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Los Angeles, Denver and Atlanta have, or planning to have, BRT. Charlotte is probably 8 to 10 years behind these cities. Likely, Charlotte will also pursue BRT. Or not.
Any reads or data to support this premise...I googled but didn't find much. I think it would be an interesting read, that is, more cities/metros pursuing BRT vs LRT.
I do agree with you that Charlotte seems to resent the success of other areas. Seems like it can't stand not being in the spotlight all the time and having to share headlines with other metros. I sense a lot of insecurity from most Charlotte posters.
Okay, I am envious of one thing. Y'all are much closer to the mountains and I am much more of a mountain man than a beach man.
I think there are certain posters from both cities that can be obnoxious. Though, maybe not the sole reason for Charlotte "envy", with full discloser: and due to a strong association with the RTP area since the 80s, Raleigh has never takin' a liken to Charlotte being the larger more urban city in NC and has been coined "the great state of Mecklenburg". That envy is not so palpable these days days as Raleigh/Durham has become a behemoth in its own right over the past few decades. You have to remember, Hugh McColl (NCNB/NationsBank/Bank of America) and Ed Crutchfield (First Union/Wachovia/Wells Fargo) were in a building height war which galvanized Charlotte's unprecedented (with reference to NC) downtown/uptown building height. Basically the rise of Charlotte's uptown and center city prominence leaving NC's other downtown in the dust. A bunch of historic buildings got destroyed in the process removing a lot of unique character etc etc...still those tall buildings made a statement and surely created a lot of boastful pride...tell ya Raleigh folks didn't like it then and don't like it now.
As far as Charlotte folks envy of Raleigh or display of any level of insecurity, from my time living there and now back in Durham, it's simply that Raleigh is the state Capital and controls or influences infrastructure expansion support whether that be highways, LRT, etc. They feel short changed given the metros large tax base without equivalent or even marginal payback. The other slight is the lack of tax payer driven higher education support....I mean, a city the size of Charlotte should have a public university that has a medical and law school. I too see why they're a little miffed given that the Triangle schools cover those bases above and beyond. Even the Triad has a larger higher education public/private university supported system.
I do think since the 90s, these two big "babies" are working together much better nowadays.
I think it's great that Charlotte could one day be the most walkable city in the Southeast, but it's not the end all to end all, especially in a city with land in all 4 directions.
Still waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much space in Charlotte for that to happen anytime soon.
Gonna take a lot of infill development for that to happen.
Raleigh has been the smaller city to Wilmington, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, New Bern, etc it’s entire history. Heck it’s been smaller than Charlotte specifically since the 19th century. A theory that rests on never getting over a century-old grudge match over being smaller seems a bit much.
The difference is mostly one of a debate over literary criticism. Charlotte’s schools taught Babbitt as a panegyric, and Raleigh’s schools as a satire.
I kid I kid, but seriously. Charlotte has taken Southern boosterism to an art form and that is bound to rub some the wrong way. It is what it is, both sides will be fine.
As a previous poster mentioned, cities like Los Angeles, Denver and Atlanta are pivoting to BRT because of the enormous expense and time involved in constructing more light rail. Charlotte will likely follow down this same path as it matures.
Atlanta, and more likely Dallas and LA, aren't pivoting to BRT exclusively. They are including BRT as another form of mass transit along certain corridors but they are still building out their rail infrastructure. In Atlanta, the streetcar system will continue to be built out and LRT will be the form of transit for the Beltline and the Clifton Corridor towards Emory/the CDC. Commuter rail is planned to Clayton County.
Also, true BRT costs nearly as much as light rail to construct. If the goal is primarily to reduce expenses and time associated with mass transit, then just stick with regular bus lines. In many cases, after so much cost-cutting, what was once envisioned as BRT ends up just being glorified bus service with new vehicles and fancier stations. BRT creep is a real thing.
I kid I kid, but seriously. Charlotte has taken Southern boosterism to an art form and that is bound to rub some the wrong way. It is what it is, both sides will be fine.
Charlotte still takes a back seat to Atlanta (which wrote the book on this) and, more recently, Nashville when it comes to this. As a matter of fact, the sort of boosterism I see for Nashville these days borders on the delusional.
Any reads or data to support this premise...I googled but didn't find much. I think it would be an interesting read, that is, more cities/metros pursuing BRT vs LRT.
Yes. Atlanta (MARTA) just applied, in November 2019, for federal permission to construct a BRT system. They anticipate that once it has been built out, it will likely surpass rail there. Denver is also planning BRT although I don't know if it will surpass rail there or not. Los Angeles already has BRT in addition to light rail. This is not a premise. BRT will not replace light rail in these cities, but will simply ramp up mass transit. Frankly, more cities will pivot to BRT as it is substantially less expensive to build, and much faster to build as well. In addition, you are not restricted to straight lines like typical light rail.
Atlanta, and more likely Dallas and LA, aren't pivoting to BRT exclusively. They are including BRT as another form of mass transit along certain corridors but they are still building out their rail infrastructure. In Atlanta, the streetcar system will continue to be built out and LRT will be the form of transit for the Beltline and the Clifton Corridor towards Emory/the CDC. Commuter rail is planned to Clayton County.
Also, true BRT costs nearly as much as light rail to construct. If the goal is primarily to reduce expenses and time associated with mass transit, then just stick with regular bus lines. In many cases, after so much cost-cutting, what was once envisioned as BRT ends up just being glorified bus service with new vehicles and fancier stations. BRT creep is a real thing.
BRT is much cheaper to build (I believe roughly half the cost or so of light rail), much quicker and offers more flexibility. You are correct in saying that Los Angeles, Denver and Atlanta are not pivoting exclusively to BRT. However these cities are realizing that light rail construction is too costly and slow to satisfy their projected mass transit requirements.
Keep in mind that BRT is a completely different animal than a standard city bus service.
I think there are certain posters from both cities that can be obnoxious. Though, maybe not the sole reason for Charlotte "envy", with full discloser: and due to a strong association with the RTP area since the 80s, Raleigh has never takin' a liken to Charlotte being the larger more urban city in NC and has been coined "the great state of Mecklenburg". That envy is not so palpable these days days as Raleigh/Durham has become a behemoth in its own right over the past few decades. You have to remember, Hugh McColl (NCNB/NationsBank/Bank of America) and Ed Crutchfield (First Union/Wachovia/Wells Fargo) were in a building height war which galvanized Charlotte's unprecedented (with reference to NC) downtown/uptown building height. Basically the rise of Charlotte's uptown and center city prominence leaving NC's other downtown in the dust. A bunch of historic buildings got destroyed in the process removing a lot of unique character etc etc...still those tall buildings made a statement and surely created a lot of boastful pride...tell ya Raleigh folks didn't like it then and don't like it now.
As far as Charlotte folks envy of Raleigh or display of any level of insecurity, from my time living there and now back in Durham, it's simply that Raleigh is the state Capital and controls or influences infrastructure expansion support whether that be highways, LRT, etc. They feel short changed given the metros large tax base without equivalent or even marginal payback. The other slight is the lack of tax payer driven higher education support....I mean, a city the size of Charlotte should have a public university that has a medical and law school. I too see why they're a little miffed given that the Triangle schools cover those bases above and beyond. Even the Triad has a larger higher education public/private university supported system.
I do think since the 90s, these two big "babies" are working together much better nowadays.
I agree with nearly everything that you said, except the comment that Raleigh is the state capital and controls state spending on infracture etc. The city of Raleigh happens to house the NC Legislature and Governor's mansion. However, the actual "City of Raleigh" has no more input into those decisions than any other city in NC. Important to note.
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Still waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much space in Charlotte for that to happen anytime soon. 
