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Charlotte Greenways and Trails


Geospec

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I am happy about a number of the plans in the CIP approved yesterday, but I am thinking of them again now that the budget was approved finally.  Obviously they must still be approved in bond referendums, but that is almost always a done deal.

 

http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/budget/documents/capital%20investment%20plan%20summary.pdf

 

 

I had forgotten for a bit, in the focus of the Northeast corridor around the Lynx BLE, but the funding is now in place for completion of the LSCG from the massive wetlands at the Pineville Poop Factory to the Tyvola Poop Factory and connecting up to the current terminus of the greenway at Park Road Shopping Center.  That is a major expansion of the greenway that is already there. 

 

Then, looking North, they will extend the greenway north of the Cordelia Park northern end that was look considered the end of the project as it was pushed early in the process.  It would extend all the way into the heart of NoDa, west of the ACWR tracks and on to it's connection to Toby Creek and Mallard Creek Greenways that exist at UNCC and URP.  

 

http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/epm/projects/transportation/roads/documents/neci%20bike%20final%20report%20december%202011.pdf

 

It is an incredible opportunity that the city tapped into now that the heart of the greenway system was done and successful to connect it as a single greenway spine through the whole city.   

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That gap drives me crazy, but this money will not solve it, because the planners/designers just put some dots on the streets.  It isn't that 7th and McDowell are overly terrible streets to ride in mixed traffic, but it is that there is such an easy opportunity to remake the 7th St Bridge in the way they remade Tryon, by removing the irritatingly ridiculous universal left turn lane which serves no purpose at all, and widen the sidewalks and add bike lanes.   There are projects underway to reimagine all of the 277 bridges, but this connection never really gets traction, even though I bring it up in all of the meetings.

 

If they were bold, they could add a really cool suspension bridge in the H trusses under the freeway bridge.  But there really isn't a major need for something so expensive or signature.  Simply update 7th Street, which could be done tomorrow with some paint with NO negative impact to drivers, and then add a sidewalk to the utility right of way/grassy area behind M-Street.  Of course, the 10th Street underpass also needs some lighting and attention, which would be necessary regardless of the LSCG connector.

 

Overland connectors or bike route designations on regular streets are fine, but these streets are highly traveled and deserve something official.  It is a no brainer except for the fact that the Midtown portion was often seen by planners as bringing South Charlotte bicyclists to Uptown, and the Belmont section as more of a hand out to the poor neighborhood, so it seems they never really cared about whether there was good connectivity between those sections. 

 

Now, however, we have Seigel Point adding more diversity of incomes to Belmont, and a bigger plan for the crossing the whole city, I agree that this stretch really needs to get some attention.

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Eh Seigle Point isn't really adding a diversity of incomes. They deviated from their original plan to have market rate apartments mixed with rent controlled apartments. All apartments in there are rent controlled apartments. The older ones at 60% area median income, the ones being constructed now are 80% area median income. The only market rate stuff in there is about 20 of the 31 townhomes that have been constructed with 19 more on the way (all market rate) in the future.

 

I bought in there because I thought the apartments that are now being built would be mostly market rate (because that was the original plan), but they changed it. I still don't regret buying there, but it would have been nice to have some market rate units in there too.

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I'm sure the people who get paid to do this for a living have looked at these options, but here's what I've got.

Obviously the Median Greenway seems great since there is a bunch of unusable greenland between the off/on ramps. It's likely state land too, which means the Feds wouldn't have to get involved (right?). 

But for a cheaper/easier solution, it seems like the Central Ave bridge option is  better than the 7th-to-10th connection (why not do a treatment on Central Ave bridge since it affords one of the most popular views of the city, and is probably already on a Ped Overlay Plan as a vital link between two n-hoods).   I'm not sure how steep the grade is to get down from the bridge, but nothing is impossible with a couple switchbacks.

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I think the best bet is to have something incorporated/constructed with the "Uptown Loop" study that proposes reconfigurations of several 277 interchanges. What's proposed now doesn't take any kind of sugar creek connector into account.

 

http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/Transportation/PlansProjects/Documents/I-277%20Concepts%20-%20Kenilworth%20to%20Independence.pdf

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Supposedly that is the case, that the Loop Study would be looking eventually at ways to make the 277 crossings to be better for pedestrian/bicycle users.  However, so far they have been more interested on the big big changes. 

 

 

The official routing is 7th and then McDowell to bring it into 1st Ward.   Regardess of whether they remove that and go Central to Seigel, they will absolutely need to repaint 7th to improve bike and walking connections from the current path into uptown. 

 

It has always seemed better to use the green band between M-Street and 277 as a path.  I have personally tried to go through the green patch from Jackson to Seigel before.  Frankly, it ought to also be a paved path in addition to a connection through 1st Ward, but 1st Ward should be the priority given the density of the neighborhood, and that it leads to paths to other destinations uptown, rather than the single family homes along the section shown in yellow.

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^ I like that idea quite a bit. 7th street could easily accommodate a really nice ped/bike upgrade that would benefit folks using 7th itself, and then it would double as an overland connector for the greenway. That path going along the hillside could be a pretty nice one.

 

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Exactly, it has always been a no brainer.  But I like the idea of also adding a path connecting Jackson with Seigle.

 

Regardless, bike lanes and wider sidewalks are required for 7th St and Central Ave bridges in the area, even if LSCG didn't exist and didn't have an obvious gap in the area.

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So after looking at Little Sugar Creek on Google Maps, I just can not believe how the creek was completely ignored when the 277 interchange with Independence was built. then again maybe I shouldn't be surprised. Manhattan used to have creeks too centuries ago, and the skyscrapers were built right on top of them. :-(

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Apple Maps users might actually get told to turn left on that bridge  :excl: .

 

It is typical that the interstate builders paved over the creek, especially considering the era and how polluted and utilitarian it was considered.

 

It is tempting to dream about the fancy little bridges to get pedestrians through the isolated section of the creek, but I think it is a lost cause.  The trips around 7th to McDowell, 7th to the utility ROW, Central to Jackson to Seigel are all reasonable bypasses, but they should get the upgrades and road diets that are really the current policy anyway, but especially for the LSCG route going end to end in the county.

 

That is the real message of this week.  It is incredibly exciting that in one fell swoop, the entire greenway is now funded from Pineville to UNCC.  Some of it will be rail trail, some will be simple designations through neighborhoods (like the section in Myers Park south of Freedom Park), but much of it will be a creekside greenway.

 

It is odd that the city is taking up the helm rather than the county, or at least a county-city partnership, but it is a bit of a grey area considering the county is in charge of parks, and the city is in charge of sidewalks/transportation.  I suspect that as a result this Cordelia Park to Toby Creek section will end up being a little less park-like and more basic, but that remains to be seen, as they may still live up to the branding and standards set up in the LSGC master plan.

 

Hopefully, too, there will be some public-private partnerships available to upgrade the greenway since the timing will likely correspond to some development that comes in conjunction with the BLE.  So as the area of NoDa/Optimist Park/Cordelia Park is redeveloped from trucking to residential usage, they could possibly make the path an upgraded material along their property.   It is an asset for that land to be along both the greenway and be adjacent to the light rail.

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^ I had thought that the CIP cut greenway funding north of Highland Mill since the ACWR relocation needed to happen before the trail con be extended north of NoDa.

 

I could be wrong, but I believe that discussion is in UP somwwhere.

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Right, I had looked a lot this week into that because I recall the discussions of cuts, but once the streetcar controversy was parsed from the CIP, they passed the whole thing as southslider says. 

 

Keep in mind, that some of the southern section has been in the state TIP for a long time and finally nearing the timing of those funds.  So I believe the actual Pineville to UNCC will be much more than the new $35m funds (pending bonds).  That would be state funds and possibly county funds already budgeted plus the already completed core from Parkwood to Woodlawn, and the completed greenways on Mallard Creek and Toby Creek around UNCC.

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^The State TIP pays for the portion south of Park Road near Tyvola Road.  Or at least, that's how the County Park & Rec has been spending it on design thus far.

 

The CIP is likely to focus on Cordelia Park to Highland Mill, plus Old Concord Rd station to UNCC via Toby Creek Greenway.  That still leaves Tyvola-Woodlawn, 7th-10th, and NoDa-Old Concord Rd as major gaps.  However, the Optimist Park and Newell segments mentioned for the CIP-focus would likely add more return on investment, in terms of increased tax base.

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https://connect.ncdot.gov/projects/planning/Planning%20Document%20Library/Draft%202012%20State%20Transportation%20Improvement%20Program%20(STIP).PDF

 

It shows 7 million budget total from 7th to 485, with 6 million spent already and 1 million left for Tyvola to 485.  Am I missing some massive county expenditure for which this is just really paltry state supplement, or does the Tyvola to 485 cost only 1m?

 

If Tyvola to 485 is already covered with this state plus other county funding, it seems really reasonable for the Cordelia Park to the start of Toby Creek Greenway in the Rocky River Rd area would be able to be covered by this $35m.  That is especially true given the possibility for a rail-trail along Tryon St and maybe the section when it runs along the NCRR corridor.

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^Thanks to Raleigh, any Greenway projects not authorized by June 30 will lose state funding.  Luckily, the County has secured some funding for the Greenway south of Tyvola.

 

Ideally, $35 million should cover Cordelia Park to Toby Creek, but the NSRR between Eastway Park and the Old Concord Road Station remains an expensive barrier, as well as the routing through NoDa north of Highland Mill until the AC&W is relocated.  Hence, the segments south of Highland Mill and north of Old Concord Rd station will likely be prioritized first.

Edited by southslider
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  • 3 weeks later...

we are not thinking big enough about this project.

The gap problem would be easily solved by just closing 277 and turning most of it into our version of the Highline (one side for peds and bikes, the other for LRT).

(^said with 45% tounge in cheek)

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  • 1 year later...

With the Charlotte bonds passing, and with both the Charlotte City and Mecklenburg County making 5 year capital improvement programs, it is going to be an exciting few years for the trail system.

 

Traditionally the county has been in charge of the parks, the city has been in charge of transportation and the state has superseding control over both parks and transportation.   Luckily, there has been a push for more greenways as they are politically non-controversial, and a good way to make our flood-plain purchases of land more tangibly useful.

 

The big changes will be that from Tyvola to 485 will finally be in the county budget in FY2017  to match the federal and state budgets to fund that very long section extension of Little Sugar Creek Greenway.    The county and state will also fund a bike path on the Wesley Heights Greenway that connects to Frazier Park and is now gravel.  We also will have the initial mile of Briar Creek Greenway built in Eastover south of the old Mint Museum.  

 

 

Now that the first bonds have passed for the city of Charlotte capital improvement program, we will start to see planning underway for what they deem the Cross Charlotte Trail.   In essence, it is more from a transportation-perspective, which is the city's responsibility, so it will assess ways to connect the dots between the planned greenways with streetscape, bike lanes, and greenway trails.     

 

As part of the NECI meeting last week, the city rep mentioned that they would focus initially on the LSCG gap between Woodlawn and Tyvola because once the county completes Tyvola to 485 that gap will be more obvious.   The route is not determined yet, but given that 3 creeks meet in the area, it is possible they will need to route the trail on upgraded streets like Selwyn and Woodlawn, but it is possible they will route alongside the creek in some sections. 

 

Then, in a few years, the city will focus on the VERY large gap between "NoDa Greenway" and Toby Creek Greenway.   That section is also not determined for routing, but will likely become a North Tryon Streetscape project to improve the urban design and complete street usability of North Tryon between Sugar Creek Road and Old Concord.  

 

It is exciting to see the progress, and it is a major boost to non-auto transportation for urbanites. 

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