Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line

[pgsinger]

51 minutes ago, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

Tarhoosier basically already answered this with "Sightlines and speed have something to do with this and crossings are closer together with lower speeds in the near in stations."  A train going through Uptown is basically traveling at a crawling speed (also allows the train to make emergency stops a lot easier)...To me, a bell is sufficient bc of previously stated comments (speed & proximity of each station within 277).  If there is a dummy in the road or crossing, they, of course, can use the horn...but with how fast and frequent the train stops within the loop...horn would seem excessive.  Further out like you mentioned, S. Blvd and N. side...travel speeds are dramatically faster as is the distance between stations (horn=further reach/need of warning).

This is likely the reason there is a fence along the rail out of the Uptown vicinity and no fence in Uptown.  From the transit station to 7th St Station (and maybe farther North), there is no fence.

[videtur quam contuor]

I operated car 85 from 2002-2004 in the original trolley experience and then was conductor with the replica cars from 2008-2010 when they ran from Tremont to 7th street on weekends. The greatest risk, in my experience is the area between stations. Crossings are where the rail cars move slowly and the operator is looking intently at the environment and alert to know risk vectors. Once speed increases in corridors if someone leaps the low barrier as the cars approach then stopping in time is questionable. Once, when running car 85, I was between Park and East. Ahead I saw an older man with a plastic grocery sack standing on the sidewalk just the other side of the low green metal fence railing. From my perspective the green fence was continuous. In fact there was a small gap at the light pole just wide enough for one to slip legs sideways through. He looked at me and the approaching car. I turned my head to look at the other side and as I looked back he had slipped through this opening and walked the two steps toward the track. I was on him faster than I could react. At 25 miles per hour any vehicle travels 37 feet per second. As we brushed past him I recall seeing his surprised look inches from my door. He never saw me before that instant.. A large green rail car on rail tracks with a light in front rumbling on the track. Can you believe it? I certainly believe. My heart was in my throat. I walked the track later that day to examine the spot and see how he could have moved through the six inch gap. Easily done.

During that same period the homeless used the trackside regularly and consideration had to be exercised for unknown and unexpected events. That is less of an issue today though never disappears.

Edit: the gap I describe is now continuous barrier.

Edited May 30, 2018 by tarhoosier

[nakers2]

Even Wikipedia has a better line map than CATS. A de-cluttered version of this would be amazing. 

[Matthew.Brendan]

Wow! I wonder who made that. It is well done. 

[southslider]

^^That transfer between Blue and Gold lines is harder than it looks.

[JacksonH]

On 6/3/2018 at 4:52 AM, southslider said:

^^That transfer between Blue and Gold lines is harder than it looks.

How so?  Isn't there a Gold Line station right next to the CTC?

[southslider]

2 hours ago, JacksonH said:

How so?  Isn't there a Gold Line station right next to the CTC?

At Brevard, a full block from Blue Line, plus no vertical circulation between platforms 

 

[tozmervo]

1 hour ago, southslider said:

At Brevard, a full block from Blue Line, plus no vertical circulation between platforms 

 

Isn't there an elevator right on trade street? And the stairs go up but the arena

[southslider]

^Not designed for easy transfers

[kermit]

A truck clipped a partially raised crossing gate just now at East West. The gate folded and the blocked one traffic lane and both LRT tracks.

I was impressed w CATS’ response. The drivers of the next outbound train got out and moved the gate (and the train proceeded). CATS repair crews were on site in less than three minutes.  My inbound train was not delayed at all.

Good work guys!

Edited June 5, 2018 by kermit

[15895]

This is DC related but I’ve been reading so many articles about the metro in DC struggling and bleeding ridership. Seems like people initially thought it was from interruptions from track delays but people are starting to think it’s alternative forms of transportation. 

 

Here’s what a poster from airliners.net said:

——————

“””Metro is reporting an 11% drop in ridership at the DCA stop from 930k in FY17 to 830k in FY18. I’m not sure what to make of that. It’s not just “safetrack” but a trend towards alternative transportation, according to the comments below.

https://www.arlnow.com/2018/05/24/arlin ... safetrack/

Quote
The station at Reagan National Airport recorded the largest drop of any Arlington location from 2017 to 2018, with a roughly 10.8 percent decrease. Ridership there also declined by 17.5 percent since 2016, the second largest drop in the county.”””

—————

 

The reason i mention it is because I know cats has been puzzled and it seems like rail transit everywhere has been dropping dramatically and the gas prices, broken people counters or track upgrades don’t seem to account for it.

 

i hate to be petty, but I’m glad its not just Charlotte with lower ridership or lower than expected lately 

Edited June 5, 2018 by AirNostrumMAD

[cjd5050]

29 minutes ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

The reason i mention it is because I know cats has been puzzled and it seems like rail transit everywhere has been dropping dramatically and the gas prices, broken people counters or track upgrades don’t seem to account for it.

I think Uber and Lyft are the reason we're seeing a drop in rail transit.    Uber averages about 5.5 million rides a day.  That's 2,007500,000 rides a year...just for Uber.  If you average that out to the 450 cities they service, that's 4,461,111 rides per city.  But it's not an average.  Odds are the cities with mass transit are going to have more people and, in turn, more uber rides.  

I think ride share is eating away at the % of former rail riders who were not frequent users.   I know personally I have only taken the Blue Line a couple of times.  It's a PITA  to be frank.   From the schedule to other issues, it's just easier to take an uber even though it's much more expensive.  

 

[Matthew.Brendan]

Really depends on how far you need to travel to your starting Station and how far you are going once you disembark. For me I can walk (30 mins) or ride my bicycle (15 minutes) or Vespa (5 minutes) to Sugar Creek Station, wait a few minutes for next train and then exit at 3rd street after 15 minutes travel time. Walk one block and I’m at work. Not a hassle at all. If you have a much longer travel time to get to the train station and then especially once you get off the train, yes of course that is less appealing than an Uber/Lyft that will take you door to door. You certainly pay for it though. 

[sclark]

FYI - Apple Maps is now integrating CATS transit data with their directions service. https://www.macrumors.com/2018/06/05/apple-maps-transit-north-carolina/

[Matthew.Brendan]

Nice! Just confirmed it - looks great. 

[JacksonH]

5 hours ago, cjd5050 said:

it's just easier to take an uber even though it's much more expensive.  

 

More expensive to the user and to the environment.  Uber and Lyft seem to be putting more cars on the road, not less.  This is a trend I do not like.

[cjd5050]

14 hours ago, JacksonH said:

More expensive to the user and to the environment.  Uber and Lyft seem to be putting more cars on the road, not less.  This is a trend I do not like.

I give you that uber puts more cars on the road but I don't think ride sharing makes thing more expensive to users. At least many users.  

Ride sharing is allowing people to not need to purchase a car.  Just search "Is urber hurting car sales" to see what I am talking about.  Ride sharing for many means they can ditch a car payment, maintenance costs, parking costs and insurance and taxes on at least a secondary car (if a couple) if not their primary car.   Those costs are much more than taking the handful of ubers needed in a month and includes the expensive ones.   About 1 in 4 work from home full time IIRC.  That's a massive amount of people who don't have a daily commute.  

 

Put it another way.  I think if any group should be singled out it's the drivers of personal cars that require parking.   Uber is eating into these people but yet that's a trend you don't like?  Interesting....

[rancenc]

Well I finally was able to take the light rail on a round trip this past Saturday....took about 2 hours total.  I live in Harrisburg, so I actually drove to the UNCC station and parked there; it was around 10am so not a lot of cars.  Overall light ridership until I reach the Arena/CTC station.  The only thing that really caught my attention was on the southboard ride, there were two teams of Transit Police checking for tickets.  One set got on the train at the Sugar Creek Station and actually gave a warning ticket to a guy behind me (politeness on both ends).  The other team got on at the Carson Street Station and again asking for tickets.  I didn't see any police on the Northboard ride back.

I know some folks have complained about speeds, both trains (which had the same operator) were pretty consistent.  I was also enjoying watching the "street scene" with folks walking to and from their daily routines; especially in the Southend area.  NoDa is going to be another focal point of activity and personally I believe the JWClay station is going to be a hot area...I think the University Place concept is going to get a serious makeover in the next 5 years or so as leases run out....again just my opinion.

[deleted]

It's better for the environment and Uptown (and urbanism generally) if we embrace transit (bus and rail), ride-sharing services and bikes/scooters (not to mention greenways!).  They are all good alternatives to individuals alone in cars that need to be parked Uptown.

Edited June 6, 2018 by JBS

[CTiger]

Did anyone walk or drive past the intersection of the Blue Line and East/West Blvd yesterday evening?  One of the gates was stuck halfway down with the lights flashing.  It was just high enough that most cars could pass underneath, but SUVs had to change lanes.   It was causing quite the stir.  I walked by around 6, and then walked back the other way around 6:45 and it was still stuck with no workers around, other than a guy in a reflective vest talking on his cell phone.

[kermit]

^ that was the same thing I saw yesterday morning when the gate got broken by a truck, sounds like they didnt fix the underlying problem.

[videtur quam contuor]

A few years ago I saw at Park and the Light Rail where as a high cube truck slipped past the gate as it was beginning to drop. The cab made it past the arm on the far side of the tracks as it descended but the cargo box caught the arm and twisted it (almost) off the support pole. The truck kept truckin'. After that episode the arms were shortened so they crossed only one lane rather than both of the lanes, with each arm dropping across its lane of traffic only.

[JacksonH]

9 hours ago, cjd5050 said:

Put it another way.  I think if any group should be singled out it's the drivers of personal cars that require parking.   Uber is eating into these people but yet that's a trend you don't like?  Interesting....

Nowhere in my comment did I say I was against reducing the number of personal cars that require parking.  My only comment was only about not wanting more cars on the road, which was in response your comment about people ditching rail transit and using Uber and Lyft instead.  You made no mention of parking issues in the comment I was responding to. 

[cjd5050]

14 hours ago, JacksonH said:

Nowhere in my comment did I say I was against reducing the number of personal cars that require parking.  My only comment was only about not wanting more cars on the road, which was in response your comment about people ditching rail transit and using Uber and Lyft instead.  You made no mention of parking issues in the comment I was responding to. 

Right.  You said you were unhappy with the trend that Uber and Lyft were putting more cars on the road.  I was just pointing out how disliking this trend is silly.   Of course they are putting more cars on the road....for now.  It's a process that will take time.   As I said before, ride sharing is causing a drop in car sales.  That will eventually lead to a drop in cars on the road.  

[DH17]

I took the extension for the first time today, riding from 7th St. station to 36th St. station in NoDa and back. The train had heavy usage on the inbound train and was fairly light on the outbound, which is expected early on a Saturday. I also am excited to see all of the development that can (and is) happening between Uptown and NoDa. I believe that in a decade it will rival South End. I am also impressed at how much work remains to be done at 36th St. station....