Due South: The construction and controversy of Charlotte’s South Corridor Light Rail Project

8/11/2019 Due South: The construction and controversy of Charlottes South Corridor Light Rail Project

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DUE SOUTHThe construction and controversy ofCharlottes South Corridor Light Rail Project

By DUSTIN TYLER JOYCE | URBPL 2010 | 9 DECEMBER 2004


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DUE SOUTH | DUSTIN TYLER JOYCE | 2

N 14 M ARCH 19381, Charlotte bid farewell to its last operating streetcar, No. 85. After

decades of loyal service to the city, the trolleys were being retired and replaced with new,

modern, gasoline-powered buses. The era of hearing the bell and the clickity-clack of the

trolley as it made its way from the center city to the streetcar suburbs it facilitated was over.

In 1940, two years after streetcar service ended, Charlotte had only 100,899 residents spread

over 19.3 square milesthe 91st-largest city in the country.2 By 2030, experts suggest, the

metropolitan areas population will double its current number to over 4 million.3

All those people willbring with them cars, and all those cars will bring with them traffic, congestion, and pollution. And

those will bring a lower quality of life.

While such rapid growth will certainly be a boon to the region, it also has the potential to be

disastrous. To avoid the catastrophe that threatens, Charlotte is looking to its rail-transit past. On 18

September 2002, representatives of the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) made a proposal to

the Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) to construct a multi-billion dollar transit system

integrating light rail, commuter rail, bus rapid transit, enhanced bus service, and even restored

streetcar lines. CATS will construct this system over a period of twenty-five years using the revenuegenerated by a .5% sales tax approved by voters in 1998 as well as a combination of state and federal

funds. The first phase of that system will be the South Corridor Light Rail Project (SCLRP). This is

its story and the debate surrounding it.

O

FIGURE 1Early twentiethcentury streetcar

A trolley makes its wayeast on the 100 blockof East Trade Street inuptown Charlotte.

FIGURE 2Light-rail vehicle:

front and sideprofiles


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SYSTEM AND CORRIDOR OVERVIEW

To understand the South Corridor light rail line, it must be put in the context of the

comprehensive transit system it will be a part of.

The backbone of the system will be five transit corridors that extend like spokes

of a wheel from the center city. (See FIGURE 4.) In designing the system, planners studiedthe attributes of each corridorexisting infrastructure, current development and transit

use, future plans for the area, projected ridership numbers, etc.and matched a mode of

transit to meet the corridors needs. (See TABLE 1.) In the southeast and west/airport corridors, where

bus rapid transit was preferred, the MTC recommended retaining light rail as an option; in the

northeast/University City corridor, a BRT line will extend from the University of

North Carolina at Charlotte to just beyond the county line.

Uptown, the central business district, will be the hub of the system. The

existing Charlotte Transportation Center on East Trade Street, which currentlyserves as the central hub of the bus network, will also be the terminus of the light

rail lines. A complementary multi-modal station on West Trade Street will connect

commuter rail, bus rapid transit, Amtrak intercity trains, and Greyhound buses.

Modern streetcar lines will link the two transit centers to each other and the rest of

the central city. Charlottes historic trolley line between uptown and the South

End neighborhood immediately to the south of the CBD has recently been

restored and features vintage early twentieth century streetcars. (SeeFIGURE 3.)

CATS will build the system in phases by 2025. There has been somediscussion of an even more extensive system connecting Charlotte to its outer

suburbs; planning for this larger system will probably continue after the first

phases of the current plan are completed.

Financing the system

The price tag of capital investment to construct this system: $1.99 billion, inflated to the time of

construction. The city has already spent $39.7 million to restore the historic trolley line4; the South

Corridor light rail line is expected to cost an additional $398.7 million5

. A variety of sources will finance the line. The transit sales tax is estimated to raise $2.55

billion in inflated dollars from 2002 through 2025, though most of these funds will help pay for

operating costs over the next quarter-century. The state and federal governments will provide the bulk

of capital funds. The Federal Transit Administration is expected to pay half the cost through its New

Starts program; a decision on federal funding will be made later this year. The State of North

Carolina has agreed to cover a quarter of the cost.6

TABLE 1Recommended transit modesin each corridor

north commuter railnortheast light railsoutheast bus rapid transitsouth light rail

west/airport bus rapid transit

FIGURE 3Charlottes restoredstreetcar line

A vintage trolleymakes an early-morning run between

the South End anduptown, 18 October2004.


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The South Corridor

The first phase of the 2025 plan to be constructed will be the South Corridor light rail line, which

will extend 9.6 miles from uptown to Interstate 485 just north of the suburb of Pineville. Trains will

stop at fifteen stations along the line, nine of which will have park-and-ride lots. Feeder bus routes

FIGURE 42025 System PlanThis map shows thepreferred modes,alignments, and stationlocations in eachcorridor.


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will connect the stations with the surrounding neighborhoods and are expected to be in place by the

lines anticipated opening in October 2006. By 2025, CATS estimates that over 17,000 should be

riding the South Corridors trains every day. Land use policies and patterns have been established to

increase the density in the areas surrounding each station, and developers have responded with over

$400 million dollars of investment in the South End neighborhood aloneseveral years before the

line even opens.7

MAKING THE CASE FOR LIGHT RAIL

This letter to the editor of The Charlotte Observer is typical of the debate that has

occurred in the newspapers pages and throughout the community concerning the

SCLRP and the 2025 System Plan. CATS and other proponents of the plans offer

the following reasons in support of rapid transit:

The regions population growth and its strain on existing infrastructure require

alternative forms of transportation.

As stated above, Charlottes metropolitan population should double by 2030. Of

that growth, 85% will occur outside Charlottes urban core. The pressure for

continued outward, auto dependant development will intensify within the

metropolitan area and wider region. Trend growth v. sustainable growth will be a

choice with significant consequences now and more so in the future. The only way

to ensure sustainable growthdefined by CATS as a more compact growth

pattern with diverse development opportunities offering improved integration of

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

San Diego demonstrates our

potential for rail8

The writer is associate professor ofarchitecture and urban design, UNCCharlotte.

In response to Reality of light rail: I won't work here (Sept. 11 Forum):

The population density of San DiegoCounty, like that of MecklenburgCounty, is less than four persons peracre. Many San Diegans predicted lightrail, financed with a half-cent sales taxand no federal assistance, would fail.

But the success of the county's firstline (from downtown south) has led to

three additional lines and a fourth underconstruction. Increased tax revenues on

the higher valuations of land in proximity to light rail is three times the cost ofoperating and maintaining the system.

That's reality!

Nelson S. BenzingCharlotte

FIGURE 5I-485 StationThe Interstate 485station just north ofPineville will be thesouthern terminus of

the light-rail line and the largest of the linesnine park-and-rides.


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living, working, shopping, educating and recreating uses, as well as expanded

travel choiceswill be to implement CATS Metropolitan Vision, which

promises to enhance livability and environmental health, and promote economic

vitality.9

Charlottes residents are ready for an alternative.CATS suggests several factors prove that area inhabitants seek alternatives to the

regions predominantly suburban, auto-dependant lifestyle: Transit ridership is up 38.4% since 1998. 10 Center-city neighborhoods have resurged as some of the most coveted

addresses in the city.11 Developers have responded with increased and intense development in both

the center city and along transit corridors.

Suburban towns actively encourage transit access through creating transit-oriented development.12

Proponents of the project argue that mass transit is the alternative many are looking for to

address the challenges presented by the regions population growth and the strain on existing roads

and the environment that growth will bring.

ARGUING AGAINST THE LINE

The system and its supporters have their critics, of course. Various individuals and

groups, including Patrick Ballantine, the former Republican candidate for North

Carolina governor; Charlotteans for Affordable and Sensible Transit (C-FAST);

Citizens for Effective Government (CFEG); and everyday citizens have voiced

concerns about the proposed system. Of greatest concern are the systems cost and

viabilitywillthat many people actually use the system? And if not many people

will use transit, should billions of dollars be spent on it?

The most vocal opposition group is C-FAST. Their mission statementreads: Informing tax-payers [ sic ] of Charlotte-Mecklenburg about the myths

surrounding light rail and exposing why light rail is being pushed upon the

taxpayers and citizens of Charlotte. There are affordable and sensible solutions, as

opposed to the visions of the planners. The group claims that local government,

business, and civic leaders were so anxious to construct railtoo anxious, in fact

that they stretched the truth to the public, inflated ridership estimates, downplayed capital investment

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Reality of light rail:It wont work here 13

The writers are presidents of C-FAST andCFEG, respectively.

In response to Ballantine in a box(Aug. 27 Editorial):

Less expensive alternatives to light rainclude but are not limited to HOV lanesand buses.

If proponents had done their duediligence, they would have found that incities the size and natural density ofCharlotte light rail fails to perform aspromised to the taxpayers.

Mike CastanoLewis GuignardCharlotte

FIGURE 6TradeMarkThis condo tower,announced 2December 2004, is anexample of the high-density development

that is a part ofuptowns renaissanceas a residential center.


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costs, and overstated the success of such systems in cities similar to Charlotte in terms of size,

development patterns, and density. 14

Questions have been raised recently about the systems design, especially given the opening

of Houstons first light-rail line earlier this year and the abnormally high number of collisions that

have occurred between the trains and personal automobiles.15 Comparisons to other existing light-rail

systems have been frequent, particularly centering on the other systems shortcomings and failuresranging from construction setbacks and cost increases to lack of ridership in less-dense communities

and admissions by leaders in those communities that rail was a mistake. Additional objections include:

Charlotte-Mecklenburg and the surrounding region do not and will not have the density

necessary to justify the cost of a rapid-transit system.

Mass transit requires just that: mass, a density sufficient to allow people to use transit effectively and

efficiently. Charlottes decades-long pattern of suburban growth has led to development that is not

dense enough to support rapid transit. This issue is compounded by the fact that mass-transit systemsneed a large population of workers and residents in the central business district to utilize trains and

buses; opponents argue that Charlottes core, like its suburbs, does not have the required density.

Projected ridership will not support mass transit.

Because the Charlotte region has such a low density, the expected ridership by 2025 will not be

enough to support the system and justify the cost of its construction and maintenance.

The money could be better spent building more roads.Patrick Ballantine: We need to build roads better and faster. Road money is for roads.16

Opponents accuse local leaders of turning their backs to the publics best interest and

promoting construction of the train lines despite the course the development in the region is expected

to take over the next quarter-century. They describe the entire systemand particularly the rail

portions of itas a waste of money, denying that it will have the numbers of riders necessary to

justify its cost. Ultimately, they decry it as a burden that will be carried by generations to come.

FIGURE 7 (LEFT)Train arriving at astation

FIGURE 8 (RIGHT) Archdale Station A depiction of the grade-separated Archdale Drive stationfrom ground level.


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CONCLUSIONSHOULD LIGHT RAIL BE BUILT?

Full implementation of the 2025 System Plan is one of the best things

that can be done to ensure a bright and sustainable future for the City

of Charlotte and enhance an already high quality of life. In fact, I

question whether the plan is ambitious enough. But as it stands, the

proposal is an excellent response to the needs of the region and is

impressive in its design, functionality, and beauty.

The idea that roads and freeways should continue to be built

ad infinitum in the Charlotte area is untenable. After all, Charlotte has

plenty and the problem is still there, while studies have repeatedly shown that more roads are not the

answer. Conversely, the idea that the ridership expected on any of the lines will make a significant

difference in the amount of cars on the road is unrealistic. I doubt that the thousands of commuters

on Charlottes streets and freeways every morning and afternoon will notice much of a difference in

their commute after October 2006. However, the thousands of commuters on the train will. Thats

the real strength of this plan.

Charlottes density is already enough to support the system if it existed currently. While the

metropolitan areas density is lower than in other areas in the nation, it must be remembered how

that density is distributed. People do not live in the citys extensive buffer zones and

forests; rather, the density of the citys developed land is comparable to other cities

where light rail has been successful. This density is concentrated in the transit

corridors and center city, and will continue to be as the city and the region grow,

aided by land use policies and development that support transit.

Charlottes urban core, like the suburbs, has a sufficient concentration of

workers and residents to support the system. For example, while uptown itself has

only 60,000 workers, inclusion of other nearby central city areas such as Midtown,

the hospital district, and the South End push the number toward 200,000 workers

alone. Residential development in the center city is increasing and intensifying in density. There are

more than enough to support the system. While supporters should seek to address transit opponents concerns, the plan should not be

held back by them. Charlotte, CATS, and the federal governmentwhose approval of paying half the

cost of the system is still awaitedshould push ahead and complete the system as soon as possible so

that its benefits, which are so desperately needed, will come as quickly as possible. The South

Corridor Light Rail Project is only the first step in a long-range plan that will be a positive aspect of

the Charlotte region for generations to come.

FIGURE 10Transit-orienteddevelopmentLandDesign, a site andlandscape planningfirm, has planned this

type of transit-oriented developmentalong the light-rail and

trolley lines. This is th type of sustainable,pedestrian- and

transit-centereddevelopmentCharlotte needs.

FIGURE 9Light-rail vehicleThe front-end designof the cars currently

being built by Siemens


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NOTES

1. Charlotte Trolley, Inc. Meet the Vintage Cars.http://www.charlottetrolley.org/vintage.html ,accessed 3 November 2004.

2. United States Bureau of the Census. Population of the100 Largest Urban Places: 1940.http://www.census.gov/population/documentation/

twps0027/tab17.txt , accessed 3 November 2004.3. News 14 Carolina. Rapid growth brings challenges.http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/local_ne

ws/mecklenburg/?SecID=3&ArID=61900 , accessed3 November 2004.

4. Dianne Whitacre. Trolleys 1st run draws only 5. TheCharlotte Observer , 19 October 2004.http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/transportation/9955141.htm , accessed 19 October 2004.

5. Dianne Whitacre. Feds signal light rail OK likely.TheCharlotte Observer , 10 September 2004.http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/9625600.htm , accessed 10 September 2004.

6. Charlotte Area Transit System. Corridor System Plan, 18September 2002, pp. 33-34.

7. Charlotte Area Transit System. South-Project

Description.http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Rapid+Transit+Planning/South-Project+Description.htm , accessed 4 November2004.

8. Nelson S. Benzing. The Observer Forum: San Diegodemonstrates our potential for rail. The CharlotteObserver, 17 September 2004.http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/opinion/9685626.htm , accessed 17 September 2004.

9. Charlotte Area Transit System. Recommended System

Plan PowerPoint presentation, 18 September 2002.10. News 14 Carolina. Gas prices, traffic boost public

transit.http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/headlines/?SecID=41&ArID=72546 , accessed 9 December2004.

11.

Doug Smith. W. Trade to get condo high-rise. TheCharlotte Observer , 2 December 2004.http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/columnists/doug_smith/10317904.htm , accessed 9December 2004.

12. Erica Beshears. Will transit harm charm of Cornelius?The Charlotte Observer , 11 September 2004.http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/9635860.htm , accessed 11 September 2004.

13. Mike Castano and Lewis Guignard. The ObserverForum: Reality of light rail: It wont work here.TheCharlotte Observer , 11 September 2004, page unknown.

14. Charlotteans for Affordable and Sensible Transit.http://www.c-fast.org , accessed 4 November 2004.

15. Dianne Whitacre. Houstons light-rail bumper cars on way?The Charlotte Observer , 15 August 2004.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/columnists/dr_traffic/9406048.htm , accessed 4September 2004.

16. quoted in Sharif Durhams and Richard Rubin. Ballantineraps rail spending. The Charlotte Observer , 25 August2004.http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/9487748.htm accessed 23 September 2004.

IMAGE CREDITS

FIGURE 1 http://www.cmhpf.org/photoGallery/4/scars1.jpg , accessed 4 November 2004

FIGURE 2 http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Virtual+Transit/lightrail.htm , accessed 23 September 2004FIGURE 3 http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/transportation/9955141.htm , accessed 19 October 2004.

FIGURE 4 Charlotte Area Transit System. 2025 System Plan.

FIGURE 5 personal e-mail correspondence with Jennifer Green, Charlotte Area Transit System, 26 October 2004

FIGURE 6 http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/columnists/doug_smith/10317904.htm , accessed 7

December 2004

FIGURE 7 http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Rapid+Transit+Planning/South-

What+will+stations+look+like%3F.htm , accessed 13 October 2004

FIGURE 8 http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Rapid+Transit+Planning/Archdale+Drive+Station.htm ,

accessed 13 October 2004

FIGURE 9 http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Rapid+Transit+Planning/South+Corridor.htm , accessed 23

September 2004

FIGURE 10 http://www.landdesign.com/html/portfolio/projects/plan_8.html , accessed 4 November 2004
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/9487748.htmhttp://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/9487748.htmhttp://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/9487748.htmhttp://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/9487748.htmhttp://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/9487748.htm

Due South: The construction and controversy of Charlotte’s South Corridor Light Rail Project

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