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I'm gonna jump in here and ask: what is the point of the trolley, rather than some other mode of transportation?
Streetcar. Trolley might confuse people with the existing Gold Rush.
The streetcar can hold about 2x that of a standard bus. So for the big plan (the 2025 transit plan) would be to take over certain bus routes already mentioned in this thread.
For now, I think it can only be "memorable" for the current stage. In other words people will talk about Charlotte and remember it when thinking of moving a business because of the streetcar.
I don't really know where the ridership would be for the starter segment. There's not room for may businesses that constantly fail aroung the government center. The current Red Line doesn't even go to Elizabeth.
That's pretty much it, in a nutshell. People should have paid attention & researched his campaign buddy. Christie gave pay raises to his appointed buddies then went after teachers, firemen, & police.
Disagree. Do you guys ride the light rail? I do, every day. It runs along South Blvd, not Southpark and the riders are very diverse.
90%+ of the people I know who ride the rail live south of 485. They love it, it's a great cost saver and convenience for them. Maybe by def it's for "the city", but in practice it's used by suburbanites to seriously reduce their commute.
Ride the train in the middle of the day -- not the morning and evening rush hour -- and the uptown commuters are all in their cubes. The train is full of hourly wage people and the demographic does not look "suburbanite" at all.
Based on what I've read and the pictures of the track on Eliz Street, the trolley will be used to block traffic (including the CATS busses that service the same road).
Seriously, I don't know what the point is. It appears to be someone's pet project.
LOL!
Quote:
Originally Posted by GCharlotte
Streetcar. Trolley might confuse people with the existing Gold Rush.
The streetcar can hold about 2x that of a standard bus. So for the big plan (the 2025 transit plan) would be to take over certain bus routes already mentioned in this thread.
For now, I think it can only be "memorable" for the current stage. In other words people will talk about Charlotte and remember it when thinking of moving a business because of the streetcar.
I don't really know where the ridership would be for the starter segment. There's not room for may businesses that constantly fail aroung the government center. The current Red Line doesn't even go to Elizabeth.
Streetcar it is.
Given the millions of $$$$ this is costing for a very short route, wouldn't it be far more cost effective to run some extra buses along the same route?
Given the millions of $$$$ this is costing for a very short route, wouldn't it be far more cost effective to run some extra buses along the same route?
Well all the squabbling now is to get it extended. I think it's a pet project too and I used to work on 4th street where the existing trolly does just fine. They are hardly crowded in that stretch so I can't imagine something twice as long as a bus fitting in.
The streetcar can hold about 2x that of a standard bus. So for the big plan (the 2025 transit plan) would be to take over certain bus routes already mentioned in this thread.
For now, I think it can only be "memorable" for the current stage. In other words people will talk about Charlotte and remember it when thinking of moving a business because of the streetcar..
I believe the current plan is to use the 3 new historic trolley's that Charlotte purchased in 2004. They do not have 2X the capacity of a city bus.
The 3 trolleys that Charlotte purchased can handle 48 people sitting down, 57 if they are standing. Since they are not street level machines anyone in a wheelchair has to ride the attached wheelchair elevator. This takes considerable time to operate and can only handle 1/time. They have a top speed of 30 mph.
In comparison, the Gillig 40' low floor bus typically used for local routes in Charlotte can handle 40 people seated and ~60 standing. Since they can be lowered to the sidewalk with wide doors, wheelchairs/handicapped have easy access. These buses can achieve highway speeds. In other words, the buses can carry more passengers and serve them faster.
(Foxx disingenuously refers to the 2025 plan for trolleys, but that was a CATS/MTC design that was dropped and never had any design work done on it. The city, as far as I can tell, has not published anything exact about their plans. If it exists, it would be interesting to see. )
Photo of the existing Trolley. As you can see it is a high floor design. The seating inside is wood. The city paid to have 3 of these constructed in 2004. I believe they are presently located at the Lynx maintenance facility for the Blue Line.
You don't do your argument any favors with indignant self-righteous platitudes about poor neighborhoods. No matter since you responded to me here is a response about the logic of what you argue.
Last summer the Charlotte city council rejected Mayor Foxx's proposal to spend $119M to fund the Trolley to JC Smith. Voting against the Trolley were 4 Democrats (along with 2 Republicans). This included Michael Barnes, Patrick Cannon. Now you claim that Pat McCrory wants to kill the trolley because he is against Black neighborhoods instead of burdening the taxpayer with a stupid project. i.e. in short he's a racist.
So if that is your test, then the 4 democrats who voted against the Trolley who also said they didn't want to burden the taxpayer are are also racist. This according to your logic. Yet Michael Barnes and Patrick Cannon are Black. Are they racist as well? If you answer No then your logic is hypocritical. If you answer yes, then your logic makes absolutely no sense.
Your Choice. It doesn't matter to me which that you choose.
Since when has logic ever been your strong suit? Did I not know use the terms race and class? It's a pet project with benefits, so are tons of projects completed for gated community areas (high rent districts) that eat up swells of tax payer money. Any attempt to infer that higher-income communities don't have greater influence over decisions impacting transportation infrastructure, power line right of ways, waste landfill locations, etc is ridiculous.
I never claimed Pat McCrory wants to kill the trolley solely because the extension will serve a predominant black neighborhood area, but ignoring the demographic and class element is simply being dishonest or too ignorant to realize the facts. If Pat McCrory is a "fiscal" conservative, then demonstrate a uniform approach...first thing he does is hit the taxpayer by hiking salaries for his state funded BFFs. You can't practice selective fiscal conservatism and then strong arm a community about being fiscally disciplined. Pat is a clown, continuing the cirque du soleil in Raleigh.
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and the riders are very diverse.
