‘Game changer’: What the West End community says about CATS’ new streetcar

For Darrius Durr, the new streetcar extension into Charlotte’s Historic West End could make for a “fun ride” and bring more business to the area just outside uptown.

“I feel like it’s going to be booming really big over here,” said Durr, who manages Jet’s Pizza, one of three minority-owned businesses at Five Points Center on Rozzelles Ferry Road, near West Trade Street.

The Charlotte Area Transit System unveiled Phase 2 of CityLYNX Gold Line on Monday morning, a 2.5-mile extension that connects Historic West End along Trade Street with the Elizabeth neighborhood through the uptown Charlotte Transportation Center.

“There’s been excitement about the ability to use the train, but not just to go to work, but to play and get to other areas within our city,” Charlotte Area Transit System CEO John Lewis said during a ceremony Monday.

The extension’s opening originally was planned for August 2020, but the project encountered multiple construction delays. Nearly a year later, the streetcar is up and running. It will operate every 20 minutes from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day, and rides will be free until January.

The city and the federal government are evenly splitting the $150 million cost for the extension, the Observer previously reported.

A third phase of the Gold Line would extend north along Beatties Ford Road and east to the old Eastland Mall site on Central Avenue. Further progress is dependent upon funding, Lewis said.

The Gold Line is expected to draw more business and “bring a little bit more life into this area,” Marquise Allen, a manager at No Grease Barbershop’s West Trade Street location, told the Observer.

“We’re actually looking forward to it,” he said.

‘We want to be vigilant’

The Gold Line extension travels through the Five Points, an area at the intersection of West Trade, State and 5th streets, and Rozzelles Ferry and Beatties Ford roads.

New Census data shows a 13% increase in the overall population for three tracts in the Five Points area, but a 16% decrease in the non-Hispanic Black population and a 147% increase in non-Hispanic whites.

Community members have raised gentrification concerns, Lewis said. The city’s Department of Housing and Economic Development is working with the community to minimize, he said.

“Unfortunately there’s no magic answer, but I think it’s going to take a lot of collaboration and work in the years to come,” Lewis said.

Officials at Johnson C. Smith University, which is along the streetcar line, are cognizant of how the Gold Line and other developments in the Beatties Ford Road corridor have displaced residents in historically Black neighborhoods, Karen D. Morgan, the school’s senior vice president for academic affairs, told the Observer.

“This is a historical impact upon Black neighborhoods,” she said. “When Charlotte continues to grapple with issues like affordable housing and economic mobility, we want to be vigilant and not add to the challenges some are facing.”

College stops along Gold Line

With JCSU and Johnson & Wales University in walking distance from streetcar stops, many students can now take advantage of the Gold Line for their commutes.

Ge’kovie Jackson, a Johnson & Wales senior who lives close to a Trade Street stop, said the streetcar will give students an “amazing opportunity” to explore Charlotte without having to walk so much through the city.

“Being able to ride the Gold Line is going to bring so many options to our students that have to walk,” he said. “It’s going to be a game changer.”

The new extension also has its detractors.

Kesha Morgan, a manager at the Dollar Tree on West Trade Street, said she isn’t particularly happy about what the Gold Line could mean for the community and its roads.

The streetcar is “a waste of money,” and the city should stop wasting taxpayer dollars on these projects and fix the roads, Morgan told the Observer.

“All these potholes are tearing peoples’ cars up,” she said. “Put money into education and the roads, especially in the Black neighborhoods. If you go into these white neighborhoods, you don’t see these roads torn up like this.”

Traffic congestion also concerns her, Morgan said.

“Charlotte is congested enough,” she said. “If that streetcar is coming down and you’re behind it on your way to work or to the hospital for an emergency, then you’re stuck.”

To help the flow of traffic, JCSU is creating a new entrance on Beatties Ford Road, the university’s Morgan said.

At No Grease, Allen said the barbershop had parking problems when the Gold Line was being built directly across from the shop, but now he’s excited to see the streetcar is up and running.

“We understand that you have to have the flexibility to adjust with change,” he said. “Right now, we’re glad it’s running and we hope we can draw a lot of good attention to our business.”

Staff writer Gavin Off contributed to this story.

This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 12:00 AM.