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Most of the data on that attachment was posted a year or more ago and that was before Iredell County took the high road and said NO. Also, Norfolk Southern officially came out against the project within the last year as well.
This is still one of those deals that snakes like Thunberg will keep trying to shove through as time moves on. Hopefully Iredell County and N-S will have the fortitude to remain against it.
Heck, I'm all for it, especially considering the horrible drive to Charlotte which will only get worse when they make I-77 a toll road. This is one of those ideas that's been talked about now for 15 years or more. As far as I'm concerned it's high time that Charlotte and surrounding areas get into the 21st century with affordable, reliable mass transit, and I have a feeling I won't be the only one on the train.
Red line is an option that I'm sure Mecklenburg county would have implemented already if not for Norfolk-Southern standing in the way. They aren't the easiest to work with in getting commuter rail on their lines from what I've read elsewhere. I wish there was a way, the more reliable mass transit the better IMO.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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CATS needs to sit down with representatives from the whole region & redo plans.
If the red line only goes to Davidson, so be it. Gaston wants light rail. There is also no way that those people will approve any hike in sales tax while they are helping Mecklenburg pay for the White Water Center. Ain't happenin'.
They need to have serious talks with towns as well as counties. Is there a market in western Union? Concord?
Towns can drill down to needs better than counties. Currently, Kings Mountain is scheduled for diesel commuter trains to Gastonia then on to Charlotte. A lot of the commuters to Charlotte from Kings Mountain are nurses. NCDOT's plan doesn't really help. Commuters from Shelby are most likely only going to Gastonia. Working out a way to run the red line to Davidson & light rail to Gastonia while we have someone in DC only makes sense. Gaston has a rehabbed line that doesn't involve Norfolk Southern.
The problem is CATS is a department of the city of Charlotte that answers to the Charlotte city council and Mayor. This bunch doesn't exactly have the most sterling reputation with the surrounding areas.
The only county that has ever been approached to participate in the CATS system is Iredell and they have said, more than once, tell us how much it will cost us as they will not sign up to write a blank check to CLT. CATS can't provide any answers. The city council or any of the Charlotte mayors has ever seen fit to meet directly with them. The Red Line is dead as far as Iredell is concerned.
In order for rationalization to work, then they need a transit agency that answers to the region. This is a concept that has yet to work in this area unless imposed by the state as it is with road planning.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,813 posts, read 34,657,307 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by WaldoKitty
The problem is CATS is a department of the city of Charlotte that answers to the Charlotte city council and Mayor. This bunch doesn't exactly have the most sterling reputation with the surrounding areas.
The only county that has ever been approached to participate in the CATS system is Iredell and they have said, more than once, tell us how much it will cost us as they will not sign up to write a blank check to CLT. CATS can't provide any answers. The city council or any of the Charlotte mayors has ever seen fit to meet directly with them. The Red Line is dead as far as Iredell is concerned.
In order for rationalization to work, then they need a transit agency that answers to the region. This is a concept that has yet to work in this area unless imposed by the state as it is with road planning.
I sort of thought that CATS was part of the city government yet I see the vanpool vans all over & they run busses into Gaston. Apparently, they have an identity crisis. Road planning is now down to 3 groups in this area. The rural planning group is now dead.
Maybe people could pressure the road planning groups to spin off one regional planning group for public transit. There is one regional planning group for overall planning. Maybe they are the people to contact.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if Gaston has a clear line, given a grant to get it running it would take people from Lincoln County & Kings Mountain off the road beyond Gastonia. There are also commuters to Charlotte from Hickory. A line to Gastonia would probably pick up some of them. If some commuters from Hickory are using 77, moving them down 321 to Gastonia helps the problem on 77. Commuters from Hickory aren't conjecture. I've talked to people who make that commute.
Any grant money would help the whole region in the long run. If the grant money was an extension of the blue line to Concord, that would be fine.
The problem is CATS is a department of the city of Charlotte that answers to the Charlotte city council and Mayor. This bunch doesn't exactly have the most sterling reputation with the surrounding areas.
The only county that has ever been approached to participate in the CATS system is Iredell and they have said, more than once, tell us how much it will cost us as they will not sign up to write a blank check to CLT. CATS can't provide any answers. The city council or any of the Charlotte mayors has ever seen fit to meet directly with them. The Red Line is dead as far as Iredell is concerned.
In order for rationalization to work, then they need a transit agency that answers to the region. This is a concept that has yet to work in this area unless imposed by the state as it is with road planning.
What are their plans for building and financing regional rail?
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