Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line

[Trickbot]

4 hours ago, southslider said:

We apologize for the inconvenience. 

They remind me of one of my favorite South Park episodes 

[Scribe]

11 hours ago, southslider said:

We apologize for the inconvenience. 

We apologize for the inconvenience. 

I literally laughed out loud... scared the crap out of my kids.

[nakers2]

"CATS: We Apologize for the Inconvenience" 

They just need to plaster that on the sides of the buses. 

Someone with graphic design experience should make a bunch of stickers with that slogan and us UPers could stickerbomb CATS property with it, illegal, yes, effective, perhaps. 

[kermit]

U City station parking deck is getting more traffic, but I would estimate it’s only around 1/3 full.

slow and steady wins the race I guess.

the lot at Old Concord is consistently almost full. And not Peking related, Mucullough station generates a surprising (to me) number of riders.

One year in, the BLE is certainly busier and it has plenty of room to grow.

 

[KJHburg]

Well Old Concord will continue to be busy as it is free the 2 closer decks to UNCC charge or threaten to charge.  This needs to change about parking charges like have a place in uptown stations to validate your ticket.  No student is going ride uptown then back to campus to avoid parking fees.

[kermit]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

Well Old Concord will continue to be busy as it is free the 2 closer decks to UNCC charge or threaten to charge.  This needs to change about parking charges like have a place in uptown stations to validate your ticket.  No student is going ride uptown then back to campus to avoid parking fees.

Are they still threatening to charge in the two decks? I have seen no indication of that since last April.

If CATS would implement the smartcard system they mostly paid for two years ago the deck charging issue would go away (they simply need to program the gates to disable UNCC IDs for deck exit).

Edited March 12, 2019 by kermit

[KJHburg]

4 hours ago, kermit said:

Are they still threatening to charge in the two decks? I have seen no indication of that since last April.

If CATS would implement the smartcard system they mostly paid for two years ago the deck charging issue would go away (they simply need to program the gates to disable UNCC IDs for deck exit).

Exactly but I have no idea about if they are  still threatening to charge.  Those decks are convenient for me but I am afraid to use them and get charged to park when I am occasional user and I sure many others think the same way since CATS has not said they are NOT charging.  

[King of the Queen City]

I have never been charged to park at JW Clay or UC Blvd stations, though that “threat” still remains I suppose. I have seen a folding sign up against the wall (not out by the entrance) that said something about having to pay to exit between 3-6 PM, but I have never exited the garage during those 3 hours, so I have no idea if they actually do that. Even so, a $6 day pass ticket for the light rail was supposed to cover the parking if I’m not mistaken. I wonder if that would still work with the CATS Pass App though?

[kermit]

D-list ‘celebrity’ sighting at 3rd st — Phil Dubois riding the rails...

go niners?

Also higher than normal quotient of dudes wearing boat shoes on the train today

 

Edited March 13, 2019 by kermit

[QCxpat]

Happy Anniversary Charlotte!  March 16, 2019 - Today is the one year anniversary of the opening of the LYNX Blue Line Extension.  Lynx Blue Line system length:  19.3 miles / 31.1 km with 26 stations.

The United States has 27 light rail systems, as counted by the Light Rail Transit Association.  They include: (1) Baltimore - 33 miles; (2) Boston - 22.6 miles; (3) Buffalo - 6.4 miles; (4) Camden-Trenton - 34 miles;  (5) Charlotte - 19.3 miles; (6) Cleveland - 15.3 miles; (7) Dallas - 93 miles; (8) Denver - 47 miles; (9) East Contra Costa County (San Francisco Bay Area) - 10.1 miles: (10) Houston - 22.7 miles; (11) Jersey City - 17 miles; (12) Los Angeles - 88.1 miles; (13) Minneapolis-St. Paul - 21.8 miles; (14) Newark - 6.2 miles; (15) Norfolk - 7.4 miles; (16) Oceanside-Escondido (north of San Diego / south of LA) - 22 miles; (17) Philadelphia - 11.9 miles; (18) Phoenix - 26.3 miles; (19) Pittsburgh - 26.2 miles; (20) Portland - 60 miles; (21) Sacramento - 42.9 miles; (22) St. Louis - 46 miles; (23) Salt Lake City - 44.8 miles; (24) San Diego - 53.5 miles; (25) San Jose - 42.2 miles; (26) Seattle - 20.35 miles; and (27) Tacoma - 1.6 miles.   

18 of the 27 light rail systems in the US are larger than Charlotte's, while 8 have smaller system lengths.  The largest light rail system is Dallas with 93 miles, and the smallest light rail system is Tacoma with just 1.6 miles.  The United States has more light rail systems than any other country in the world; the next largest system is in Germany.

All photos via - Google "image of lynx blue line extension"

University City / UNC Charlotte Main Station

NoDA / Belmont / Optimist Park

Uptown Charlotte - 9th Street Station

 

 

 

Link:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_rail_in_the_United_States

Edited March 16, 2019 by QCxpat
Add link

[tozmervo]

1 hour ago, QCxpat said:

 

 

(Just ignore that 22 minute thing...)

[KJHburg]

Speaking of the LYNX and thanks @QCxpat for bringing that up.  The LYNX is still affecting development patterns in Charlotte.  Take for example this high density for sale townhome development Hadley at the Arrowood Station.  They are selling these townhomes as fast as they complete them in an area known for lower rent apartments.   (Plus they are $100,000 less in price that Pulte's in Scaleybark station)  Today.   This is  3rd station south from Scaleybark.  

Plus I saw lots of cars turning  into South Blvd end of the line station today perhaps going to the ACC tourney or St Patricks day festivities uptown. 

[Desert Power]

That is a great addition! 

[southslider]

4 hours ago, tozmervo said:

(Just ignore that 22 minute thing...)

Thanks in part to drivers who just ignore those crossing-gate things.

[Boricua]

24 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

Speaking of the LYNX and thanks @QCxpat for bringing that up.  The LYNX is still affecting development patterns in Charlotte.  Take for example this high density for sale townhome development Hadley at the Arrowood Station.  They are selling these townhomes as fast as they complete them in an area known for lower rent apartments.   (Plus they are $100,000 less in price that Pulte's in Scaleybark station)  Today.   This is  3rd station south from Scaleybark.  

Plus I saw lots of cars turning  into South Blvd end of the line station today perhaps going to the ACC tourney or St Patricks day festivities uptown. 

HOLY SMOKES where did these come from? I thought the Arrowood Station was DEAD for any type of development. Note to self must ride choo choo train more often.

[Scribe]

23 hours ago, Boricua said:

Note to self must ride choo choo train more often.

I find that taking the Blue Line on a Saturday morning (for coffee or brunch) a couple times a month is the best way to see the transformation happening.

Seeing it daily, you would almost miss it, but every couple weeks and you can see jumps in progress at different projects.

[Matthew.Brendan]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/us/duke-durham-light-rail-chapel-hill.html

Article in todays NYT about how Duke killed light rail plans for Durham.

[southslider]

^Instead of focusing on winning basketball, someone should've stopped to understand what a Record of Decision actually means. 

[archiham04]

^I predicted this in 1999.  The Triangle has waaaaay too many cooks in the kitchen.  Regional projects are difficult, but their situation is going to have them spinning wheels for-e-ver.

[skymiler]

8 hours ago, southslider said:

^Instead of focusing on winning basketball, someone should've stopped to understand what a Record of Decision actually means. 

Sounds like they are focused on medical research,  not basketball.   I applaud their decision and I'm not generally opposed to Light Rail transit. 

[southslider]

20 minutes ago, skymiler said:

Sounds like they are focused on medical research,  not basketball.   I applaud their decision and I'm not generally opposed to Light Rail transit. 

Duke first requested design changes that added $90M to the project. If they weren't going to support Erwin Rd as the alignment, they should've requested an alternative alignment, not an alternative design.

The basketball comment was meant in jest. Someone else noted that only Durham has Duke fans inside NC, but not now.

Edited March 18, 2019 by southslider

[kermit]

On 3/18/2019 at 6:43 PM, skymiler said:

Sounds like they are focused on medical research,  not basketball. 

The disrupting medical research excuse was BS. There is rail transit in the _basement_ of Johns Hopkins Medical Center -- is Duke saying they are not smart enough to address the same problems that Hopkins was able to?

(rail transit runs adjacent to Harvard medical school, University of Minnesota medical school and UNC Hospitals and dozens of other medical schools throughout the world.  Electrified rail transit is not incompatible with medical research. )

Edited March 20, 2019 by kermit

[Desert Power]

1 hour ago, skymiler said:

Sounds like they are focused on medical research,  not basketball.   I applaud their decision and I'm not generally opposed to Light Rail transit. 

They are focused on the oldest foe of development: NIMBY

[SgtCampsalot]

5 hours ago, archiham04 said:

^I predicted this in 1999.  The Triangle has waaaaay too many cooks in the kitchen.  Regional projects are difficult, but their situation is going to have them spinning wheels for-e-ver.

The Triangle be all like:

 

[KJHburg]

Univ. City Partners posted this video someone took it looks like last summer of the entire route starting at I-485 South Blvd north to uptown and to UNCC.  it is 56 minutes but around 13 minute mark it is at Scaleybark and of course it starts getting really interesting.  This is not me!   

Update I have narrowed the time to right before Marine Week in mid Sept or right after the train was delayed probably for a helicopter taking off or landing.  

 

Edited March 20, 2019 by KJHburg