Meeting

Report

 
RON TOBER
Charlotte Area
Transportation System
by Rick Jackson
 
Ron Tober, Chief Executive Officer of the Charlotte Area Transportation System (CATS) addressed Charlotte Rotary on Tuesday and communicated the short and long term plans for transportation development in the Charlotte area.
 
Ron introduced the concept of “Integrated Transit Land Use,” which includes five critical corridors serving the city, county and surrounding suburbs. Using already established roads and railways as “Adopted Corridors,” CATS will expand newly constructed bus lanes, light rail and on Central Plaza, street cars.
 
The timeline for completion of all five corridors is 2012. The total cost for capital and operating is approximately $6 billion. The federal government will fund 56% of the capital costs with 14% provided by the state and about 20% supported by a ½ cent sales tax. Nearly 70 % of the operating costs will be funded by the ½ cent sales tax.
 
The south corridor design is nearly complete and nearly 90% of the real estate needed for development has been purchased. The vehicles for the line have also been purchased and construction of the south corridor will likely begin in the first quarter, 2005. The timeline for construction of the other corridors (4) will be decided by spring, 2006. It is expected the four remaining corridors will be constructed simultaneously. The south corridor is a 10 mile line from south Charlotte to uptown and includes 10 miles of track and 15 stations that will run every 7 minutes in morning and afternoon drive and every 15 minutes the remainder of the day. There will be a 500 car parking garage at the southern terminal. In the early stages after opening, Tober expects approximately 9,100 passengers a day and about 1800 after fully developing the corridor.
 
Charlotte bus ridership on local, express and uptown routes were up 38% in 2003 and another 5% in 2004. Ridership on “Gold Rush” buses serving the uptown area are up 200% in the past year. It is expected that ridership will increase even more with the opening of Johnson and Wales University and the new uptown arena.
 
While acknowledging the uptown trolley has experienced a low, daily rider count, Tober suggested it was never intended as a pure commuter service. Rather, Tober explained, the trolley was built as a tool for economic development and from this perspective, the trolley has been very successful.
 
In closing, Tober acknowledged some of the media criticism the light rail plan has generated but explained that 32 American cities currently offer light rail and evidence of their popularity and success can be demonstrated by the fact that 25 of those cities are either actively expanding the service or planning the construction of new lines.
 
Head Table:
Kemp Dunaway, Jr., Chris Thomas, Tom Robertson, Tim Newman, Gregg Walker, Hunter Widener; Invocation: John Tabor
  
Visitors and Guests:
Randall Groves; Health & Happiness: Martin Waters; Song: Gregg Walker

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