Harris Teeter files rezoning application for Central Avenue grocery store

The rezoning application for the Harris Teeter grocery store at The Plaza and Central Avenue has been filed.

Public hearing date is July 18.

The revised site plan (PDF) includes a bike rack near the building, specific space dedicated to a CATS bus pad and specific trees to be preserved.

Oh, and the rooftop seating area faces west, with a likely view of the skyline.

Here's the background.

Streetcars vs. bicycles: Some Central Avenue neighborhoods lose out (opinion)

Comments on an environmental assessment of Charlotte streetcar plans are due to planners on May 9.

The full environmental assessment, available at a city of Charlotte planning site, is 58 megabytes in a PDF and rather dense. Karen Sullivan of The Charlotte Observer has written a summary of the streetcar environmental findings.

The assessment concludes there are no significant negative effects on residents or surrounding neighborhoods.

But the fine print deserves a closer look, particularly for some neighborhoods along Central Avenue like Merry Oaks. The negative effect of the streetcar on bicycling cannot be denied.

For the Central Avenue Subarea, the report notes that bicyclists will face increased safety risks because of streetcar tracks in the roadway and because they would share a lane with streetcars along Central Avenue.

And while the report generally supports the increased use of bicycles, it includes a small clause that could affect plans for extending bike lanes along Central Avenue from Merry Oaks Road to Elizabeth Avenue. The Central Avenue bike lane now stops abruptly at Merry Oaks Road. (It's the red line in the bike route map at the top.)

Says the report:

“The LPA will maintain existing bicycle lanes through Central Avenue and adopt recommendations under the No-Build Alternative to the extent that the improvements do not present a conflict with Project operations.”

In other words, existing bike lanes would be supported as long as bicyclists dodge streetcars, but plans for extending bike lanes along the corridor could be in jeopardy.

Admittedly, many bicyclists and area residents think biking Central Avenue now is akin to suicide. One Merry Oaks bicyclist is lucky to be alive after being hit by a drunk driver on Central awhile back.

Still, bike traffic along Central Avenue continues to increase as gasoline prices rise and as area residents look for alternatives to fossil fuels. And bicyclists also often use parallel routes through quieter nearby neighborhoods like Merry Oaks, Plaza Midwood and Commonwealth. (Some of those routes are on the bike map.)

The report is designed to look at environmental conditions in the future and determine the costs of the streetcar. One cost clearly is the lost opportunity for increased bicycling along Central Avenue if extended bike lanes are abandoned and if street riding becomes even more dangerous.

Some people doubt whether these streetcar plans have any immediate effect on their lives since long-term funding remains unclear. But that one clause in a 58-megabyte document could add weight against a planning commitment for extending bike lanes along parts of Central Avenue.

If the streetcar would hinder the future bike lane from Merry Oaks Road to Elizabeth Avenue, then a deep commitment to enabling and connecting the alternative parallel routes seems in order. Certainly other factors affect future bike routes, but the streetcar plan piles on to existing hurdles.

Granted, other Charlotte city departments are working on bicycle route planning. The negative effects of streetcar planning on Central Avenue routes should influence their work.

Our transportation and energy consumption plans shouldn’t just switch us from oil to electricity. Enabling and encouraging other methods like bicycles shouldn’t fall victim “to the extent that the improvements do not present a conflict with Project operations.”

Bikes and streetcars don't have to be an either/or choice. Other cities like Portland have been through this and have lessons to share. Let's learn from them.

Thoughts? You can email the streetcar senior project manager, John Mrzygod, by May 9.

Images: Top image shows existing bike routes around Central Avenue. Bottom image shows planned streetcar stops.

Further reading:
Bikes & Streetcars: let's be Best Friends!
Streetcars and Bicycles, a Learning Experience
Bikes and streetcars should be friends

An alternative site for the Eastway police division?

At least one person has suggested the site of the old Kate's Skating Rink as an alternative for a police station for the Charlotte Eastway division. The site already has an existing building and a large, cleared parking lot with no trees.

In some ways, it fits the definition of "greyfields." Some neighbors have also suggested using cleared land at the site of the old Morningside Apartments along Commonwealth Avenue, but police have said they want locations that are on major roadways.

The image here shows a quick aerial of the site, roughly measured out to match the boundaries indicated at Mecklenburg County's Polaris real estate site. The land measures just over 2 acres, and the tax value is listed at $1,270,500 as of 2007.

The site is behind the House of Pizza on Central Avenue, and would require additional land acquisition nearby to add up to the 3 acres the police department seeks. For comparison, the city bought the site of the new Providence police station on Wendover Road in 2009 for $1.4 million, according to South Charlotte News (part of The Charlotte Observer).

Related: Some residents have created a Facebook group, "Save Central Avenue from CMPD Land Grab." It has 73 "likes" at the moment.

Art and branding on Central Avenue

As mentioned earlier, the Arts and Science Council has a call to visual artists for public art on Central Avenue near the Merry Oaks neighborhood. It specifically asks for art to help brand the area as an international corridor and is seeking murals for the area, encouraging entries from Latino or Asian artists.

Neighborhood advocate Nancy Pierce has been asked to serve on the review/selection committee, which meets Nov. 10. Before that meeting, she's seeking ideas and answers to some key questions. From her note to the neighborhood Google group:

&ldquo While I support public art, I am concerned that some art, in time, just adds to visual clutter. I am also unconvinced that we should welcome certain branding unless we first decide exactly how we want to be branded, in consultation with adjacent neighborhoods. In fact, there is no formal city initiative to brand Central as the International Corridor. Do we want this?

&ldquo What about the &lsquo green’ branding some of us have discussed, building on the greenway, bridge art, ped/bike/transit focus of Merry Oaks? Could public art work support that?”

Merry Oaks has a developing greenway along Briar Creek, and over the years it has attracted people interested in bikes and short commutes as well as a diverse group of artists among its residents. Nearby neighborhoods have similar personalities and a stake in the discussions as well. I suspect most people in the area are very proud of our diverse businesses and population.

Are they separate brands? Can both internationalism and a &ldquo green” brand be sustained?

This particular call for artists is Part II of a project. Part I involved a team of young professionals with the Knight Creative Communities Initiative, who commissioned ceramic artist Amy Sanders for a residency at Garinger High School challenging students to explore visual imagery appropriate to the international flavor of Central Avenue, according to the Arts and Science Council. Sanders created ceramic designs for trash receptacles.

For ideas on Part II, visit the Merry Oaks Google group to let Nancy know what you think, or leave a comment here.

Some background:
Carlos Herrera Burgos received a grant earlier for a mural as part of the international corridor idea, but had difficulties finding a place to display the work. It appears that the art was part of the Central Krawl in June at Pura Vida; I'm not sure where it is now.

Chapel Hill has some excellent murals, but the town is more condensed than Central Avenue, with alleys and tall brick walls. They're working on freshening them up and preserving them.

Getting there - on a bike

Here are a few bicycle route resources, for those close to town who are ready to give up high gas prices in their commutes. Links will join those in the sidebar.
Bike Mentor.
Charlotte Bikes dot org.
Routeslip dot com. Routeslip lists 1,401 bike routes for North Carolina. It lists 749 in South Carolina and 243 in Charlotte.
Thanks to Scott Lundgren for the links. If anyone has other tips on commuting from Merry Oaks on a bike, feel free to share.

Car, bus or bicycle?

A picture is worth more than a thousand words.

Related: Can someone please get a "Bike lane ends" sign put up on Central Avenue inbound before the intersection of Central with Merry Oaks Road? I worry a biker is going to get hit where the bike lane abruptly stops.

Biking for booty

A beer and wine tasting party will be held on Friday, June 29 from 5:30-8:00 p.m. to support Charlotte-based 24 Hours of Booty , which runs the Official 24-Hour Cycling Event of the Lance Armstrong Foundation in Myers Park on July 27-28. The "Hops & Vine" fundraiser will take place at Dillon Natural Health in Elizabeth at 406 Louise Avenue (near 7th and Hawthorne). Tickets cost $15 per person. Details: Christina Dekraay at 704-226-6580 or at christinadekraay AT yahoo.com.