Charlotte 360 Transit Plan

360 stations 360 miles of transit $40 Billion This is the system that Charlotte could build if it had California's 2028 Olympics budget: The largest hurdle to cross is solving the problem of the highways choking uptown Charlotte. UNCC's urban institute designed scenarios for removing I-277 and simplifying the Brookshire freeway and removing the John Belk portion. To build a center-city loop (or the metro moat), the Brookshire portion would be buried underground and Belk would be removed with the newly cleared and available land ready to build an elevated rail loop along the old right-of-way and have the portion of the loop at Charlotte Gateway Station diverted underground as the marquee station in Uptown. The elevated sections will take inspiration from Japanese styles with shops and restaurants below the tracks. With the newly freed up land after the highway removal, public space and local business can thrive in harmony by giving Uptown the third-places it desires. All 5 metro lines (each named after jewels or gemstones) will be de-interlined for better connectivity and easy transfers between lines Uptown. Other road projects include capping US 74 E that separates Chantilly from Commonwealth, with the Topaz line running in the middle of the cap . Another major aspect of this project is Charlotte's own Union Station. The NCDOT already owns the railcar maintenance facility and the land surrounding it, so if Charlotte were to build out its ideal commuter rail network, all lines would converge at Union Station. If Summit avenue were to be severed because of regional rail, then make that part of South End the ultimate transit destination as compensation. Charlotte's pipe and foundry site could be the ideal spot for transit-oriented development and even a spot for A Major League Baseball team if Charlotte realizes these transit plans and develops correctly. In addition to the 5 new metro lines, CATS would see a significant increase in their light rail, tram and BRT capacity. When overlayed with each other, the entire system resembles a spider web, with lines branching out nearly all directions with tram and light rail connecting the orbital sections along the major transit arteries. Major orbital roads will undergo road diets to accommodate light rail, tram and BRT lines. "Charlotte's Web" would be an adequate way to describe the transit model that best suits the current layout of the city while leaving room for significant growth in the future. The Wilkinson transit corridor will be the most vital in Charlotte, with 2 rapid transit lines, 2 light rail lines, 2 trams, and 2 regional rail lines running along the boulevard with connections to the airport via the new people mover, it will make tourism much more accessible and allow passengers to seamlessly connect from the airport to all corners of the city. To save on costs and provide the most value for transit construction, the rapid transit lines will have portions running along the regional rail right-of-way to create interconnected stations similar to the "T" network in Boston. Charlotte would embrace the "garden city" concept with rapid transit connecting all major employment and neighborhood centers in the city while creating new ones in the process to promote density inwards rather than sprawl outwards. Charlotte's ultimate vision should be to become the "Paris in the Piedmont". With its abundant greenery, it already has the foundation for environmental sustainability. Embracing a unique architectural style and promoting walkability/bikeability will make Charlotte feel like a slice of Europe in North America.