Iredell County commissioners say they won’t spend money to extend a proposed commuter rail line to Mount Mourne, The Charlotte Observer reports.
Meanwhile, Cornelius officials have delayed a vote on closing several rail crossings near downtown and creating a new crossing by extending Catawba Avenue, the newspaper reports.
This news has potentially enormous implications for Davidson, if we become station terminus for the rail line. I’m surprised there isn’t more discussion about what this could mean for Davidson. Does the town have a back-up plan for this contingency? Are there ways to serve as the terminus station without becoming a giant parking lot for all the good folks in Iredell County who don’t want to pay any taxes for a rail line but who will gladly park in Davidson to take it to work in Charlotte?
We could charge non-Mecklenburg residents a hefty parking fee for rush hour parking. What could be Iredell’s retaliation? An entrance fee to What-A-Burger?
It is my understanding that CATS couldn’t make Davidson the last stop (even if they wanted to) due to the lack of space for train storage and turnaround, so they would supposedly spend an extra 1.5 million to move the last stop a little farther up the line, but not quite to Lowe’s HQ. Still, not the most desirable option.