Our busy train station leaves an awful first impression of Charlotte | Opinion
The Charlotte Amtrak station at 1914 North Tryon Street, about 1.5 miles to the northeast of Uptown Charlotte, is a 1962 relic waiting for the City Commission to replace it. Visitors arriving in Charlotte for the first time are greeted by a station that is clearly past its prime and looks like a dump. What is the first impression of a city that uses such a place?
This station is one of the busiest Amtrak stations in the Southeast, serving about 12 trains a day. If the city would take a lesson from NC cities north of here, it would build a multipurpose station. One with space for receptions, weddings, and large gatherings, which could be rented to generate income.
Linda Thede, Matthews
Election Day postmarks
Election Day is no different than April 15 each year when income tax returns are due by hundreds of millions of Americans. As a NC CPA, we have long used the federal postmark as a valid indication of time and date for submission to the IRS, regardless if the Post Office delivers to the IRS after April 15th. Should the Supreme Court find it a valid requirement on Election Day, then American Citizens may no longer be allowed to rely on postmarks for timely submission of tax returns.
David Noble, Charlotte
Do your homework, lawmakers
Legislators, show presence of heart and common sense. Rather than having votes counted and re-counted in a primary election, do your own due diligence. Instead of blocking our Governor from governing, do your own governing you were voted into office to carry out.
Pass the 2026 state budget. Teachers’ salaries are falling behind their colleagues in other states as well as in private schools. The budget was due July 1, 2025!
Do your assigned homework, legislators. The dog didn’t eat your homework. It’s still due.
Claude Underwood, Charlotte
Evidence that tolls aren’t working
Yesterday I traveled north on I-77 going from Independence Blvd here in Charlotte up to Davidson. I left a little after 4 PM, which is high traffic time. It was bumper to bumper in the lanes with no tolls. People were sitting in their cars not moving at all while the few who took the expensive toll lanes whizzed on by. The toll lanes are never crowded because people can’t afford to pay for just one toll.
I-77 is a disaster. It does not work. Congestion is as bad as ever. So why in the world is anyone on the Charlotte City Council even thinking about putting in toll lanes on I-77 going south?
Willa Hackney, Charlotte
TSA funding
Every airline ticket in America includes a mandatory September 11 Security Fee of $5.60 per one-way trip. At 17 million passengers a week, that generates enough money to pay every TSA officer a solid middle-class income — without a single additional dollar from taxpayers.
So why are TSA workers still vulnerable to government shutdowns? Why are they used as bargaining chips in budget fights? The money exists. The public willingness is already built into every ticket sold. What is missing is a Congress willing to pass one simple law: money collected for airport security goes to airport security.
Until they do, I have a suggestion. Stop at the bank before your next flight. Get a $2 bill. Leave it in the bin for the officer on the other side. It will not fix the system. But it will say something Washington needs to hear: we see you, we value what you do, and we are not waiting for Congress to figure out what we already know.
Stand up. Put your buck down. That is what Americans do.
Ernie Patterson, Sanford
CMS spending
I don’t understand why CMS would be requesting an additional $33 million for capital improvements. Just three years ago, Mecklenburg County voters approved a $2.5 billion school bond referendum. Only one of three installments have hit the taxpayers so far.
Since enrollment is declining, I wouldn’t expect another increase for many years. It sounds to me like CMS has a spending problem, not a funding problem.
Jim Shuback, Charlotte