DUE SOUTH | DUSTIN TYLER JOYCE | 1

N 14 MARCH 1938
1
, Charlotte bid farewell to its last operating streetcar, No. 85. After
decades of loyal service to the city, the trolleys were being retired and replaced with new,
modern, gasoline-powered buses. The era of hearing the bell and the clickity-clack of the
trolley as it made its way from the center city to the streetcar suburbs it facilitated was over.
Back in 1940, Charlotte had a population of only 100,899 spread over 19.3 square miles
the 91st-largest city in the country.
2
By 2030, experts suggest, the metropolitan areas population will
double to over 4 million.
3
All those people will bring with them cars, and all those cars will bring
with them traffic, congestion, and pollution. And those will bring a lower quality of life.
While such rapid growth will certainly be a boon to the region, it also has the potential to be
disastrous. To avoid the catastrophe that threatens, Charlotte is looking to its rail-transit past. On 18
September 2002, representatives of the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) made a proposal to
the Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) to construct a multi-billion dollar transit system
integrating light rail, commuter rail, bus rapid transit, enhanced bus service, and even restored
streetcar lines. CATS will construct this system over a period of twenty-five years using the revenue
generated by a .5% transit sales tax approved by voters in 1998 as well as a combination of state and
federal funds. The first phase of that system will be the South Corridor Light Rail Project (SCLRP).
This is its story.

SYSTEM OVERVIEW
To understand the history of the South Corridor light rail line, it must be put in the context of the
O
FIGURE 1
Early twentieth
century streetcar
A trolley makes its way
east on the 100 block
of East Trade Street in
uptown Charlotte.

DUE SOUTH | DUSTIN TYLER JOYCE | 2
comprehensive transit system it will be a part of.
The backbone of the system will be five transit corridors that extend like spokes
of a wheel from the center city. (See FIGURE 3.) In developing the plan for the system,
CATS, the MTC, and their consultants studied the attributes of each corridorexisting
infrastructure, current development and transit use, future plans for the area and projected
ridership numbers, etc.and matched a mode of transit to meet the lines needs. (See
TABLE 1.) In the cases of the southeast and west/airport corridors, where bus rapid transit was
preferred, the MTC recommended retaining light rail as an option; in the northeast/University City
corridor, a bus rapid transit line will extend from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to the
outer reaches of the county.
Uptown, the central business district, will be the hub of the system. The
existing Charlotte Transportation Center on East Trade Street, which currently
serves as the central hub of the bus network, will also be the center of the light rail
lines. A complementary multi-modal station on West Trade Street will connect
commuter rail and bus rapid transit, as well as Amtrak inter-city trains and
Greyhound buses. Modern streetcar lines will link the two transit centers to each
other and the rest of the central city. Charlottes historic trolley line between
uptown and the South End neighborhood immediately to the south of the CBD
has recently been restored and features vintage early twentieth century streetcars.
(See FIGURE 2.)
CATS will build the system in phases by 2025. There has been some
discussion of an even more extensive system connecting Charlotte to its outer
suburbs; planning for this larger system will probably continue after the first
phases of the current plan are completed.

Financing the system
The price tag of the capital investment to construct this system: $1.99 billion, inflated to the time of
construction. The city has already spent $39.7 million to restore the historic trolley line
4
; the South
Corridor light rail line is expected to cost an additional $398.7 million
5
.
Financing will come from a variety of sources. The transit sales tax is estimated to raise $2.55
billion in inflated dollars from 2002 through 2025; while some of these funds will be used for capital
investment, the majority will help pay for operating costs over the next quarter-century. The bulk of
funds for capital investment will come from the state and federal governments. The Federal Transit
Administration is expected to pay half the cost through its New Starts program; a decision on federal
funding will be made later this year. The State of North Carolina has already agreed to cover a quarter
of the cost.
6

TABLE 1
Recommended transit modes
in each corridor

north commuter rail
northeast light rail
southeast bus rapid transit
south light rail
west/airport bus rapid transit
FIGURE 2
Charlottes restored
streetcar line
A vintage trolley
makes an early-
morning run between
the South End and
uptown, 18 October
2004.

DUE SOUTH | DUSTIN TYLER JOYCE | 3


THE SOUTH CORRIDOR
The first phase of the 2025 plan to be constructed will be the South Corridor light rail line, which
will extend 9.6 miles from uptown to Interstate 485 just north of the suburb of Pineville.
FIGURE 3
2025 System Plan
This map shows the
preferred modes,
alignments, and station
locations in each
corridor.

DUE SOUTH | DUSTIN TYLER JOYCE | 4

Stations
The line will have fifteen stations. Nine of the stations will have park-and-ride lots for
commuters who drive their cars to the line and then continue into the city on the train.
(See TABLE 2.) One station, Archdale, will be grade-separated from the street below;
CATS officials worry that if the tracks were on ground level the frequent trains at this
location would increase the traffic problems the line is intended to alleviate. (See FIGURE
6.) One percent of the projects total budget will fund public artwork at the stations.

Trains
On 22 March 2004, the Charlotte City Council authorized CATS to purchase sixteen light-rail cars
from Siemens for $52.5 million,
7
with an option to purchase up to twenty-five more. The
modernistic, aerodynamic cars (see FIGURE 7) will have 68 seats with a capacity of up to 236
passengers including standees. The vehicles, which can travel up to 65 MPH, have a 70% low-floor
design to allow for level entry and exit at station platforms, a feature which better accommodates the
FIGURE 4
I-485 Station
The Interstate 485
station just north of
Pineville will be the
southern terminus of
the light-rail line and
the largest of the lines
nine park-and-rides.
TABLE 2
South Corridor Stations
7th Street
Charlotte Transportation
Center
3rd Street
Convention Center
Carson Boulevard
Rensselaer Avenue
East/West Boulevard*
New Bern Street*
Scaleybark Road*
Woodlawn Road*
Tyvola Road*
Archdale Drive*
Arrowood Road*
Sharon Road West*
Interstate 485*

*park-and-ride locations
FIGURE 5 (LEFT)
Train arriving at a
station
FIGURE 6 (RIGHT)
Archdale Station
A depiction of the
grade-separated
Archdale Drive station
from ground level.

DUE SOUTH | DUSTIN TYLER JOYCE | 5
disabled. Additionally, each car is fully bi-directional
and can be operated by one person in a one-, two-, or
three-car trains. Siemensthe company which built
the light rail cars for many cities across the country,
including Los Angeles, Portland, and Salt Lake City
has begun building the light-rail cars for Charlotte at
its factory in Sacramento, California.
8


Feeder routes
Though nine of the lines stations will have park-and-ride lots for passengers, none of the parking lots
will be big enough to accommodate the personal vehicles for every passenger expected to ride the
train. Because of this, CATS has begun studying the creation of feeder routes that would travel
through the neighborhoods near the light-rail line, pick up passengers, and take them to the train
stations. In fact, in a recent purchase that is part of CATS plan to double its bus fleet over the next
few years, the transit system ordered a set of smaller buses for these feeder routes. The feeder routes
will be in place in time for the lines anticipated opening in October 2006.

Ridership
CATS estimates that by 2025 over 17,000 passengers
should be riding the South Corridors trains every
day. City and transit system officials also estimate that
over $400 million has already been invested in
developments along the route in anticipation of the
future rail line.
9
Most of these projects have been
developed in the South End, where the restored
trolley line already operates. However, investment
beyond the South End is occurring. An excellent
example is the 3030 South condominium complex being built adjacent to the future site of the New
Bern Street station; this project is the first in Charlotte to be built specifically because of the
anticipated presence of light rail and is a model of the transit-oriented development CATS officials
hope to see around the stations.
FIGURE 7
Light-rail vehicle
The front-end design
of the cars currently
being built by Siemens.
FIGURE 8
Scaleybark Station
An artists depiction of
the planned station at
Scaleybark Road and
nearby transit-oriented
development. CATS
hopes transit-oriented
development will help
increase ridership on
the light-rail line.

DUE SOUTH | DUSTIN TYLER JOYCE | 6
MAKING THE CASE FOR LIGHT RAIL
San Diego demonstrates our potential for rail
10

The writer is associate professor of architecture and urban design, UNC Charlotte. In
response to "Reality of light rail: It won't work here" (Sept. 11 Forum):
The population density of San Diego County, like that of Mecklenburg
County, is less than four persons per acre. Many San Diegans predicted light rail,
financed with a half-cent sales tax and no federal assistance, would fail.
But the success of the county's first line (from downtown south) has led to
three additional lines and a fourth under construction. Increased tax revenues on the
higher valuations of land in proximity to light rail is three times the cost of operating
and maintaining the system.
That's reality!
Nelson S. Benzing
Charlotte

This letter to the editor of The Charlotte Observer is typical of the debate that has occurred in the
newspapers pages and throughout the community concerning the SCLRP and the 2025 System Plan
as a whole.
Reasons given by CATS at that September 2002 meeting in
support of the implementation of the transit plan include the fact that
Charlottes metropolitan population is expected to double by 2050
(although more recent studies as quoted above cut the time in half), and
that 85% of that growth is expected to occur outside of Charlottes
urban core. The pressure for continued outward, auto dependant
development will intensify within the metropolitan area and wider
region. Trend growth v. sustainable growth will be a choice with
significant consequences now and more so in the future. The only way
to ensure sustainable growthdefined by CATS as the creation of a more compact growth pattern
with diverse development opportunities offering improved integration of living, working, shopping,
educating and recreating uses, as well as expanded travel choiceswill be to implement CATS
Metropolitan Vision, which promises to improve the integration of land use and transportation
decisions, enhance livability and environmental health, and promote economic vitality.
11

Those who support the construction of the line argue that the line is a primary way to offset
the challenges presented Charlottes future population growth, as well as the burden on existing roads
and the environment that all those newcomers will bring.
FIGURE 9
I-277 bridge
The bridge that will
carry light-rail trains
and passengers from
the south, over
Interstate 277, and in
to uptown.

DUE SOUTH | DUSTIN TYLER JOYCE | 7
ARGUING AGAINST THE LINE
The system and its supporters have not been without their critics, of course. Various people and
groups, including Patrick Ballantine, the Republican candidate for North Carolina governor; a group
that calls itself C-FAST, short for Charlotteans for Affordable and Sensible Transit; and everyday
citizens have voiced concerns about the proposed system. Of greatest concern have been the systems
cost and viabilitywill that many people actually use the system? And if not many people will use the
system, should billions of dollars be spent on it?as well as safety.
Patrick Ballantine: We need to build roads better and faster. Road money is for roads.
12

Questions have been raised recently about the systems design, especially given the opening
earlier this year of Houstons first light-rail line and the abnormally high number of collisions that
have occurred between light-rail vehicles and personal automobile.
13
Comparisons to other existing
light-rail systems have been frequent, particularly centering on the other systems short comings and
failuresranging from construction setbacks and cost increases to lack of ridership in less-dense
communities and admissions by leaders in those communities that rail was a mistake.
The most vocal opposition group,
however, has been C-FAST. Their mission
statement reads: Informing tax-payers [sic] of
Charlotte-Mecklenburg about the myths
surrounding light rail and exposing why light
rail is being pushed upon the taxpayers and
citizens of Charlotte. There are affordable and
sensible solutions, as opposed to the visions of
the planners. The group claims that local
government, business, and civic leaders were so anxious to construct railtoo anxious, in factthat
they stretched the truth to the public, inflated ridership estimates, downplayed capital investment
costs, and overstated the success of such systems in cities similar to Charlotte in terms of size,
development patterns, and density. They accuse the city of turning its back on the peoples best
interest and promoting construction of the train lines despite the course the development in the
region is expected to take over the next quarter-century. They describe the entire systemand
particularly the rail portions of itas a waste of money; deny that it will have the numbers of riders
necessary to justify its cost; and decry it as a burden that will be carried by generations to come.
14


FIGURE 10
C-FAST
The Web site of
Charlotteans for
Affordable and
Sensible Transit.

DUE SOUTH | DUSTIN TYLER JOYCE | 8

CONCLUSION
SHOULD LIGHT RAIL BE BUILT?
I personally am of the opinion that full implementation of the 2025 System Plan is one of the best
things that can be done to ensure a bright and sustainable future for the City of Charlotte and to
enhance an already high quality of life. In fact, I personally question whether the plan is ambitious
enough. But, as it stands, the proposal is an excellent response to the needs of the metropolitan area
and is impressive in its design, functionality, and beauty.
The idea that roads should continue to be built ad infinitum in the Charlotte area is
untenable. Conversely, the idea that the ridership expected on any one of the lines will make a
significant difference in the amount of cars on the road is unreal. I doubt that the hundreds of
thousands of commuters on Charlottes streets and freeways every morning and afternoon will notice
much of a difference in their commute after October 2006. However, the thousands
of commuters on the train will. Thats the real strength of this plan.
Cities, like people, are unique and each has its own personality. To compare
them to each other on a regular basis is unreasonable and unfair and will only lead to
unjustified conclusions. Likewise, the purpose of this plan is to address Charlottes
needs, not Portlands or San Diegos or Salt Lake Citys. An example comes from an
article I read as I was researching this paper. One of the arguments against Charlottes
transit plan was the fact that in cities like Charlotte such a plan must center on the
central business district; that the CBD in turn must have a sufficient workforce to
support the system; and that uptown Charlotte does not. However, limiting such statistics to the area
defined by Interstate 277the freeway that surrounds uptown and defines its boundariesand its
approximately 60,000 workers would not hold in other cities, and likewise should not in Charlotte. If
all central city areasneighborhoods such as Midtown, the hospital district, and the South Endand
their employment numbers were included in the statistics, as they would be in other cities, the
workforce would begin to approach 200,000, more than enough to support such a system.
While Charlotte should seek to address the concerns of the opponents of the system, it
should not be held back by them. Charlotte, CATS, and the federal governmentwhose approval of
paying half the cost of the system is still awaitedshould push ahead and complete the system as
soon as possible so that its benefits, which are so desperately needed, will come as quickly as possible.
The South Corridor Light Rail Project is only the first step in a long-range plan that will be a positive
aspect of this region for generations to come.
FIGURE 11
Light-rail vehicle:
front and side
profiles
FIGURE 12
Transit-oriented
development
LandDesign, a site and
landscape planning
firm, has planned this
type of transit-
oriented development
along the light-rail and
trolley lines. This is the
type of sustainable,
pedestrian- and
transit-centered
development
Charlotte needs.

DUE SOUTH | DUSTIN TYLER JOYCE | 9

NOTES
1. Charlotte Trolley, Inc. Meet the Vintage Cars.
http://www.charlottetrolley.org/vintage.html,
accessed 3 November 2004.
2. United States Bureau of the Census. Population of the
100 Largest Urban Places: 1940.
http://www.census.gov/population/documentation/
twps0027/tab17.txt, accessed 3 November 2004.
3. News 14 Carolina. Rapid growth brings challenges.
http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/local_ne
ws/mecklenburg/?SecID=3&ArID=61900, accessed
3 November 2004.
4. Dianne Whitacre. Trolleys 1st run draws only 5. The
Charlotte Observer, 19 October 2004.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/tran
sportation/9955141.htm, accessed 19 October 2004.
5. Dianne Whitacre. Feds signal light rail OK likely. The
Charlotte Observer, 10 September 2004.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/9625600.h
tm, accessed 10 September 2004.
6. Charlotte Area Transit System. Corridor System Plan, 18
September 2002, pp. 33-34.
7. Dianne Whitacre. Charlotte ready to order 16 light-rail
cars. The Charlotte Observer, 20 March 2004.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/tran
sportation/8233554.htm, accessed 23 September
2004.
8. Charlotte Area Transit System. CATS Light Rail Vehicle
Specifications.
http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Virt
ual+Transit/lightrail.htm, accessed 4 November
2004
9. Charlotte Area Transit System. South-Project
Description.
http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Rap
id+Transit+Planning/South-
Project+Description.htm, accessed 4 November
2004.
10. Nelson S. Benzing. The Observer Forum: San Diego
demonstrates our potential for rail. The Charlotte
Observer, 17 September 2004.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/opini
on/9685626.htm, accessed 17 September 2004.
11. Charlotte Area Transit System. Recommended System
Plan PowerPoint presentation, 18 September 2002.
12. quoted in Sharif Durhams and Richard Rubin. Ballantine
raps rail spending. The Charlotte Observer, 25 August
2004.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/948
7748.htm accessed 23 September 2004.
13. Dianne Whitacre. Houstons light-rail bumper cars on
way? The Charlotte Observer, 15 August 2004.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/colu
mnists/dr_traffic/9406048.htm, accessed 4
September 2004.
14. Charlotteans for Affordable and Sensible Transit.
http://www.c-fast.org, accessed 4 November 2004.

IMAGE CREDITS
FIGURE 1 http://www.cmhpf.org/photoGallery/4/scars1.jpg, accessed 4 November 2004
FIGURE 2 http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/transportation/9955141.htm, accessed 19 October 2004.
FIGURE 3 Charlotte Area Transit System. 2025 System Plan.
FIGURE 4 personal e-mail correspondence with Jennifer Green, Charlotte Area Transit System, 26 October 2004
FIGURE 5 http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Rapid+Transit+Planning/South-
What+will+stations+look+like%3F.htm, accessed 13 October 2004
FIGURE 6 http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Rapid+Transit+Planning/Archdale+Drive+Station.htm,
accessed 13 October 2004
FIGURE 7 http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Rapid+Transit+Planning/South+Corridor.htm, accessed 23
September 2004
FIGURE 8 personal e-mail correspondence with Jennifer Green, Charlotte Area Transit System, 26 October 2004
FIGURE 9 http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Rapid+Transit+Planning/I-277+Bridge.htm, 13 October
2004
FIGURE 10 http://www.c-fast.org, accessed 4 November 2004
FIGURE 11 http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Virtual+Transit/lightrail.htm, accessed 23 September 2004
FIGURE 12 http://www.landdesign.com/html/portfolio/projects/plan_8.html, accessed 4 November 2004