Well, these past three weeks has been a roller coaster of emotions. From the deepest of despair to complete joy.
Today it is official we won the battle to save the Cemetery. The City will not be putting a commuter rail through the Cemetery's edge. VICTORY!!!!!
| Posted on Tue, Jun. 29, 2004 | ||||
CATS plan bypasses Elmwood CemeteryTentative deal would reroute railroad tracks DIANNE WHITACRE Staff Writer Graves in uptown's Elmwood Cemetery would not be moved to make room for passenger trains under a tentative agreement between Charlotte and Norfolk Southern railroad. Charlotte Area Transit System chief Ron Tober said engineering problems have been worked out. He expects the railroad will allow a track change that would make room for passenger trains, keep freight moving and still protect Elmwood. Tober told the Observer he hopes to announce a formal agreement with the railroad in a few weeks. "I am optimistic we have come up with a plan to keep out of the cemetery," Tober said. CATS would run commuter trains on a Norfolk Southern track that's located on the cemetery's eastern edge. That freight track would be replaced with a new track east of existing tracks, CATS project manager David Carol said Monday night. "I can't announce we have solved the problem yet, but we appear to be on our way to doing that," Carol told a meeting of Friends of Fourth Ward, an uptown neighborhood association. The state has bought 27 acres east of the cemetery, much of which will be used to build tracks and a station at Graham and West Trade streets. The station would be used by Amtrak, north Mecklenburg commuter trains, Greyhound and CATS buses. Plans released by the state two years ago called for moving hundreds of marked and unmarked graves to make room for the new passenger train tracks. The state's plans angered relatives of those buried in Elmwood. Among those protesting was the widow of former Charlotte Mayor Ben Douglas, who is buried in Elmwood. The exact number of graves affected aren't known because many are not marked, but opponents say 600 to 900 graves are in that area. They and residents of nearby Fourth Ward insisted the city protect those graves. Tober said his department was able to persuade Norfolk Southern to consider moving its tracks, something the N.C. Department of Transportation had thought was impossible. "They (told the state) don't ask us to move our track and don't mess with our railroad," Tober said. "All along I didn't see that was an absolute." Tober credits Carol with working out the compromise that calls for adding more tracks and protecting Elmwood. Carol has been negotiating with the railroad since December. "N.C. DOT puts highways through cemeteries all the time. I don't think they realized the impact it would have on Charlotte," said Carol. "It was a dumb idea." Reached late Monday, cemetery supporter Mark Alexander Palmer says he wants a written commitment from the city that tracks will not be built into the cemetery. Palmer, whose ancestors are buried in the cemetery, helped form an organization, Historic Preservation of Elmwood and Pinewood Cemetery. That group successfully fought a developer's plan in 2002 to build a road through the cemetery. It has collected 14,000 signatures against moving the graves. "I know if we hadn't bombarded the City Council, if we hadn't contacted the White House and the governor's office, this would not have happened," Palmer said. He also credited Carol. "That man has really pushed and put a lot of time on this," Palmer said. Norfolk Southern and CATS also are talking about whether CATS will buy the tracks or buy the use of the freight line between uptown and Mooresville. CATS also may hire the railroad to operate its trains. Those diesel-powered trains similar in size to Amtrak's would begin operating by 2012 and would run two or three times an hour during rush hour and less frequently during the nonpeak periods. They'd travel up to 79 mph and would stop at 10 stations. | ||||
X does the Happy Dance!