Charlotte's LYNX Light Rail: Ten Years Later

[Metro Jacksonville]

Charlotte's LYNX Light Rail: Ten Years Later



2017 will mark the ten year anniversary of the opening of Charlotte's LYNX Blue Line light rail system.  The LYNX Blue Line, operating with 10 to 15 minute weekday headways, has largely been credited with stimulating transit oriented development throughout the city. No where is this more evident than the city's South End District.

Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2017-jan-charlottes-lynx-light-rail-ten-years-later

[fsquid]

It's amazing the building go along the line going out to UNCC when I was there over Christmas.

[manasia]

I used to live in Charlotte in 2012, and honestly even though it was limited then, Lynx Light Rail was really cool. I would use it despite having a vehicle.

[fsquid]

I used it, dropped me right off at Big Ben's after the football game.

[Ocklawaha]

Time to pull your head out JTA!

[Ocklawaha]

Jacksonville Transportation Center (Prime Osborn) to:

Orange Park Town Hall - 14 miles

Orange Park Mall - 13.5 miles

Jacksonville Beach Town Center - 18 miles

Gateway Plaza via Bay Street and former F&J - 8 miles

International Airport via Gateway/F&J - 18 miles

Just imagine if we had spent our $200 Million back in the 80's on REAL mass transit as opposed to the Skyway? How much further ahead of Charlotte, or Tampa, or _______ would we be? But now we've focused an opportunity to make Lemonade out of a Lemon, into another Lemon Pie-in-the-Sky idea... In 10 years JTA will be back with a plan for a hyperloop or maglev conversion because, well you know, it's the next wave of the future. 

[JaxJersey-licious]

While Charlotte is a great example of the benefits of light rail in spurring new development, light rail remains a hard sell for a lot of local governments and residents because for every promising Charlotte Lynx there are under-performing transit systems like Norfolk's Tide. Both regions have similar demos with light rail along old railroad ROW but Norfolk is not getting anywhere near the new development by its rail station as Charlotte has and a system boosting expansion to the more populated Virginia Beach seems to be facing tons of opposition.

I don't mean to be discouraging as I am an active user of mass transit and an advocate for its continued expansion, service improvements, innovation. And I don't want to give the impression that alternate modes of transit are only useful in certain regions. But it's important to see not only what looks encouraging about establishing light rail systems but what can we learn from where transit hasn't lived up to expectations - besides Jacksonville, of course!

[thelakelander]

According to this article, Norfolk's system is beating estimated initial ridership projections, although it averages less riders than the Skyway.

http://pilotonline.com/news/local/transportation/five-years-of-the-tide-light-rail-in-norfolk-what/article_c0e01118-12ea-50d4-9ea1-0848694c5d0f.html

What Norfolk's position on modifying land use regulations to encourage infill growth around its LRT system? The article claims $532 million in TOD since 2011 but it's hard to claim all development would not have happened if transit were not present.

[JaxJersey-licious]

According to this article, Norfolk's system is beating estimated initial ridership projections, although it averages less riders than the Skyway.

http://pilotonline.com/news/local/transportation/five-years-of-the-tide-light-rail-in-norfolk-what/article_c0e01118-12ea-50d4-9ea1-0848694c5d0f.html

What Norfolk's position on modifying land use regulations to encourage infill growth around its LRT system? The article claims $532 million in TOD since 2011 but it's hard to claim all development would not have happened if transit were not present.

I wouldn't consider Norfolk's Tide light rail an abject failure and there is no doubt the city has seen benefits for having an alternate form of transit, but I have 3 major concerns:

City leaders have claimed over $500 million in TOD and other construction/expansion projects due to it's light rail but it seems to be concentrated in the downtown core and hasn't lead to any significant new infill construction or revitalizations outside of Norfolk's previously gentrifying neighborhoods.

And even though they have all this new development stemming from light rail, how come ridership has gone down every year since it's inception? Gas prices being low may have something to do with this but now that their rising, this year doesn't look any better for ridership.

Finally, if this light rail transit system was to be the impetus to improve the region's transportation needs, how come the Virginia Beach voters this November soundly reject it's expansion in their city? On top of that, the state apparently bought the ROW for it's construction and now the city will have to reimburse the state for it's purchase if not used and they still voted against expansion.

I agree we have to see if present zoning, tax incentives, land-use regulations, new development parking waivers, etc. need to be looked at it or tweaked to encourage more infill. But it's encouraging that there are not only successful examples of light rail in the South, but other communities are giving it a more serious look. 

[thelakelander]

According to this article, Norfolk's system is beating estimated initial ridership projections, although it averages less riders than the Skyway.

http://pilotonline.com/news/local/transportation/five-years-of-the-tide-light-rail-in-norfolk-what/article_c0e01118-12ea-50d4-9ea1-0848694c5d0f.html

What Norfolk's position on modifying land use regulations to encourage infill growth around its LRT system? The article claims $532 million in TOD since 2011 but it's hard to claim all development would not have happened if transit were not present.

I wouldn't consider Norfolk's Tide light rail an abject failure and there is no doubt the city has seen benefits for having an alternate form of transit, but I have 3 major concerns:

City leaders have claimed over $500 million in TOD and other construction/expansion projects due to it's light rail but it seems to be concentrated in the downtown core and hasn't lead to any significant new infill construction or revitalizations outside of Norfolk's previously gentrifying neighborhoods.

I just looked at Norfolk's LRT on Google Earth. A major issue for no TOD outside of downtown may be that there isn't a large amount of land primed for redevelopment around the stations. Outside of downtown, it's boxed in by I-264 and established waterfront single family neighborhoods around most stations. Charlotte's Blue Line is completely different. It parallels I-77 but I-77 is several blocks away, as opposed to right up on the rail system's ROW.

And even though they have all this new development stemming from light rail, how come ridership has gone down every year since it's inception? Gas prices being low may have something to do with this but now that their rising, this year doesn't look any better for ridership.

I believe Charlotte's LRT has declined in ridership since its initial year as well. I'm not familiar with Norfolk's transit system, but are there competing bus lines with the LRT line?  Was the existing bus system redesigned to feed riders into LRT?  If not, that could have a negative impact on ridership growth and overall transit system operation costs.

Finally, if this light rail transit system was to be the impetus to improve the region's transportation needs, how come the Virginia Beach voters this November soundly reject it's expansion in their city?

In my experience, most of the general public does not want to be taxed more. Doesn't matter whether its LRT, public libraries or dredging channels for ports.  It gets worse when you ask for money from those who will receive no direct benefit. In a spread out city like VA Beach, the sections of the city voting in favor of the line were the areas to be directly served by it.

On top of that, the state apparently bought the ROW for it's construction and now the city will have to reimburse the state for it's purchase if not used and they still voted against expansion.

They probably won't do it but if they really want LRT, they should seek to combine other potential funding sources. In Houston, the state wasn't in favor, so they built their initial 7.5-mile starter line without state and federal assistance.

I agree we have to see if present zoning, tax incentives, land-use regulations, new development parking waivers, etc. need to be looked at it or tweaked to encourage more infill. But it's encouraging that there are not only successful examples of light rail in the South, but other communities are giving it a more serious look.

I think having supportive land use policy is something most communities still overlook. It doesn't matter what a place invests in, if the land uses work against it, it's not going to achieve the desired level of success.