__NOTOC__
The Charlotte Transportation Center (CTC), also known as Arena or CTC/Arena, is an
intermodal transit station in
Center City Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It serves as the central hub for the
Charlotte Area Transit System
The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) is the agency responsible for public transportation in the Charlotte metropolitan area. CATS operates bus and rail transit services in Mecklenburg County and surrounding areas. Established in 1999, CATS' b ...
(CATS) buses and connects with the
LYNX Blue Line
The Lynx Blue Line is a light rail line in Charlotte, North Carolina. Opened in 2007, it was the first rail line of the Charlotte Area Transit System, and the first major rapid rail service of any kind in the state. The 26-station, line extends ...
and
CityLYNX Gold Line
The CityLynx Gold Line is a streetcar line in Charlotte, North Carolina. A component of the Charlotte Area Transit System's Lynx rail system, it follows a primarily east-west path along Beatties Ford Road, Trade Street and Central Avenue through c ...
. It is located on East Trade Street, Fourth Street and Brevard Street. Notable places nearby include the
Bank of America Corporate Center
The Bank of America Corporate Center is an 871 ft (265 m) skyscraper in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. Designed by Argentine architect César Pelli and HKS Architects, and best known as the headquarters of the namesake Bank of Ameri ...
,
Belk Theater, EpiCentre,
Overstreet Mall
The Overstreet Mall is a series of pedestrian bridges in Uptown Charlotte. Proposed in 1971 and completed around 1977, the design was based on the design of the Milan Galleria and the Montreal Place Ville-Maria. The mall has about of walkways an ...
and the
Spectrum Center.
History
The CTC celebrated its grand opening on December 11, 1995, through a partnership with then-
NationsBank
NationsBank was one of the largest banking corporations in the United States, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company named NationsBank was formed through the merger of several other banks in 1991, and prior to that had been through mul ...
. Its completion moved the central transfer point for all CATS buses from
The Square, two blocks to the west to Trade Street. Reasons for the facility was an effort to improve traffic congestion along
Tryon Street Tryon may refer to:
* Tryon (surname)
Places
* Tryon Creek, tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon
* Tryon Street, major north-south street of Charlotte, North Carolina
* Tryon, Prince Edward Island, Canada, unincorporated area
* Settled ...
and provide transit riders a more efficient centralized transfer point.
The LYNX Blue Line station officially opened on November 24, 2007. The unique platform cover, made of synthetic materials and supported by curved steel, was originally scrapped due to high costs, but was later brought back and constructed after multiple Center City businesses donated money to make up the difference in construction costs.
[
On July 14, 2015, the CityLYNX Gold Line was officially opened with its initial , six-stop segment (Phase 1).
]
Services
The CTC has 20 internal bus bays and two external bus bays, serving 44 bus routes (local and express). In addition, the Gold Rush Red Line, a free shuttle service, connecting to Johnson & Wales University
Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its campuses in the fa ...
and Johnson C. Smith University
Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) is a private historically black university in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The univer ...
, along Trade Street.
The CityLYNX Gold Line, located at the intersection of East Trade Street and Brevard Street, is a streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
line that connects to Central Piedmont Community College
Central Piedmont Community College (Central Piedmont) is a public community college in Charlotte, North Carolina. With an enrollment of more than 40,000 students annually, Central Piedmont is the second largest community college in the North Caro ...
and Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center
Novant Health is a four-state integrated network of physician clinics, outpatient centers and hospitals. Its network consists of more than 1,600 physicians and 29,000 employees at more than 640 locations, including 15 medical centers and hundre ...
. It operates everyday with a 15-minute frequency (20-minute after 7:00pm).[ Access to the streetcar is by two ]island platform
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
s, one facing westbound and one facing eastbound.
The LYNX Blue Line, located on an elevated platform above East Trade Street, is a light rail line that connects to South End and several park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
lots along South Boulevard.[ It operates everyday with 10 to 30-minute frequency, depending on time of day. Access to the Blue Line station is by stairs or elevator from inside the CTC and then by outdoor walkway along the light rail tracks. The station is covered by a roof made of synthetic materials and supported by curved steel; ]side platforms
A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...
, which sit on either side of the tracks, are used to access the trains. The CTC Blue Line station is signed as "CTC/Arena," reflecting that it is also the main stop for the Spectrum Center, accessible via two walkways.
Connection to the Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
Charlotte Station, located from CTC, is via CATS Bus 11 (North Tryon). Connection to the Greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...
bus station, located at the future Gateway Station and from CTC, is via the CityLynx Gold Line or by foot along Trade Street.
Station layout
As an intermodal transit station, the main facility is the open-air bus depot with 22 bus stands, using letters B-V and X, and the CityLynx Gold Line along Trade Street; connecting through a mezzanine level is the Lynx Blue Line and rail trail.
Amenities
The CTC is open from 4:50am till 1:30am daily. The facility includes the following restaurants and shops: Bojangles'
Bojangles OpCo, LLC., doing business as Bojangles (known as Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits until 2020), is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants that specializes in cajun-seasoned fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits that ...
, Burger King
Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...
, China Shuttle, Cricket Wireless
Cricket Wireless is an American prepaid wireless service provider, owned by AT&T. It provides wireless services to ten million subscribers in the United States. Cricket Wireless was founded in March 1999 by Leap Wireless International. AT&T ac ...
, Lil' Orbits, Plaza Sundries and Subway. In the center of the CTC is CATS Customer Service, which includes lost and found, pass sales, transit IDs and information. Public restrooms are also available on site. For safety, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) is the police department of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States, which includes the City of Charlotte. With 1,817 officers and 525 civilian staff as of 2020, covering an area of wi ...
has an expeditor unit on site.
Public art
As part of the CATS Art in Transit program, the CTC/Arena features several pieces intended to provide a better overall aesthetic for the station. The works include bas-reliefs
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
entitled ''Gingko'' by Alice Adams, drinking fountain
A drinking fountain, also called a water fountain or water bubbler, is a fountain designed to provide drinking water. It consists of a basin with either continuously running water or a tap. The drinker bends down to the stream of water and s ...
basins designed to look like dogwood
''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...
s, the North Carolina state flower, by Nancy Blum, the Trade Street bridge supports entitled ''Bobbins'' pays hommage to Charlotte's textile industry was created by Andrew Leicester, Bobbins and track fencing featuring cottonwood leaves by Shaun Cassidy.
References
External links
*
Station from Google Maps Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte Transportation Center
Lynx Blue Line stations
Lynx Gold Line stations
Charlotte Trolley stations
Railway stations in the United States opened in 2007
Bus stations in North Carolina
Charlotte Area Transit System stations
2007 establishments in North Carolina