The Charlotte Area Transit System has received federal environmental approval of the first of its five transit lines, setting the stage for construction to begin soon. At the same time, a local group was protesting the proposed routing of another rail line, which might require the relocations of hundreds of graves in two historic cemeteries.
With federal environmental approval, CATS is expected to act quickly to buy land along the future 10-mile light-rail line. The route will run from uptown Charlotte south along South Boulevard to just short of Interstate 485 in Pineville.
CATS has also recently received word that from the federal and state governments that they will fund a portion of the work on the line. The federal government will pay for half the cost, and the state government will pay for another one-fourth. The remaining one-fourth of the cost is paid for by an additional half-cent sales taxes for transit in Mecklenburg County. Construction is expected to start this fall on the $371 million project, with completion expected in 2006.
The line will have 14 stations, though only the seven farthest from the city center will have parking lots. This is in keeping with the system’s desire to have light rail serve as a means of redevelopment the area along the corridor into higher- density, more transit-dependent communities. Government and private facilities, such as libraries, medical offices, and recreation facilities will also be encouraged near transit stations. A number of trolley cars will also run along a two-mile segment of the light-rail line.
The second transit line to be built is expected to be from uptown Charlotte to the towns in the northern part of Mecklen-burg County. CATS has selected commuter rail equipment for the route, which is expected to be built along existing railroad routes.
Community protests, however, may influence the system’s exact routing. Alongside the railroad tracks in uptown Charlotte lie the historic Elmwood and Pinewood cemeteries. Relatives of those buried there are strongly protesting any plan that requires graves to be moved.
“It’s morally unacceptable that they become a victim of their own success,” said Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jim Puckett to The Charlotte Observer.
The Elmwood and Pinewood cemeteries were first used in 1853 and contain the graves of some of the city’s most prominent citizens.
Nancy Pethel, who has relatives buried in Pinewood cemetery, was even more blunt in her comments to the newspaper. “They don’t have a feeling for those who have put all their work and time in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their invested interest is no more than the dollar sign, and I don’t believe you can make a comparison between the dead and the dollar sign.”
Those seeking to preserve the cemeteries note that up to 945 graves could be affected by the commuter rail line. A recent rally attracted more than 100 protesters to the cemeteries.
Lowrey is a Charlotte-based associate editor at Carolina Journal.