This version of your browser is not supported. It will likely need Republican state lawmakers, and then voters, to approve a penny sales tax increase.The Light Rail Guide | Charlotte Light Rail | LYNX Blue Line Charlotte still hasn’t found a way to pay for the Silver Line. Until the city identifies a local funding source, the discussion is largely hypothetical. That means a passenger couldn’t take the light rail from Matthews to the airport without changing trains. The Blue Line alignment would also mean the Silver Line would be split in two segments. It would take that passenger 27 minutes on the Blue Line alignment and 25 minutes on the Gold Line alignment.ĬATS said the Trade Street route would require the city to rebuild much of the street, only a few years after it was under construction for the Gold Line. One downside for the northern route is that passengers would either have a 10-15 minute walk to reach Trade and Tryon - or wait a few minutes to catch the Blue Line or Gold Line.ĬATS said Monday that if the northern route was built, it would take a passenger 34 minutes to go from the proposed Conference Drive station to the main bus station across from the Spectrum Center.
If CATS doesn’t receive federal money for the Silver Line, it’s doubtful the project can move forward. The federal government paid for half of the Lynx Blue Line. They also didn’t explore which route would make it most likely to secure federal dollars. Funding questions unexploredĬATS officials did not discuss which route would have the most riders at Monday’s meeting. The Urban Land Institute said that would make it more likely to receive federal funding, which is crucial for the project to move forward. “If you go back and look at the investment that South End has seen over the last cycle, you are talking about a billion dollars of investment,” Dodson said.Įarlier this year, CATS said the shared Blue Line route would draw higher ridership. The northern route would pass by about 56,000 jobs.Ĭity of Charlotte The Charlotte Area Transit System considered three alignments for the proposed Silver Line.īut Tracy Dodson, the city’s economic development director, said the northern route could do for the north side of uptown what the original light rail line did for South End. The Gold Line route would pass by about 100,000 jobs, while the Blue Line alignment would go by about 91,000 jobs. The whole Silver Line has been estimated to cost at least $8.1 billion, but that's a preliminary figure.ĬATS officials also said the northern route would go closer to where more people live, but would be farther from where they work. In a presentation to council members, the Charlotte Area Transit System said the northern route would cost about $600 million more than using the Blue Line or Gold Line tracks. Several rail transit systems have lines share tracks, a process known as “interlining.” The city also considered using the existing Gold Line streetcar tracks on Trade Street.
The reason: Officials hope to ignite another South End-style building boom in a part of uptown that’s long been underdeveloped.īut earlier this year, the Urban Land Institute proposed the city use the existing Blue Line tracks through uptown. The northern route has been the city’s preferred plan. Or should it share the existing Lynx Blue Line or Gold Line streetcar tracks to bring passengers through the center of uptown, and closest to Trade and Tryon?.Should it run alongside Interstate 277 north of uptown to spur more development?.The Charlotte City Council’s transportation committee voted 4-1 Monday to back a route for the Silver Line light-rail that would have it skirt uptown instead of going to the heart of center city.įor several years, the city has had a back-and-forth over how the proposed Silver Line from Matthews to the airport should go through the city's center:
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