An Urban Land Institute panel wrapped up a week-long stay in Charlotte today with recommendations on strengthening a $13.5 billion transit pitch and its signature east-west light-rail project.
The 26-mile light-rail project, known as the Silver Line, would run along Independence Boulevard through uptown and to the west, past Charlotte Douglas International Airport and, potentially into Gaston County. To the east, it would stretch into Matthews and, possibly, Union County. The estimated cost is $8.1 billion.
The Metropolitan Transit Commission and Charlotte Area Transit System provided new renderings and maps depicting potential concepts for the proposed Lynx Silver Line light-rail project. (April 29, 2021)
The panel of planning, transit, design and engineering experts spent the past week here meeting with city government and Charlotte Area Transit System representatives, speaking with stakeholders and residents, and researching local trends in population, housing, employment and social mobility.
The experts recommended taking a second look at how the Silver Line is routed through uptown, including suggestions to consider consolidating three planned stations or connecting with the existing north-south light-rail line in the center city and then branching off to the east and west.
Other challenges and potential remedies included in the panel’s discussion today examined how to stage a successful referendum to generate local funding for the transit plan, making the 4-mile streetcar line viable, and educating the public on the employment, housing and equity gains to be made by building the Silver Line.
None of the recommendations are binding, but the city and transit executives sought the outside study and CATS CEO John Lewis introduced the panel’s presentation today.
Marilee Utter, a transit-oriented development (TOD) consultant based in Denver who headed the panel, told CBJ that Charlotte’s ambitious plans make it a bit of an outlier.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic and declining ridership across the U.S., “people are losing confidence in transit,” she said. “(They’re asking), ‘Will it be back? Is TOD as important as it was?' It’s very easy to pull back, to cocoon and say, ‘We’ll figure it out.’ What I hear CATS saying is, 'Yes, these are tough times, but we’re here and we’ll figure it out as a community.'”
City government, starting with a 25-member task force formed in the spring of 2020, and civic and business leaders supporting the $13.5 billion, 18-year plan have struggled to generate enthusiasm for the projects.
As structured now, 62% of the money would come from a one-cent increase in Mecklenburg County’s sales tax and 38% from federal grants. In North Carolina, the state legislature must approve referenda to raise local taxes. State lawmakers have shown little interest, at least so far, in the idea. Persuading the legislature to support the idea is further complicated by partisan differences: Charlotte and Mecklenburg government bodies are dominated by Democrats, while Republicans control the N.C. General Assembly.
There is only one Republican in Mecklenburg’s state delegation, meaning Charlotte wields little to no clout in the legislature. And in addition to those hurdles, north Mecklenburg leaders in local government remain frustrated and alienated because of comparatively minor investments in transit in their area despite paying into a half-cent tax dedicated to transit since 1998.
The presentation concentrated on the regional implications of the Silver Line and transit expansion; the evolution of center city Charlotte; planning and design options around a proposed Eleventh Street station bringing the Silver Line into uptown; challenges and opportunities with both the proposed Silver Line and existing streetcar services; and next steps.
Panelist David Abraham, a member of the Harris County Toll Authority in Houston and a planning, policy and transportation professor at Rice University, said the east-west rail line will save the region “billions of future dollars in the economy” by reducing the need to build and maintain new highways, improving accessibility to major job growth along the corridor and relieving traffic congestion.
Abraham’s research this week, based on a 2-mile buffer around the proposed route, showed that access to the Silver Line would create improved equity and access. According to population data, he added, Black, Hispanic and Asian residents within that area would be represented in proportion to their overall Charlotte populations. As an example, 33% of the population within 2 miles of the light-rail route would be Black residents; in Charlotte, 31% of residents are Black.
Other findings included a call for strengthening the urban core to increase density and, in turn, bolster the case for federal funding while saving money on highways and generating tax revenue for better quality of life. The panel cited uptown’s “extremely low population” of residents — 12,500 — as compared to parking spots in the center city (70,000).
More dedicated, right-of-way transit service and greater frequency — topics that have surfaced often in recent years — were recommended, along with urban improvements such as capping the I-277 beltway to create more pedestrian- and bike-friendly areas.
Limiting displacement and boosting affordable housing were also priorities for the panel. They cited the $7.1 billion transit plan approved by voters in Austin, Texas, in 2020.
That package of projects includes $300 million for anti-displacement and affordability efforts around transit projects, which often spawn private investment and more expensive housing costs. A group of local government and business leaders are in Austin this week as part of a Charlotte Regional Business Alliance trip to explore the Texas capital, including its transit investments.
Christopher Forinash of Washington-based transportation planning firm Nelson\Nygaard, said it may be time for a comprehensive update of the region’s 2030 Plan, the transit and transportation blueprint that has only undergone piecemeal adjustments since 2006.
Jim Hecht, a civil engineer at HDR in San Diego, called CATS’ transit studies and analyses “excellent work” overall, but noted that the Silver Line alignment around uptown “did not include cost, ridership or estimate the (likely federal funding criteria) rating.” That, he added, needs to be done as CATS considers its options for routing through or around uptown.
A written report with all the analysis and recommendations from the ULI panel will be ready within 60 days.
For the past 60 years, ULI has assembled advisory panels to assess challenging issues and projects in cities across the country and the world. Participants are all volunteers and provide expertise in various facets.
In Charlotte, the eight-person panel included an architect, a civil engineer, former and current public-sector transit and land-use executives, and strategic planners versed in transit-oriented development.
Utter, the panel chair, said she has served on 16 advisory groups. Volunteers cannot have any business ties to the projects being studied and are prohibited from taking on clients or work related to the study for one year, she added.