CATS considers options to connect Charlotte Douglas to uptown

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Area Transit System will hold a public meeting Tuesday to discuss options to connect uptown Charlotte to the Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

In a few days, CATS will hold a ground-breaking ceremony for its new Gateway Station, which will be built off Graham Street near Trade and 4th Street.

Gateway Station will be a centralized place where future transit will connect into Uptown Charlotte.

The agency is looking at four options to connect east and west transit. Two of those options include building a tunnel underground.

CATS is considering two light rail options that would connect Belmont to uptown Charlotte.

Both routes would stop at Charlotte Douglas along Wilkinson Boulevard and take less than 28 minutes one way, but one option would divert to Alleghany Street.

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As for the north corridor, CATS is considering two bus routes, one light rail and one commuter rail, which would run between Iredell County and uptown Charlotte.

Bus routes could run on Interstate 77 express lanes and U.S. Route 21.

A light rail is also an option for U.S. Route 21.

The red line plan would connect through the downtown of most north Mecklenburg County cities, but the downside is that CATS doesn't have the authority to build there since it belongs to Norfolk Southern.

The purpose of each option is to save commuters time.

Bus routes on Interstate 77 express lanes are the fastest option at 40 minutes one way, while the U.S. Route 21 light rail would take the longest at 63 minutes.

Channel 9 asked officials if they’ve identified where the trains would stop along the way.

“This effort is intended to identify where the alignment could be and general station locations,” senior transportation planner Jason Lawrence, with CATS, said.

CATS CEO John Lewis said he hopes to build the north, west and east light rail at the same.

He said that would take a lot of funding and would like need voter approval to meet their 2030 goal.

“I still think we can meet that deadline, but it will take a bold initiative,” said Lewis.

CATS is also asking for the public's feedback on four different options to connect the silver line from Matthews to the west corridor through the future Gateway Station.

Two of those options would build a tunnel under Center City.

The first public hearing focuses on getting feedback on transit options from Gaston County to uptown Charlotte.

The hearing will be held on Tuesday at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Freedom Division off Wilkinson Boulevard at 6 p.m.

Cox Media Group