We’re speaking up for better bus stops and future rail stations
At the July 8 meeting of the MPTA’s Planning and Capital Project Delivery committee meeting, we spoke up during the comment period to advocate for improved amenities at bus stops, Silver Line light rail stations that meet the mobility needs of riders, and an additional Red Line commuter rail station at W. Craighead Street to close a large gap in the line and provide transit access to area residents.
Better bus stops and getting Silver Line stations right
Our executive director Shannon Binns spoke first. (watch here starting at timestamp 16:26):
“First, regarding the Silver Line value engineering study, we appreciate the effort to identify cost savings. However, we encourage you to distinguish between efficiencies that preserve the project’s long-term value and cuts that simply defer costs to the future. We support consolidating the First Ward and 11th Street stations because they’re so close together. But we do not support eliminating stations like Remount and the Iron District or relocating the Bojangles Coliseum station for relatively modest savings.
Transit doesn’t simply serve great places—it helps create them. The stations we build today will shape where people live, work, and invest for generations. Charlotte has already learned, through the Blue Line, that cutting stations to save money often means paying much more to build them later.
Second, on Better Bus Stops, we encourage you to raise the minimum standard. Replacing dirt with concrete is certainly an improvement, but a bus stop should provide more than a place to stand. Every improved stop should include, at a minimum, a bench and, wherever feasible, shade or shelter. The quality of the wait is part of the quality of the trip.
The new mobility tax will support investment in better bus stops. (image: CATS)
If we want people to choose transit, we need to make waiting for the bus safe, comfortable, and dignified—especially for older adults, people with disabilities, and anyone waiting on a hot summer afternoon or in the rain. Voters approved this investment because they believe transit should be a convenient, comfortable, and attractive choice.
The decisions you make now will shape this system for decades. Let’s build a transit network that future generations will thank us for—not one they’ll have to spend decades correcting. Thank you.”
Preparing for the future: Red Line station planning
Next, our urban design specialist Eric Zaverl spoke about the importance of the proposed W. Craighead Street station on the future Red Line (watch here starting at timestamp 18:40):
“On behalf of Sustain Charlotte, I urge you to recommend both the Camp North End and Graham/Craighead stations as part of the Red Line’s Locally Preferred Alignment.
The case for Graham/Craighead isn’t based only on who lives there today. It’s based on the community we’re trying to build tomorrow.
This area became industrial because it developed around a freight railroad. Once that corridor becomes passenger rail, the economics change. A station creates value. It attracts investment, housing, jobs, and mixed-use development. The City already allows transit-oriented development around station areas. The station doesn’t simply respond to land use—it helps shape it.
Without a station, nearby neighborhoods will watch trains pass through their community while missing many of the mobility and economic development benefits the Red Line can bring.
I’d also encourage you to learn from Charlotte’s own history. More than twenty years ago, decisions were made to eliminate stations and shorten the Blue Line to save money. Today, we’re spending far more—and creating much greater disruption—to add back stations and extensions that, in hindsight, should have been built from the beginning.
Let’s not repeat that mistake. We have one opportunity to build this corridor right. If there’s a reasonable path to including the Graham/Craighead station today, I believe future generations of Charlotteans will thank you for making that investment.”
What’s next for the Red Line
Although the committee voted 5 to 4 not to recommend a station at W. Craighead Street, the Executive Committee will consider this issue again at its July 22nd meeting. We will continue to work with residents to advocate for this station to be included in planning efforts, and for aligned land use planning to support the development of this area as a multimodal corridor.