The writer is a Cornelius town commissioner and member of the Lake Norman Transportation Commission.

By JIM BENSMAN

The Urban Land Institute advisory panel that visited our area last week made some important observations about rail in north Mecklenburg and south Iredell. The Charlotte City Council needs to acknowledge these important points and reconsider the way it has prioritized the streetcar, the North Commuter Rail Line and the Northeast Line. Read the full story

A tractor-trailer accident on I-77 southbound near Exit 30 on Saturday released gasoline and engine oil into Lake Norman, requiring a cleanup, according to a fire department report following the crash. The crash, which came during the weekend snowstorm, tied up traffic on I-77 for hours. Also over the past week, firefighters responded to a variety of other medical and fire calls.
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Truck went over the guardrail and nearly into Lake Norman. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Updated 3:22 p.m.
A southbound tractor-trailer skidded on icy pavement and crashed Saturday afternoon on I-77 just north of Exit 30. The accident forced closure of the southbound lanes and backed up traffic for miles into Iredell County. The crash left a surprising scene: The tractor-trailer wound up with its cab nearly in Lake Norman.

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The Town Board this year wants to build Davidson as a “national model of a healthy community” with a series of goals that address town government, businesses and residents. Those goals, discussed at the board’s monthly work session Tuesday, include ensuring Town Hall’s financial stability and the community’s economic sustainability.

Also Tuesday, the board discussed 2010 lobbying priorities with its Washington lobbyist. Read the full story

4-min interview: Carroll Gray of Lake Norman Transportation Commission talks about how a federal rules change might affect the proposed project, and about an upcoming Urban Land Institute panel to help towns plot the future

Federal officials last week adopted a new policy on evaluating mass-transit funding applications, reducing the heavy emphasis on cost and ridership and giving more weight to the potential economic development benefits of transit projects. That could give a boost to the proposed 25-mile North Commuter Rail Line from Charlotte to Mooresville, says Carroll Gray, executive director of the Lake Norman Transportation Commission. Read the full story

Treasurer still disagrees with contractor-financing proposal

The region’s interstate system comes in for many complaints, but one of the biggest on the table right now is I-485 – and specifically when the state might complete the 5-mile stretch closing the loop and connecting I-77 to I-85 in northeast Charlotte. On Tuesday, it looked like there might be some good news.

At the start of Davidson’s Town Board meeting Tuesday night, Davidson Commissioner Brian Jenest, who also chairs the Lake Norman Transportation Commission, told fellow commissioners that controversy over how to pay for the work had finally been put to rest. Read the full story

Lake Norman Transportation Commission meets again Thursday, Jan. 14, in Davidson to finalize plans for a planned four-day workshop later this month that will bring a panel of national planning experts here to help devise strategies for helping the region promote economic growth. Thursday’s meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at Davidson Town Hall. Details about the workshop, with experts from the Urban Land Institute, and a full agenda for Thursday’s meeting, are below. Read the full story