Trains on the CATS Blue Line are now limited to a top speed of 35 mph after city officials learned two weeks ago that a mechanical defect caused a Blue Line train to derail in May 2022.
That defect, which involved a faulty bearing in a wheel assembly, must now be fixed in the entires CATS fleet – all 42 train cars, Brent Cagle, the transit system’s interim CEO, said during Monday’s City Council meeting.
Prior to the meeting, the defect and derailment had not been publicly disclosed.
The previous top speed for Blue Line trains was 55 mph.
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Cagle said CATS is monitoring the bearings on all CATS trains to mitigate potential problems.
Cagle said he first learned of the derailment two weeks ago, when the North Carolina Department of Transportation asked for a written document that laid out a “corrective action plan.” Cagle was named interim CEO on Dec. 1, 2022, following the resignation of John Lewis, the CATS’ previous CEO.
Council member Renee Johnson, representing District 4, called it “concerning” that City Council had not been told about the derailment.
“I would think that’s something that Council would have, or should have, known,” she said.
When Johnson asked Cagle whether the trains are safe, even at a reduced speed, he said: “We are certain that we have mitigating measures in place, and we feel that in the vehicles that are running, we can catch the bearing issue before it becomes a catastrophic failure.”
Cagle said CATS is working with Siemens Mobility to repair the CATS fleet, a process that could take years, he said.
Cagle said he would return to City Council on April 10 to request a contract provision so that Siemens can perform the repairs along with its scheduled maintenance on the Blue Line trains. Cagle did not say how much the repairs would cost the city.
He said the trains have been running at a lower speed for about a week and a half without impacting the Blue Line schedule.
Thomas Polk Park
In a 9-1 vote, Council approved a plan allowing a group of private residents to renovate and rename Thomas Polk Park in uptown Charlotte.
The 1/3-acre park is at the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets in uptown Charlotte. It was built in 1991
Under the plan approved by Council, the park will be renamed in honor of Hugh McColl Jr., a former chairman and CEO of Bank of America. The bank’s headquarters is across the street from the park.
A group calling itself the Hugh McColl Park Coalition “is well on its way to a $10 million fundraising goal to pay for the rehabilitation,” according to a statement released Monday by Charlotte Center City Partners.
The coalition includes Cyndee Patterson, former city councilwoman and co-chair of the park effort; Kieth Cockrell, president of Bank of America Charlotte; Harvey Gantt, former Charlotte mayor; Michael Marsicano, former president and CEO of Foundation For The Carolinas; Loy McKeithen, a former partner at McGuireWoods; Rolfe Neill, former publisher of The Charlotte Observer; and Michael Smith, president and CEO of Charlotte Center City Partners.
“It’s hard to think of anyone who has done more for this city than Hugh McColl,” said Malcomb Coley, Charlotte managing partner for EY, who co-chairs the Hugh McColl Park Coalition. “It is particularly appropriate that the park is across the street from the Bank of America Corporate Center where Mr. McColl not only transformed the banking industry but also jumpstarted the revitalization of Uptown that continues today.”
Mayor Pro Tem Braxton Winston said he was eager to move forward with the redesign, which he said currently fits the definition of an underutilized parcel. Winston said public engagement would be “integral to the redesign process.”
District 3 Representative LaWana Mayfield voted against the plan. She said she opposed using public property to honor living people. She also questioned a plan to use $350,000 in taxpayer money to demolish the park.
“I really feel that there are other capital needs that we have right now that that $350,000 could address,” she said.
District 7 Council member Ed Driggs said he supported the park being renamed in honor of McColl, noting that the retired banker was a “driving force” behind the growth of Bank of America and Charlotte.
Driggs said the tax dollars spent would be an “excellent value for the revitalization that would take place at this location.”
“This has been a neglected little corner for a long time,” he said, “and it’s really about time we did something about it.”
District 2 Council member Malcolm Graham also supported the renaming. “Uptown is uptown because of Mr. McColl,” Graham said.
Social District
Council got an update on the city’s plan to create “social districts” where adults can carry open containers of alcohol.
So far, two areas have applied to become social districts, according to a presentation by Debbie Smith, the director of the city’s Department of Transportation.
Plaza Midwood and Glide Brewery were “the first out the gate,” Smith said.
Council could host public comments in April if final applications are submitted and vetted by city staff. A vote to approve social districts could come in May.