Charlotte, NC — Trolley Debate

Rail Transit Online – February 2001

Should the planned extension of Charlotte’s historic trolley line run right through the expanded convention center’s main meeting floor at grade or should the tracks be placed on a viaduct?  The Coliseum-Auditorium-Convention Center Authority wants the bridge because it fears foot traffic between the east and west meeting rooms would be disrupted, inconveniencing convention attendees and possibly dissuading some groups from booking the facility.  “The viaduct idea would be to elevate the track high enough so people could circulate under it, and personnel and equipment could flow freely underneath,” The Authority’s Managing Director, Mike Crum, told the Charlotte Observer.  But city engineers are opposed, pointing to a possible $25 million price tag for the structure and a three-year delay in starting streetcar service to the uptown area.  The trolleys now operate on about two miles of South Boulevard using one restored car built for Charlotte in 1928 with a pushed/towed generator.  Additional streetcars would be restored for the extension, which would include electrification of the current line.  The entire cost of the project as currently designed is only $30 million, although it’s eventually planned to convert the heritage operation to full light rail operation.  Trains would be placed inside a large glass tube while crossing through the convention center to prevent anyone from walking in front of a moving train — stations would be outside of the building.  Inside, there would be escalators and elevators to an underpass beneath the tracks.  A contract for restoring the Stonewall Street bridge, upgrading existing track, extending rails through the convention center and installing a traction power system is due to be awarded this month.  Construction would begin in March, with expanded trolley service starting in the summer of 2002 and light rail trains following in 2005.