Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line

[elrodvt]

Not a big surprise. If memory serves Charlotte is near the bottom in public areas period.

Edited March 29, 2018 by elrodvt

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, JacksonH said:

There are literally at least a dozen public skateparks around San Diego, so it surprises me Charlotte doesn't even have one.

Yea, apparently there are two separate skate parks in my neighborhood in Brooklyn

[Matthew.Brendan]

Beach town that has generations of surfers / skaters versus a bank town in the middle of nowhere. Hard to figure that one out for sure. 

[sakami]

Atlanta's largest skate park in the metro area is in Dunwoody, not an area known for its edginess or grime. It is a huge draw, I've met people from all over the city there. It is 27,000 sq ft and used by bmx riders, skateboarders and scooters. 

 

[JacksonH]

17 minutes ago, Matthew.Brendan said:

Beach town that has generations of surfers / skaters versus a bank town in the middle of nowhere. Hard to figure that one out for sure. 

I grew up in NC in the '70s in a town that's even more "in the middle of nowhere" than Charlotte, and people in my neighborhood were skateboarding back then.  It was not uncommon.

Maybe Greensboro is the place to be:  https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/departments/parks-recreation/recreation-centers/glenwood-center/glenwood-skate-spot

Or the Raleigh area, which has FOUR skateparks.

Edited March 29, 2018 by JacksonH

[Scribe]

Can we create a new thread "Skate Parks in Charlotte" or something? It's exciting and all, but this thread is for light rail discussion!

[kermit]

This one in downtown Asheville:

[Scribe]

23 minutes ago, elrodvt said:

Not a big surprise. If memory serves Charlotte is near the bottom in public areas period.

No, you've just been misled or misinformed... We have discussed this on another thread, linked below, but in summary, Charlotte has twice (2x) the acreage of parks (public space) of Seattle.

see here:

 

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

While we're waiting for Brooklyn Village, why not just dry up the pond at Marshall Park?  Lol jk guys, would be perfect though.  But what about Frazier park...or somewhere in First Ward.  First Ward park already has that kind of vibe.  Or awhile back ago RDF designed a mini-park to go in the little loop off the 277 ramp at South Blvd.  I do agree Charlotte needs one though. 

[HighRiseHillbilly]

5 hours ago, Hunted said:

Indoors and not free. 

Here are skateparks located in and around central business districts in Chicago (1), Houston (2), and Denver (3). They’re gorgeous, they liven up the area, they mitigate the risk of skateboarders damaging private property (ledges and rails at businesses). Skateparks are great. Charlotte lacks a premier park.

I'd love a skate park here. Not much bothers me, but the abundance of kids skating all over the place is getting a little annoying. Just a little. Saw one kid almost get hit the other day because they were doing tricks by the Famous Toastery. 

Whom does one even address about this?

 

Is it who or whom here?

[HighRiseHillbilly]

2 hours ago, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

While we're waiting for Brooklyn Village, why not just dry up the pond at Marshall Park?  Lol jk guys, would be perfect though.  But what about Frazier park...or somewhere in First Ward.  First Ward park already has that kind of vibe.  Or awhile back ago RDF designed a mini-park to go in the little loop off the 277 ramp at South Blvd.  I do agree Charlotte needs one though. 

Last comment and I'll get back to trains....It should be that big, but not useful patch of land we were all perplexed about yesterday. The one at 277 currently being used a a staging area.

7 hours ago, grodney said:

I scrolled down to see the inevitable ".....said no one ever!"  but came up empty.

 

Obligatory pseudo-on-topic content:  Since the new schedule started, the guy driving the 6:28am northbound always leaves the doors open (a solid 8-10 minutes) when he switches ends at 485.  Hopefully we're nearly done with the freezing cold mornings, as this behavior is super-annoying and horrible customer service, not to mention a waste of energy.  I have complained to, errrr brought it to the attention of, CATS, but to no avail (and no surprise).

 

I thought leaving the doors open was standard? I seem to remember that while killing time at 7th street a few years ago.

[JacksonH]

10 hours ago, grodney said:

Obligatory pseudo-on-topic content:  Since the new schedule started, the guy driving the 6:28am northbound always leaves the doors open (a solid 8-10 minutes) when he switches ends at 485.  Hopefully we're nearly done with the freezing cold mornings, as this behavior is super-annoying and horrible customer service, not to mention a waste of energy.  I have complained to, errrr brought it to the attention of, CATS, but to no avail (and no surprise).

 

Option 1:  Leave the doors open the entire 8-10 minutes until the train is ready to depart (which is what they are currently doing).

Option 2:  Do no open the doors at all until just before the train is ready to depart, which means you have to stand out on the platform in the cold that entire time.

Option 3:  Throughout the 8-10 minutes, keep opening and closing the doors as people arrive at the platform, which means the train may depart late because the conductor is wasting time watching out for new arrivals and opening and closing the doors repeatedly.

Option 4:  Open the doors initially for whomever is already on the platform to board, then keep them shut for the remaining 8-10 minutes, and too bad for anyone who shows up at the platform after the doors have closed.  They will have to wait for the next train, even though they're standing there on the platform staring at a train that's not moving yet.

 

My opinion, CATS is correct in going with Option 1.  This is what DC Metro does, and I would guess it's pretty standard practice.

Edited March 29, 2018 by JacksonH

[uptownliving]

Option 5...keep the doors closed and anyone who arrives at the platform after the doors are closed can tap the button on the door's exterior to open that individual door. The door will remain open for about 30 seconds and then close. 

I have done this numerous times for trains that were waiting at 485 and at 7th St.

[JacksonH]

4 minutes ago, uptownliving said:

Option 5...keep the doors closed and anyone who arrives at the platform after the doors are closed can tap the button on the door's exterior to open that individual door. The door will remain open for about 30 seconds and then close. 

I have done this numerous times for trains that were waiting at 485 and at 7th St.

I didn't know about this option.  So you've got pretty nice trains running there if you can do that.

[Cadi40]

Waxhaw has a nice one right in it's downtown.

[elrodvt]

8 hours ago, Scribe said:

No, you've just been misled or misinformed... We have discussed this on another thread, linked below, but in summary, Charlotte has twice (2x) the acreage of parks (public space) of Seattle.

see here:

 

Goes against my personal perception and I think this report is the one I recalled:

https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/best-city-parks-in-us-trust-for-public-land-ranking-2016

I'll move over to the other thread and read up on it. So hard to compare these rankings.

[HighRiseHillbilly]

Speaking of doors.... What is the length of time they are open at stops? I was with an elderly person tonight who wants to ride, but I old people with walkers aren't the speediest creatures around. 

[kermit]

2 minutes ago, HighRiseHillbilly said:

Speaking of doors.... What is the length of time they are open at stops? I was with an elderly person tonight who wants to ride, but I old people with walkers aren't the speediest creatures around. 

Drivers do watch and control the doors (they are not automatic) so slow boarding should not be a problem. 

[nakers2]

7 hours ago, uptownliving said:

Option 5...keep the doors closed and anyone who arrives at the platform after the doors are closed can tap the button on the door's exterior to open that individual door. The door will remain open for about 30 seconds and then close. 

I have done this numerous times for trains that were waiting at 485 and at 7th St.

I thought for sure this was standard operating procedure. "Departure time will be XXX, doors will close but remain active" is what I always hear the operators say.

[grodney]

5 hours ago, nakers2 said:

I thought for sure this was standard operating procedure. "Departure time will be XXX, doors will close but remain active" is what I always hear the operators say.

Yeah, exactly.  That's what they've been doing for years.  Close the doors, keep them active so people can board whenever they want.  Then just before they depart, they USUALLY open all doors for a few seconds and then close and away we go.

From time-to-time in the past an operator would leave them open and freeze everyone inside, but it's by far the standard to close them and leave them active.  This guy at 6:28am is killing me.  I don't know if it's just him or if they changed the procedure.

  

[kermit]

3 hours ago, grodney said:

 I don't know if it's just him or if they changed the procedure.

Might be a change in procedure -- doors are being held open at UNCC during dwell also.  The policy change might be a result of needing to communicate which train is next to depart as the current schedule has two trains sitting at the platform at UNCC Main for several minutes. Students are surprisingly clueless about which train is next to leave. For  some reason lots of students think that the most recently arrived train will also be the first one to depart and they frequently move to the wrong train.  Just a simple: "Next train to depart" statement on the light board would be enough to fix the problem (and allow the doors to stay closed)-- but CATS really seems to hate their light boards.

I have also had more than one student ask me "does this train go downtown?"  That one always makes me feel like I have been teleported to a city with an actual transit network.

 

Edited March 30, 2018 by kermit

[tozmervo]

1 hour ago, kermit said:

Might be a change, doors are being held open at UNCC during dwell also.  I think the policy change is a result of needing to communicate which train is next to depart as the current schedule has two trains sitting at the platform for several minutes. Students are surprisingly clueless about which train is next to leave. For  some reason lots of students think that the most recently arrived train will also be the first one to depart and thye frequently move to the wrong train.

I have also had more than one student ask me "does this train go downtown?"  That one alwasy takes me feel like I have been teleported to a city withan actual transit network.

The train does not go downtown.

[SgtCampsalot]

4 hours ago, grodney said:

Yeah, exactly.  That's what they've been doing for years.  Close the doors, keep them active so people can board whenever they want.  Then just before they depart, they USUALLY open all doors for a few seconds and then close and away we go.

From time-to-time in the past an operator would leave them open and freeze everyone inside, but it's by far the standard to close them and leave them active.  This guy at 6:28am is killing me.  I don't know if it's just him or if they changed the procedure.

  

No comment. I just wanted to post this

Edited March 30, 2018 by SgtCampsalot

[kermit]

I should say that my early disappointment at BLE ridership (mostly at the end of morning peak and the start of evening peak on weekdays) is tempered by what seem to be unusually large crowds on the South line every time I ride or drive past a station at all times of day. Anybody else noticed this? (I may have just had too much cold medicine)

[nmundo]

I should say that my early disappointment at BLE ridership (mostly at the end of morning peak and the start of evening peak on weekdays) is tempered by what seem to be unusually large crowds on the South line every time I ride or drive past a station at all times of day. Anybody else noticed this? (I may have just had too much cold medicine)

I’ve been riding the entire line pretty much every day and ridership looks to be doing pretty well.

 

Unrelated to that the train I was just on was acting weird and they made everyone get off. It was one of the newer ones, I wonder what happened to it.

 

 

EDIT: The last few trains I’ve seen between University and Tryon have been packed. I really wished they had better midday/Saturday frequencies. Even 12mins would be a great improvement.

 

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