Charlotte ready to OK truncated LRT extension
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefSeeking to contain costs, Charlotte, N.C.’s Metropolitan Transit Commission is preparing to approve a plan Wednesday truncating the extension of its Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) light rail by 1.2 miles. The plan, estimated to cost $961 million, would stretch LRT northeast from the existing line to a terminus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte campus, instead of at Interstate 485.
The shorter route would retain 90% of the extension’s estimated ridership, the commission says, with revenue service beginning in 2016.
Concern over future federal funding has prompted the commission to move forward, says Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx. “We need to be aggressive on this,” said Foxx, who chairs the transit commission. “There is a lot of uncertainty about how projects get funded.”
CATS chief executive Carolyn Flowers told council members the impact of the economic downturn led to the scaled-back transit plans. The transit commission has endorsed plans to slow the growth of the bus system, defer development of several major routes, and truncate the LRT extension.
CATS’ 9.6-mile Lynx Blue Line began revenue service in November 2007.
