CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There is a major project in the works that will connect uptown Charlotte and South End -- a new pedestrian bridge that would help many people who walk or use the light rail to get to work.
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The light rail bridge abruptly ends along the Blue Line.
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“Right now, 277 is definitely a barrier for any pedestrians or cyclists who want to get uptown,” project manager Dan Leaver said.
This would be an $11 million project, and it has already been funded by public and private dollars -- $3.1 million from the City of Charlotte, $3.3 from NCDOT and $3.1 from Mecklenburg County.
U.S. Bank also put in a $1 million investment.
Construction is scheduled to start in the fall of 2021, with the hope that it will be done by 2023.
“What we want to have is a design people can remember and point to as they are out there,” Leaver said.
There is also a proposal to turn a railyard at the Matheson Avenue Bridge into a 220-acre park.
Eric Spengler heads a nonprofit trying to churn up interest in it.
“That area, right now, is not being used productively,” said Spengler, with Friends of Queens Park. “It is basically a parking lot for trains.”
Spengler said the park would be a game-changer.
There are, however, some obstacles.
The Charlotte City Council and the Mecklenburg County Commission would have to buy the land from Norfolk Southern.
The county recently hired a consultant to help create a master plan.
The vice chairman of the Parks Commission, Rick Winiker, said ideas like Queens Park are exactly what the commission is looking for.
“If we bring community-driven ideas, like places we can come together in an iconic park, that would make Charlotte a wonderful place in the Southeast,” Winiker said.
Queens Park has a long way to go to come to fruition.
Proponents of the idea are focused on building up community and local leader interest.
Norfolk Southern hasn't been engaged.