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Griffith St. paving to squeeze commuter parking
Bus commuters park along Griffith St. near Sadler Square.
Road resurfacing is set to begin on Griffith Street next week and it could put park-and-ride commuters in a bind. Charlotte Area Transit System officials are warning commuters who park along the street to use other parking options beginning Monday.
(Oct. 22 update: CATS has arranged parking at Children’s Community School. Read more.)
Meanwhile, the Town of Davidson announced that it will be taking over the maintenance of Jackson Street, between Main and Depot streets, from the state Department of Transportation in the next few weeks.
The road has been resurfaced by NCDOT. And soon, stripes will be painted to add on-street parking, which could help relieve parking congestion downtown. Weather permitting, the town will begin striping the west side of Jackson Street (along the railroad tracks next week, the week of Oct. 20. Streets will remain open during the resurfacing. For more information please call 704 892-7591.
Here’s the CATS alert sent Friday afternoon:
EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 20, 2008
Route 77x: Griffith Street Parking Closure
The Town of Davidson will be conducting street improvements on Griffith Street. The project is scheduled to start on Monday, Oct. 20, 2008, and will end about a month later in mid to late November. The project will impact on-street parking spaces on Griffith Street.
CATS customers who normally park in this area are advised to use the Huntersville Northcross Park and Ride lot, located at 17126 Northcross Dr. in Huntersville. To access the lot, take I-77 South to exit 25, Sam Furr Road. Turn right on Sam Furr, right on Northcross Drive and proceed approximately 0.4 mile. The Park and Ride lot is on the right.
Filed under: Public works, Traffic alerts, Transportation
I wonder if the improvements will include a bus stop shelter for all the riders. The cold, rainy season is coming up. Will bus riders in Davidson–progressive, mass-transit encouraging Davidson– still be required to stand in the rain, ice, wind and mud puddles, even after an expensive re-surfacing of Griffith St.?
A request for a bus shelter at this location is to be considered at the CATS bus stop committee meeting on November 13th.
But as many folks are aware, legal parking availability is constrained near this bus stop, so CATS will be coordinating with the Town to consider all aspects of the request.
Concept: Why not put a stop where there is parking? There are several good choices: The new Harris Teeter area, the old Medical center on Main St. Jackson St.
If Davidson is to encourage bus use, it needs to make a sincere effort to accommodate riders. We have no benches, no shelters, no adequate commuter parking. The 77x bus has been running for years, and the town does nothing but have meetings to consider the the aspects of a quality bus stop. Meanwhile people stand in mud puddles, get splashed by passing cars, are rained on, get all their packages soaked, and their hats blown into traffic. Where is the rocket science here?
Thanks, Robert; and that’s what the CATS bus stop committee is charged with looking at. Hopefully, the Town and committee will be able to provide a fresh look–spurred by your initial comment–into what would be more appropriate as the first stop on the inbound 77x, as well as other express and local route stops.
A year ago when I tried to find out answers, I was told that no bus stop shelters or benches were planned for Davidson until the light rail project was built; but they might be considered sooner. Not much progress in a year. I guess they’re still considering.
A bus stop shelter costs about $3,000. In many towns, they are built as Scout projects. Davidson is on the verge of spending several million dollars for a grand recreation center, but it’s difficult for the little things to get attention.
I hope the bus stop committee is successful.