What you like/dislike about Charlotte? (Huntersville, King: cul-de-sac, transplants, apartments)
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Charlotte solidly supported the transit tax in the last referendum, so I don't see any reluctance to expand the light rail. Maybe you mean something closer to the slow pace of planning and construction.
The problems tend to be with town governments. I understand that there are questions concerning use of light rail as far as numbers of riders and over all feasibility. Every city that has mass transport has not enjoyed profits and the rail has come at a cost. The important attributes are environmental, less traffic delays, more transportation to those that can't/don't drive, etc. It is all a matter of individuals not looking into the future when it will be far too built up to begin such an endeavor as mass "light rail" transit. We should start now while land is available and cost of labor is cheaper than it will be in the future.
For the state motto "To Be, Rather than to Seem"....Charlotte very often comes across as "To Seem, Rather than to BE". The people can be so pretentious and wannabe for a city this size. Charlotte or the people here will never be satisfied with what it is, for trying so hard to impress the rest of the country and the world that it IS something, that it is most often not. Case in point, would be hosting the DNC. Charlotte was really not big enough as a host city, with enough hotel rooms to accomodate all the visitors, that they had to book rooms in Concord, Rock Hill, and Salisbury because Charlotte didn't have enough room for them. And you certainly didn't hear alot about the complaints that came from the visitors during that convention (like the California delegates who stayed at the Blake Hotel and called it a dump) because the 'Charlotte Distruber' was too busy tooting the horn about how great, and how well Charlotte had pulled it off..LOL.
That's not to say that the drive and energy of the people here to get things done, and make things happen does not have a bad influence on what Charlotte has become in the last 10-20 years. I love the speed at which things get done here, and the energy that is created by new people coming here, and new stores and restaurants opening, and how the city has grown. But it's the attitude or the over confidence that the city can do or be beyond it's reach at times that's a little bit laughable. (Like we had a new coliseum built in '98 that they determined was out of date and needed replacing that alot of cities would give their eye teeth to have, but it wasn't good enough. Or now that we've done the DNC, we can host an Olympics. OH please. Really?...and who's gonna pay for that?)
I love again how things progress here in Charlotte, but often decisions are often already made behind closed doors when things get done, and noone questions why. Why are so many historic buildings torn down? Why are enitre swathes of retail taken out to make Independence an 'expressway?' Why are hundreds of businesses run out to build a rail line to nowhere, a half billion rail spur built, and then they want new businesses and residential built back? Why do we have to spend $50-60 million dollars on a 'greenway' along Kings Drive with God knows how much stonework, sculpture, how many planters with plants to keep alive, and fountains to maintain, when our public schools are an embarassment, and our streets are like driving on never ending washboards. The priorities here are just a tad bit twisted....so that we can be sure and impress that person that might see the facade. Never mind the substance.
Aaahh...Charlotte..."To Seem, rather than to Be."
For the state motto "To Be, Rather than to Seem"....Charlotte very often comes across as "To Seem, Rather than to BE". The people can be so pretentious and wannabe for a city this size. Charlotte or the people here will never be satisfied with what it is, for trying so hard to impress the rest of the country and the world that it IS something, that it is most often not. Case in point, would be hosting the DNC. Charlotte was really not big enough as a host city, with enough hotel rooms to accomodate all the visitors, that they had to book rooms in Concord, Rock Hill, and Salisbury because Charlotte didn't have enough room for them. And you certainly didn't hear alot about the complaints that came from the visitors during that convention (like the California delegates who stayed at the Blake Hotel and called it a dump) because the 'Charlotte Distruber' was too busy tooting the horn about how great, and how well Charlotte had pulled it off..LOL.
That's not to say that the drive and energy of the people here to get things done, and make things happen does not have a bad influence on what Charlotte has become in the last 10-20 years. I love the speed at which things get done here, and the energy that is created by new people coming here, and new stores and restaurants opening, and how the city has grown. But it's the attitude or the over confidence that the city can do or be beyond it's reach at times that's a little bit laughable. (Like we had a new coliseum built in '98 that they determined was out of date and needed replacing that alot of cities would give their eye teeth to have, but it wasn't good enough. Or now that we've done the DNC, we can host an Olympics. OH please. Really?...and who's gonna pay for that?)
I love again how things progress here in Charlotte, but often decisions are often already made behind closed doors when things get done, and noone questions why. Why are so many historic buildings torn down? Why are enitre swathes of retail taken out to make Independence an 'expressway?' Why are hundreds of businesses run out to build a rail line to nowhere, a half billion rail spur built, and then they want new businesses and residential built back? Why do we have to spend $50-60 million dollars on a 'greenway' along Kings Drive with God knows how much stonework, sculpture, how many planters with plants to keep alive, and fountains to maintain, when our public schools are an embarassment, and our streets are like driving on never ending washboards. The priorities here are just a tad bit twisted....so that we can be sure and impress that person that might see the facade. Never mind the substance.
Aaahh...Charlotte..."To Seem, rather than to Be."
I agree that the mayor and city counsel do stupid things and the DNC shouldn't have been here and I also see your points and most seem pretty valid. Have a beer, it makes you relax.
Right on. People in cities are basically the same anythere.
I dunno about that. I'd even go so far as to say that some cities define themselves by the friendliness/rudeness of the people who live there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bindibadji
Those that stereotype locals are the ones that are likely bitter for their own inability to adapt to others or have a serious personal complex that actually has nothing to do with anyone other then theirselves. It is always easier to blame the world for unhappiness than look introspectively. I do not find locals as pretentious either. Basically,what you see around here is what you get. Fortunately, most everyone I meet is well bred and educated. Generally, individuals here are very direct. But, they are also polite and show class. They like to think before speaking and tact is important.
Agreed
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