Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line

[CLTProductions]

To go to publix on foot from Spectrum for instance, you would have to walk nearly 3/4 of a mile. when you can see Publix only 150 feet away. 

No, no, I don't disagree that it would be a pain in the @$$ to get to Publix without walking down, I was more inquiring where on that stretch you'd see the station going?

[ah59396]

I say, put it right here, call it Iverson St Station, move on with your lives CATS.

 

 

[Guest]

No, no, I don't disagree that it would be a pain in the @$$ to get to Publix without walking down, I was more inquiring where on that stretch you'd see the station going?

 

Like so. It'd connect to the walk ways at Spectrum, the Office redo, Iverson Way and Atherton parking lot.

I say, put it right here, call it Iverson St Station, move on with your lives CATS.

 

 

8bS1G.jpg

Great minds think alike

[ah59396]

Like so. It'd connect to the walk ways at Spectrum, the Office redo, Iverson Way and Atherton parking lot.

Great minds think alike

 

 

 

I feel like mine was a little more detailed than yours though.  

[archiham04]

That is scary... you are going to get someone in trouble...  I was about to go walk there to pick up the train.

[dubone]

I was tweeted @ by ColeJenest & Stone that Cats is evaluating adding a stop at Atherton mill to help ease connectivity problems in the area. This would be a huge win for the area.

 

The inability to cross the Light rail in this area has long been something that bothered me, and I've been trying to figure out the best urban idea. Adding a stop would add a crossing, how exciting!

It surely already had some design done a long time ago when it was first pitched by Cherokee when they used to own all that land (or were trying to buy it).  

 

It is a no brainer in a lot of ways, because it not only will allow for pedestrian crossing in that long stretch between Remount and Tremont but will help fill in a gap of transit support in an area that densifying and is the heart of the larger retail amenities of SouthEnd.  Lowes and Publix are technically outside the transit-supported radius even though they are very close to the line.  

 

It would not allow CATS to make up the time it does going faster from Tremont to New Bern, but it would more than compensate in added ridership and destinations.  

 

They can call it Remount and just put it closer to where Iverson would have been.  That is similar to the Bland station really being at Rensellaer.   Remount is a more well known street because it is also I-77 exit.  

 

 

Lol, gotta love those skills.   Some random person is going to put that on Facebook and 6 months from now I'll be talking to someone about how they saw renderings for the new light rail station at Spectrum.  

[dubone]

So there is ~5115 feet from the edge of New Bern Station to the edge of East-West Station.  So the halfway point would be at the southern edge of the new Southline building.  So considering pedestrian paths west are blocked by the fenced in Junction, it is then a the only practical choice to shift it north where you have shown it (or with the northern edge of the potential station at the northern edge of the Southline residential building. 

 

Where you have shown it would be ~2000' from the E-W station and ~3000' from New Bern.  

 

For comparison purposes: 

E-W to Bland = 1500'

Bland to Carson = 1500'

Carson to Stonewall = ~1300'

Stonewall to 3rd = ~1300'

 

 

So all in all, it seems that it is a very good idea that they would put a station here if they are trying to add support for this part of SouthEnd.   

[Guest]

Off Topic, but Junction's suburban bullcrap layout makes me want to retch. 

Edited January 13, 2015 by Guest

[Wonkyarm]

Wow, I've been wanting for this exact station for years, but didn't think CATS would be proactive enough to get it done. There's so much potential for Distribution St and Dunlaven St to be developed into urban streets like Camden road is now. Also, if this station happens it will allow residents of Brookhill Village to actually use the lightrail. I thought it was kind of sketchy for the city to completely bypass the low income neighborhood in the first place when the lightrail runs right by it.

Edited January 14, 2015 by Wonkyarm

[dubone]

It wasn't as sketchy as you'd think.   There are tons of low income communities on the rail line.  It was seen as a way to keep the end to end time competitive with driving.   Economic development wasn't the only factor.    I remember being surprised when Spectrum was announced as this area was a bit farther out.    

 

But it does seem like it is time to look at fixing the things cut or omitted from the South Line for small grants.   This fill-in-the-gap station (not cut, it was only proposed during the boom as a privately funded station), longer stations, Pineville extension, etc.   

 

It will take some time, but it should be organized a setup of upgrade projects.  

[km1789]

Like so. It'd connect to the walk ways at Spectrum, the Office redo, Iverson Way and Atherton parking lot.

Great minds think alike

 

where did you find the un-photoshopped image? I can find older versions of the same shot/view but not this current one.

[Guest]

where did you find the un-photoshopped image? I can find older versions of the same shot/view but not this current one.

ColeJenest & Stone twitter.

[CLTProductions]

Wasn't sure where to put this as it could have gone in like 4 threads and this was easiest, mod feel free to move.

 

What is the status of the Rail Trail? It seems like SUCH a good project for Charlotte to greatly improve its value as a city. It would certainly make walking from South End to uptown MUCH easier. I would like to see this project get some traction and maybe BofA and Wells need to plunk down some money

Edited January 16, 2015 by Jayvee

[ah59396]

Neat little article in the Observer today about lightrail ridership.  Hopefully the suddenly lower gas prices don't stall this surge in riders.  I don't believe it will this time around as I think traffic is starting to play a larger role in peoples decision to ride the rail.

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/01/21/5462482/lynx-light-rail-ridership-back.html#.VMEkbtLF98E

 

 

 

 

[CLTProductions]

Neat little article in the Observer today about lightrail ridership.  Hopefully the suddenly lower gas prices don't stall this surge in riders.  I don't believe it will this time around as I think traffic is starting to play a larger role in peoples decision to ride the rail.

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/01/21/5462482/lynx-light-rail-ridership-back.html#.VMEkbtLF98E

I was thinking about the gas effect too while reading this article, but I am also inclined to agree with you that people are riding to save time and annoyance with traffic, not necessarily cost.

[AuLukey]

I think the idea of Mass Transit is finally sinking into the city's culture.  Once the "dreaded" HOT lanes are complete, it will give people one more excuse to rationalize taking the light rail.  Let's just hope that light rail expansion doesn't stall after the BLE.  I hope CATS carries the momentum for further expansion.

[Guest]

Neat little article in the Observer today about lightrail ridership.  Hopefully the suddenly lower gas prices don't stall this surge in riders.  I don't believe it will this time around as I think traffic is starting to play a larger role in peoples decision to ride the rail.

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/01/21/5462482/lynx-light-rail-ridership-back.html#.VMEkbtLF98E

 

 

 

 

I suspect ridership will peak even more as Apartment buildings start to lease out in Southend.

[kermit]

In my mind the real issue is that ridership is essentially stagnant over six years while the City has grown by 20% (ish). That makes it look like the city is doing an AWFUL job of funneling development (primarily jobs) into our single functional transit corridor.

[archiham04]

This reinforces those articles that talk about how nationwide TOD residents often times don't ride the T that they are O'd to.  

This begs the question... what is driving the the demand for the infill?  the "T" or the dense development itself?  Couldn't we create concentrated areas of dense development around the city without spending a billion dollars on a train?

[15895]

This reinforces those articles that talk about how nationwide TOD residents often times don't ride the T that they are O'd to.

This begs the question... what is driving the the demand for the infill? the "T" or the dense development itself? Couldn't we create concentrated areas of dense development around the city without spending a billion dollars on a train?

Maybe Roads roads are free!

[rugger62]

For me, the biggest issue is lack of walkability to and from any stops between 485 and Scaleybark. Why is it so difficult to walk to OMB from Scaleybark? 

[RugbyPike#11]

I think the higher parking costs will help alleviate the high low gas prices.  I take the light rail or my bike to uptown everyday, but my sister tells me that you can't find daily parking anymore for less than $7.  $4.40 for a round trip ride looks pretty good, especially when you factor in that you're not burning gas or putting wear and tear on your car.

Edited January 23, 2015 by RugbyPike#11

[birky]

First of all, the second half of 2008 sure seems like a bit of an outlier, perhaps due to new developments coming online near the blue line?  Then the recession hit, new construction largely stopped and employment was down.  That could explain the rather slow growth. That said, if you ignore the second half of '08, there is real, tangible growth in ridership every year.  As RDF mentioned, new developments along the line that are set to open soon should only boost ridership.

[Matthew.Brendan]

Are these numbers tickets sold? Considering you can simply step on the train and ride for free, I suspect the actual ridership numbers are quite higher.

[Nolan]

^I thought CATS installed sensors to counted how many people board the trains to measure its ridership.