scootering, training are fine but the security of a vehicle will be tough to argue.

[Spartan]

Let's just be honest: the person who lives on Stonewall will probably find any excuse to drive as long as it is easier than walking. 10 min drive + 5 min walk > 25 min walk.

IMO, the problem isn't the bridge itself, its that the spaces on either side of it aren't very inviting. Bridges aren't a barrier if you have enough light and activity. The new building on the Polk site combined with Gateway station will change the vibe there quite a bit, plus it will move greyhound. 

 

[dubone]

There are definitely going to be individual cases that do unique commutes and will not be captured by any option beyond the traditional driving approach, especially when there is no trend that reduces the parking the requirements of developments in this city. 

 

Obviously this particular case might improve with Gateway Station work and the efforts to improve the railroad bridges, but hopefully there is a trend that improves general safety for women and all people.     A scary encounter can be in an automobile, a walk, a scooter, a bus, a train...   I know I have had some scary experiences on a bus that have made me reluctant to bother with the inconvenience, which is true of a huge swath of society.  But I also know statistically car travel is dangerous, so I try to live/work/play in a reasonable radius that I can bike or walk.     Train commutes have been much better experiences for many but they certainly do give people some exposure to different dangers than driving.  

 

 

[XRZ.ME]

Virigin Train USA (Brightline) seems in progress to add 3 more stops to the exsisting service. This makes them more like commuter rail.

And according to their ridership disclosure. Ridership is almost flat since Q4 2018

Would be interesting if they still working on their original idea for Charlotte to Atlanta

 

[kermit]

3 hours ago, XRZ.ME said:

And according to their ridership disclosure. Ridership is almost flat since Q4 2018

Would be interesting if they still working on their original idea for Charlotte to Atlanta

Ridership isn’t a surprise since they are still just running a three-stop commuter service between W Palm and Miami (which was already being operated by Tri-rail on a parallel route). The Orlando extension will open next year, traffic on that will determine the future of privately funded passenger rail in the US.

They are busy with behind the scenes stuff for a Victorville (suburban LA) to Las Vegas train and all indications are that they are talking to the various DOT’s about ROW from Atlanta to Charlotte (but there has been nothing public about that other than John Lewis’ remarks at the last MTC meeting). It does look like that they are confident in their ability to raise -huge- amounts of capital in fixed income markets (at the moment) and their corporate parent (Softbank) has been encouraging them to grow quickly (disclaimer: I am not an expert).

Atlanta to Charlotte is still a long shot,  but if it happens I think will will hear something official by this time next year (and I think there is a 20% chance that Brightline / Virgin will submit a proposal for Gateway).

Edited August 2, 2019 by kermit

[Madison Parkitect]

Would this Charlotte to Atlanta train be Amtrak speed, or faster? I'm out of the loop on it.

[kermit]

3 hours ago, Madison Parkitect said:

Would this Charlotte to Atlanta train be Amtrak speed, or faster? I'm out of the loop on it.

There are two options for it. First, Brightline could pay (a bunch) to share the existing NS tracks — that would be Amtrak speed. Second, they could build a dedicated ROW, most likely alongside an interstate, those trains would be much faster, possibly up to 225mph if electrified (125 if diesel). Their current Florida service is be limited to 110mph due to the Miami-Cocoa tracks they have to share with freight. I have heard that Brightline has been talking to SCDOT and NCDOT about a new I-85 route, but its still just talk.

needless to say, its very long odds that either will happen.

Edited August 2, 2019 by kermit