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Traffic is already a nightmare in that area 24/7. Cannot imagine what a year will bring. What I don't understand why do we even keep building all these new plazas and keep putting the same things in them anyway? UGH. I mean Rea Farms/Waverly has a few new places but basically the same old joints we have right down the street. No planning at all just build...build...build and keep them all moving in.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NDL
You're right.
I would be lying if I said that I have no problem with growth. I moved to this area because of the virtues that this area possessed, yet growth in itself is not a deal breaker; there are many fine people in the Charlotte area from all over the Country, if not the world, who add greatly to Charlotte. (Quick aside: I found a Middle Eastern restaurant near Northlake, whose food is quite good! So yes, I do recognize that with growth come benefits )
After all is said and done, while I can tolerate growth, my issue is with growth management.
The OP mentioned Rea Farms, which is a huge development being built on top of overtaxed roads. Around the City, there are several developments whose current configurations beg for an enhanced infrastructure (e.g. Rea Farms, or the new Riverbend mixed use development).
***
Charlotte's LYNX is holding a forum, seeking to garner resident's input for the upcoming Westbound light rail. While it's great that Charlotte seeks input from residents, the proposed light rail will completely avoid the upcoming, massive, River District.
Not seeking to incorporate and weave the proposed light rail into the unbuilt River District, is to say that there's an elephant in the room; the City's shortsightedness has me concerned about Charlotte's ability to manage growth.
Ardrey Kell is overtaxed; the City greenlighting Rea Farms without significant infrastructure improvements has me concerned about Charlotte's ability to manage growth.
The Riverbend development - large in scope - will be built on top of Mt Holly Huntersville Rd, which, for the most part, features one travel lane per direction. Not good.
The new projects on Stonewall Street, while impressive, feature shockingly narrow sidewalks which look to be too narrow to properly service pedestrians. We will soon see if pedestrian traffic is pushed into the street.
All in all, while there are many things that the City excels at, the City sometimes acts in a way that has me concerned about their ability to manage growth.
I moved to the Charlotte area from an area where terrible traffic jams are common, day and night, so yes, smart growth is something that's important to me.
I'm not certain that there's no plans for the River District. CATS has talked to the Gaston County planning group about light rail to the airport.
My guess is Gaston County is coughing up funds which will help extend the light rail in that direction, so a stop in Belmont will be required, with a spur to the River District as an option pending funding (there isn't much money to go around.)
I would be lying if I said that I have no problem with growth. I moved to this area because of the virtues that this area possessed, yet growth in itself is not a deal breaker; there are many fine people in the Charlotte area from all over the Country, if not the world, who add greatly to Charlotte. (Quick aside: I found a Middle Eastern restaurant near Northlake, whose food is quite good! So yes, I do recognize that with growth come benefits )
After all is said and done, while I can tolerate growth, my issue is with growth management.
The OP mentioned Rea Farms, which is a huge development being built on top of overtaxed roads. Around the City, there are several developments whose current configurations beg for an enhanced infrastructure (e.g. Rea Farms, or the new Riverbend mixed use development).
***
Charlotte's LYNX is holding a forum, seeking to garner resident's input for the upcoming Westbound light rail. While it's great that Charlotte seeks input from residents, the proposed light rail will completely avoid the upcoming, massive, River District.
Not seeking to incorporate and weave the proposed light rail into the unbuilt River District, is to say that there's an elephant in the room; the City's shortsightedness has me concerned about Charlotte's ability to manage growth.
Ardrey Kell is overtaxed; the City greenlighting Rea Farms without significant infrastructure improvements has me concerned about Charlotte's ability to manage growth.
The Riverbend development - large in scope - will be built on top of Mt Holly Huntersville Rd, which, for the most part, features one travel lane per direction. Not good.
The new projects on Stonewall Street, while impressive, feature shockingly narrow sidewalks which look to be too narrow to properly service pedestrians. We will soon see if pedestrian traffic is pushed into the street.
All in all, while there are many things that the City excels at, the City sometimes acts in a way that has me concerned about their ability to manage growth.
I moved to the Charlotte area from an area where terrible traffic jams are common, day and night, so yes, smart growth is something that's important to me.
This is very well said - better than I could have articulated.
The issue is certainly managing the growth. There seems to be absolutely NO foresight in the planning with Rea Farms - none. I spend a lot of time in that area, and the traffic is usually horrible. The idiocy of the thought process behind this is mind boggling, in my opinion. Most of the 8 cities I have lived in were growing cities. They managed their growth much better than this. The growth has to be managed somehow so as to avoid this gridlock, however. EVERYTHING comes down to money, and there is no regard to how all of this building and development is affecting current residents and their quality of life.
A few points about living out and contributing to urban sprawl: First of all, try to find a house in your price range not knowing the area within the least in a few days time. It's tough, and you make the best decisions you can at the time with the information you have gathered. Secondly, you cannot understand the traffic and idiosyncrasies of a city until you live there for a while. I've done this moving thing 10 times, and it is the same every time. There is no way to determine the best place to live when you don't know the area (and after moving 4 times in 5 years with 3 kids, renting was not an option for us). Lastly, it does not appear there is a lot of affordable housing inside 485, at least not that is in a desirable area in my price range. My house in Charlotte would twice what I paid for it with taxes also being more. I stay at home with my kids, so a budget is a big deal. Affordability pushes people to the suburbs, as do the crime issues. I lived in a super convenient urban area in St. Louis, and the crime was in my face all of the time. I was within 5 miles of the best of everything St. Louis had to offer. It's a trade off with many things to consider. Regardless, the traffic issues do not exist because of where I choose to live. The growth is continuing here and in other parts of Charlotte whether or not I choose to live in Union County. The issue is the inability or lack of concern in managing the growth.
I have no issues with growth, as I have said. The issue is the lack of leadership regarding the issue. From what I understand, growth has been consistent for 20-30 years. There is no excuse for the lack of planning.
Would you vote for a tax increase on homes in Union County to shuffle funds to Mecklenburg County who is overburdened trying to fund road expansions? That way Union County residents can come shop, work, and play in Mecklenburg on wider roads and Meck residents who rarely use Union County roads don't have to fund it with their property tax. What if we built a toll booth on Providence Road at the border with Union County and collected a fee for the sprawl to the south clogging the roads here. That's how London has managed growth. 43% of Union County is commuting into Mecklenburg during the day, and then complaining Mecklenburg can't expand roads fast enough, while advertising low taxes as a huge incentive to jump the county border. What is Union County doing to help Mecklenburg build infrastructure so 40,000 Union County residents can efficiently drive into Meck each day????
Adjacent counties are constantly offering incentives to take jobs and housing from Mecklenburg as well. There is not a healthy working relationship between the core county and surrounding counties, and then you have state politics. South Carolina offers huge incentives to get Mecklenburg companies to jump the border. Rea and Waverly have helped NC keep employers like Remi Group and NN Inc from jumping the border to Fort Mill. At the end of the day, an arms race has formed to build faster than surrounding counties.
Would you vote for a tax increase on homes in Union County to shuffle funds to Mecklenburg County who is overburdened trying to fund road expansions? That way Union County residents can come shop, work, and play in Mecklenburg on wider roads and Meck residents who rarely use Union County roads don't have to fund it with their property tax. What if we built a toll booth on Providence Road at the border with Union County and collected a fee for the sprawl to the south clogging the roads here.
Most of the counties surrounding Meck contribute to the transportation planning vis MPO/ MUMPO/ CRTPO. This is a combination of cities, towns and counties that all contribute some form of funding or input into regional transportation planning. There is considerable Federal funding also.
I'm not certain that there's no plans for the River District. CATS has talked to the Gaston County planning group about light rail to the airport.
The projected map showed a line that ran with a stop at the airport, with the last stop being in Belmont.
Which leads me to my next point:
Quote:
Originally Posted by CLT4
My guess is Gaston County is coughing up funds which will help extend the light rail in that direction, so a stop in Belmont will be required, with a spur to the River District as an option pending funding (there isn't much money to go around.)
You're right; after reviewing the proposed plans, I did not consider that they might spur off of the Westbound line into the River District.
As to funding: I wish that the Federal government would step up in funding light rail. I am sure that the City is trying to secure funds.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gypsyjudy
This is very well said - better than I could have articulated.
You are much too kind .
Quote:
Originally Posted by gypsyjudy
The idiocy of the thought process behind this is mind boggling, in my opinion. Most of the 8 cities I have lived in were growing cities. They managed their growth much better than this. The growth has to be managed somehow so as to avoid this gridlock, however. EVERYTHING comes down to money, and there is no regard to how all of this building and development is affecting current residents and their quality of life.
Such short sightedness is indeed mind boggling.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gypsyjudy
Secondly, you cannot understand the traffic and idiosyncrasies of a city until you live there for a while. I've done this moving thing 10 times, and it is the same every time. There is no way to determine the best place to live when you don't know the area (and after moving 4 times in 5 years with 3 kids, renting was not an option for us).
Well expressed, and true: I did my homework before moving to this area, and had visited for a good three or so years before relocating. And when I finally made the move, I realized how little I knew about the area.
Looking back, I wish that I had bought in the City while the prices were low.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CLT4
Would you vote for a tax increase on homes in Union County to shuffle funds to Mecklenburg County who is overburdened trying to fund road expansions? That way Union County residents can come shop, work, and play in Mecklenburg on wider roads and Meck residents who rarely use Union County roads don't have to fund it with their property tax. What if we built a toll booth on Providence Road at the border with Union County and collected a fee for the sprawl to the south clogging the roads here.
Here's an example that I would like to see the City emulate:
"If you want to build such and such project, we're going to have to widen the roads to accommodate such and such project, and here's what you'll pay us to accomplish this task, as a precursor to any building that takes place"
Would you vote for a tax increase on homes in Union County to shuffle funds to Mecklenburg County who is overburdened trying to fund road expansions? That way Union County residents can come shop, work, and play in Mecklenburg on wider roads and Meck residents who rarely use Union County roads don't have to fund it with their property tax. What if we built a toll booth on Providence Road at the border with Union County and collected a fee for the sprawl to the south clogging the roads here. That's how London has managed growth. 43% of Union County is commuting into Mecklenburg during the day, and then complaining Mecklenburg can't expand roads fast enough, while advertising low taxes as a huge incentive to jump the county border. What is Union County doing to help Mecklenburg build infrastructure so 40,000 Union County residents can efficiently drive into Meck each day????
Adjacent counties are constantly offering incentives to take jobs and housing from Mecklenburg as well. There is not a healthy working relationship between the core county and surrounding counties, and then you have state politics. South Carolina offers huge incentives to get Mecklenburg companies to jump the border. Rea and Waverly have helped NC keep employers like Remi Group and NN Inc from jumping the border to Fort Mill. At the end of the day, an arms race has formed to build faster than surrounding counties.
No. I do not support tax increases, especially when the government does such a dismally poor job at managing what they have. Can most people name an instance where they feel their government is responsibly using their tax dollars?
I think it is a ludicrous idea to tax those who live in Union County to use the roads in Mecklenburg County. If you haven't noticed, Union County has ridiculous traffic issues as well, which parallels this issue. The Rea Farms development is particularly interesting to me because of the traffic issues already existing on Providence and Rea Roads, as well as 485. I just don't see how it's going to work out well there.
A lot of people move to Union County rather than Mecklenburg County because of the prices of housing, not necessarily the taxes. The taxes are lower in Union County, but they are not hugely different. That's not why we chose to move to Union County at all. There is no way to avoid expansion outside of Mecklenburg County with the huge number of people moving into Charlotte. It's inevitable.
The issue is not that there are not enough tax dollars to support road expansions. The issue is the lack of foresight with development in this city. There needs to be some control with the development rather than this seemingly unbridled build, build, build!
I don't know what the answer is. Of cities in which I have lived, however, I have never seen so much commercial and residential development with so little planning for the future.
Yes, I agree gypsy. We should be managing growth. Before your sprawling new neighborhood was built, we should have levied a special tax on it (that the developer passes on to the buyer), such as a Mello Roos tax that California utilizes to have new growth pay for infrastructure. That way all the new people pay their fair share of contributing to growth and sprawl.
Or, we should have just not allowed your new neighborhood to be built at all and left it a field.
What large metros with more than 2 million residents and a high growth rate would you say we should model? Austin, Nashville, Orlando, and Tampa seem to be facing similar struggles.
Last edited by CLT4; 07-19-2018 at 11:57 AM..
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