November Newsletter
About Connect Beyond
CONNECT Beyond is a regional mobility initiative that will create a long-term strategic plan for how to implement a public transit system that will connect our 12-county region. This regional transit plan will help to set the foundation for a unified public transit network that will allow residents and visitors to travel seamlessly throughout our region using modern, high quality public transportation options.
Candidate Transit Corridors
Over the past several months, we have been analyzing current travel patterns, regional traffic conditions, existing transportation plans from communities across our region, previous public input, anticipated population and employment growth trends, future land use projections, and other regional growth data to identify candidate corridors where high capacity transit and commuter rail lines could potentially be constructed.
Our Project Team has developed candidate corridors for potential high capacity transit and commuter rail lines. These candidate corridors are either new transit corridors or extensions of existing or planned transit corridors. We want to know if any of these candidate corridors would meet your transportation needs. You can participate in our Online Meeting & Community Survey to review the candidate corridors that are currently being considered for our 12-county region and provide your input for our Project Team.
Online Meeting & Community Survey
We have launched an Online Meeting & Community Survey that will be available from November 17 to December 31 on our website at www.connect-beyond.com/meeting. The Online Meeting provides information about how we are analyzing the region’s transit needs and will present the candidate corridors for high capacity transit and commuter rail that are being evaluated for our region.
The Community Survey allows community members from across our region to provide input about their mobility needs and give feedback on the candidate corridors that are being considered for high capacity transit and commuter rail. How do you want to travel around our region in 25 years? Do you want to have the option to travel around our region using modern, high quality public transportation options? Do you think our region needs to have a variety of transportation options available for residents and visitors? We want to hear from you about your travel needs and your future mobility goals for our region!
Your Participation is Very Important!
Community participation is crucial to the success of CONNECT Beyond. We hope that you will participate in this public involvement opportunity and encourage others to do so as well! The Online Meeting and Community Survey will be available from November 17 to December 31 on our website at www.connect-beyond.com/meeting.
Mobility, Equity, Public Health and the Future of Transit
Last month, we published an article by CONNECT Beyond Project Manager Jason Wager about the interconnection between public health, equity, and mobility and why continuing to provide safe, high quality transit services is so necessary and needed right now. In this thought leadership piece, Wager also explains why continuing to plan for future regional transit is a crucial step in the right direction towards enhancing equity in our region. You can read Wager’s full article “Mobility, Equity, Public Health and The Future of Transit” on our website’s resource page.
Importance of Regional Mobility
Earlier this Fall, we gathered a collection of key regional leaders for a special CONNECT Beyond virtual event to discuss the importance of regional mobility. This event featured a candid conversation between Centralina Regional Council's Executive Director Geraldine Gardner and former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt. The event also included a moderated panel discussion about the social equity opportunities related to public transit and why transit planning is still essential during the COVID-19 pandemic. Check out our event recap article to watch the entire special event.
Learn More
You can learn more about CONNECT Beyond by visiting our website at www.connect-beyond.com. Our website's resources page has a full toolkit that you can use to learn more about the work that our Project Team is doing. The toolkit also offers tons of project materials that you can share with your network and fellow community members.
On our project website, you can also submit comments or questions for our Project Team. Be sure to follow the Centralina Regional Council on social media for the latest CONNECT Beyond updates!
Thank you for your interest and involvement in CONNECT Beyond!