LYNX Blue Line - History

History

By the mid-1980s, city and county planners were evaluating strategies to both control and focus the region's growing population and expanding development. One strategy which was considered was the construction of a light rail to encourage new businesses and housing along its corridor. In 1984, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission made its first recommendation for a light rail line connecting Uptown Charlotte with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) as part of the community's 2005 Vision Plan. In response to this recommendation, mayor Harvey Gantt sought $50,000 from the city council for a feasibility study, only to drop the request due to a lack of council support.

After remaining dormant for nearly three years, the light rail debate once again emerged as a light rail/mass transit task force was established by then-mayor Sue Myrick in early 1988. The task force received $185,000 from a combination of local, state and federal funds for the initial study of a system consisting of three lines radiating out from Uptown Charlotte. One line was to connect with the UNCC to the northeast; a second was to connect to Pineville, with future expansion envisioned to both Fort Mill and Rock Hill to the south; and a third was to connect with Matthews, with future expansion anticipated to Monroe to the southeast.

By September 1988, the result of the initial study carried out by Barton-Aschman Associates was a 77-mile (123.9 km) system encompassing a loop around Uptown Charlotte and eight separate corridors radiating out from the city center, with a total cost of $467 million. The corridors envisioned included a route along Albemarle Road to the east, connecting with both SouthPark and Matthews to the southeast, Pineville to the south, the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport to the west, UNCC to the northeast, along Brookshire Boulevard to the northwest, and Davidson to the north. The cost of the plan was significantly more than the $101 million in bonds issued by city council which was to be used to initiate the project. The cost factor, combined with inability to obtain the necessary right-of-way for the lines, led to the project's deferral.

In March 1990, CATS allotted only $14 million for light rail development for the duration of the decade. Again, construction costs were cited in postponing development of the system. Additionally, the Charlotte proposal at the time did not anticipate sufficient ridership of the system to acquire Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant money to develop the system. The $14 million would be used for both the purchasing of abandoned right-of-way as it became available for future light rail development as well as monies for studying a proposed line connecting the Wilgrove area in east Mecklenburg County with Tyvola Road south of Uptown Charlotte. After nearly fifteen years of debate, in 1998 Mecklenburg County voters approved a one-half cent sales tax to be utilized in the implementation of the 2025 Integrated Transit/Land-Use Plan, which included development of a light rail network. Once the tax was approved, the ability for Charlotte to have matching funds for FTA grants became a reality in financing construction, and planning for the South Corridor to Pineville commenced.