Are you talking about during the construction period? The finished product doesnāt look all that different to me. I like the stage. I do wish they would have saved the splash pad. It seemed like an amenity little kids loved.
I wonāt be satisfied until thereās a new high school with the name Ridge Ridge High School.
Whatās the obsession with putting Ridge in the name of a high school in this area? Whatās that? Three now?
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I remember when CMS opened 2 new high schools every 5 years and had to close one within a decade of it being opened.
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While true that the high school at that location āclosed,ā the campus was then used for a K-8.
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That poor school. Theyāre 4A, and their soccer team got destroyed by a 1A or 2A school. Gonna be a long year for them in sports.
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I am writing this approximately two years after this article was posted by Charlotte Magazine. I am already concerned about future congestion. In most metro areas of Charlotteās size, interstates/freeways carry the bulk of commuters - not city streets or transit. For example, I77 on the southside alone has average daily traffic (ADT) of 170K vehicles per day. This is equal to approximately five city stret arterials. According to federal authorities, Charlotte transit in 2020 had 20,061,400 unlinked passenger trips or 55,113 riders per day.
As Charlotteās metro population moves into the 4-5 million range over the next 30-40 years, it will need freeways as well as transit. When you look at the infrastructure of metros in this range today, you find that most have freeway and transit systems significantly larger than Charlotteās. I am all in on building the proposed transit system, but I am not for reducing freeway miles. In fact, Charlotte needs more freeway miles for the future.
According to federal authorities, Charlotte ranks 31st in roadway miles and 35th in freeway miles among the 50 largest metros. The Charlotte metro or MSA ranks 22nd in population, but it will jump over Baltimore later this year to become the 21st largest. Charlotteās MSA or metro population in 2023 is 2.8 million.
Charlotte, in 2019, had 172 freeway miles. But metros with populations in the 4-5 million range that are known for great transit are Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle. Their respective freeway miles are 458, 258, and 281.
In addition, the Charlotte MSA typically ranks as the eighth fastest growing MSA population in the US in population change behind only Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Austin, Orlando, and San Antonio.
In addition, according to federal authorities, in 2017, average daily traffic (ADT) on Charlotteās interstates/freeways was 97,346 which ranked 19th in the US. Bostonās ADT on freeays was 96,427. Also, in 2017, Charlotteās ADT per freeway lane mile ranked 24th with 16,866. Boston was 16,962.
Summing my thoughts up, Charlotteās MSA or metro population will rank as the 21st largest in the US later this year. But it is typically the eighth fastest growing in the US in population change.+Unless catastrophic chnage occurs, it will add at least 1.35 million people over the next 30 years. Then the population should be approximately 4.15 million in 30 years or 4.6 million within 40 years or earlier. In 2023, the respective populations of Boston, San francisco, and Seattle were 4.91 million, 4.56 million, and 4.04 million.
Yet, Boston, San francisco, and Seattle ranked 10th, 13th, and 14th in US transit rankings compared to Charlotteās 30th. The three areas respectively ranked 8th, 24th, and 15th in roadway miles compared to Charlotteās 31st. And the three respectively rank 7th, 21st, and 19th in freeway miles compared to Charlotteās 35th. And the three respectively ranked 8th, 17th, and 18th in freeway lane miles compared to Charlotteās 33rd. And don;t forget, as mentioned earlier, Charlotte transit ranks 30th. As you can see, Charlotte has alot of catching up to do to avoid severe congestion in future years. We cannot continue to rank 30th, 35th, and 33rd in infrastructure while our population is soaring.
Charlotteās ADT per freeway and ADT per freeway lane mile being similar to Boston should be alarming to Charlotte officials. Charlotte needs additional freeway lane miles not fewer.
If you can imagine Charlotteās MSA population being 4.6 million in 40 years. Today the MSA non-farm workforce is approximately 47 percent of the MSA population. If this percentage continues, the workforce in 40 years will be approximately 2.162 million people and up from 1.34 million today. This will be an increase of approximately 822,000 workers.
If a true regional transit system could somehow be built with eight counties contributing financailly to it success, then maybe eight lines could be built with lines going deeper into outlying counties. Denver, with a metro population only slightly larger than Charlotteās, has 10 rail lines in place. If these eight lines in Charlotte and surrounding counties could be built over the next 40 yearrs, imagine if these lines each averaged 50k riders per day or 18 million additional riders per year. This 18 million combined to the present day 20 million riders would have a combined 38 million riders annually. Of course, the existing bus ridership will also increase, and I am not accounting for this.
But this 38 million will still fall woefully short of Denverās present day 105 million. And Boston, San francisco, and Seattle have transit numbers well above that of Denver.
But what seems reasonable is that most of the eight lines will not be built due to lack of funding because of a lack of vision to include outlying counties or a lack of desire on the part of the oputlying counties. Ridership then may not even reach 38 million. So, now imagine if the metro workforce increases by 822,000 from the 1.34 million today to 2.162 million in 40 years, but our local transit system is still stuck in neutral and our freeway system is woefully inadequate. Imagine adding over 800K commuters to our present road system.
As you are thinking about this possible scenario, look more closely at San Francisco. The San francisco-Oakland-Fremont MSA ranks 13th in the US in population. Its transit system ranks 6th in the US with over 351 million unlinked passenger trips annually. However, it ranks second in the US in ADT on freeways with 153,961 ADT average. And it also ranks second in ADT per freeway lane. Why is this? Why does it ranks so high in congestion? Why does it rank second only to Los Angeles in congestion? San Francisco ranks 24th in totla roadway miles, it ranks 21st in totlal freeway miles, and it ranks 17th in total freeway lane miles. It is very obvious that it takes a combination of excellent transit and freeways to combat congestion when metros reach 4-5 million. San Francisco helps to prove this point.
But San Diego with a metro population that ranks 18th, also ranks very high in congestion. San Diego ranks 4th in ADT on freeways and 6th in ADT per freeway lane. But how could this be, afterall San Diego has the 13th largest transit system on the US. San Diego ranks 23rd in roadway miles, 18th in freeway miles, and 14th in freeway lane miles. Plus, San Diego sits close to the large population bases in Los Angeles and Tiajuana, Mexico.
Also, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA ranks 36 th in population with 1.95 million. But San Jose ranks 3rd in ADT on freeways and 3rd in ADT per freeway lane. San Jose ranks 21st in transit rankings, 49th in roadway miles, 47th in freeway miles, and 36th in freeway lane miles.
And Sacramento ranks 8th in ADT on freeways, and 9th in ADT per freeay lane. Its transit system is the 32nd largest in the US. It ranks 35th in roadway miles, 43rd in freeway miles, and 34th in ADT per freeway lane. Sacramento is the 28th largest MSA.
The point in all of these stats is to shpw that as a metro population moves into the 4-5 million range then that metro shpuld prepare by having in place not only an excellent transit system but also an excellent freeway system. And Charlotte currently has neither.
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When I added this post immediately above, I knew that it would be out of place. This in response to an article in Charlotte magazine where the magazine advocates tearing down I277 . In the article they mentioned several things as to reasons for the tear down. But we go thrpough different phases in the US. Now it is popular to build density and be anti-roads. But it will swing back in 50 years. It is necessary to have good roads and transit. I will explain if you take the time to read my comments above. But I was reading back in this forum and just ran across it, and I thouoght I would like to give my two cents. Sorry that my response is quite long.
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A lot of good stats in your post. I appreciate the thought that went into it.
Charlotteās lack of forward planning while building and growth has exploded, has left us hemmed in with little area to expand transit (both rail and roads). The cost to do so now will be tremendous because necessary right of will require acquisition of hundreds of millions (probably billions) of dollars of real estate.
The outer counties, except Gaston, seem to be a lost cause, at least in the immediate future.
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clt says raleigh nc loves to take our $
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clt says put in a par 3 course there
Around the new MLB stadium in 
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Considering Tepper got 600 million, this seems like a no brainer
I wish we could have 6 commuter lines and one less tepper for $600 million
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