French Street station explained

Style:CATS
French Street
Type:CityLynx streetcar station
Address:402 Beatties Ford Road
Charlotte, North Carolina
Country:United States
Coordinates:35.246°N -80.8569°W
Structure:At-grade
Platform:1 island platform
Tracks:2
Bicycle:Bicycle racks
Opened:[1]
Accessible:yes
Owned:Charlotte Area Transit System
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Custom:
Shape:none
Line:none
Marker:rail-light
Zoom:15

French Street is a streetcar station in Charlotte, North Carolina. The at-grade island platform on Beatties Ford Road is the western terminus of the CityLynx Gold Line and serves the Biddleville neighborhood.

Location

French Street station is located on Beatties Ford Road, between French Street and Mill Road. The Biddleville neighborhood, part of West End, is noted as Charlotte's oldest surviving black neighborhood, beginning in 1871. The immediate area has a few businesses and churches, with single-family homes west off Beatties Ford Road. The 9spell=inNaNspell=in Five Points Park is located nearby.[2] [3]

History

French Street station was approved as a Gold Line Phase 2 stop in 2013, with construction beginning in Fall 2016. Though it was slated to open in early-2020, various delays pushed out the opening till mid-2021.[4] [5] The station opened to the public on August 30, 2021.[1] [6]

Station layout

The station consists of an island platform with two passenger shelters; a crosswalk and ramp provide platform access from Beatties Ford Road. North of the platform is the (non-passenger) layover area, where the streetcar goes to switch tracks and wait periodically. The station's passenger shelters house two art installations by George Bates. The windscreens are titled: The Worth of That, is That Which It Contains and That is This, and This With Thee Remains. The title comes from a 1954 JCSU yearbook excerpt referencing Shakespeare's sonnet 74. The micro and macro figures and images share the specific and general history of the area.[7]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: CityLYNX Gold Line . Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) . August 30, 2021.
  2. Web site: Biddleville . Historic West End Charlotte . October 31, 2017 . September 20, 2021.
  3. Web site: Biddleville - Historic Charlotte Neighborhoods . . September 20, 2021.
  4. Web site: CityLYNX Gold Line Street Car Project, Charlotte . Railway Technology . September 19, 2021.
  5. Web site: CityLYNX Gold Line Phase 2: Update for June 19, 2020 . . June 19, 2020 . City of Charlotte . February 13, 2021.
  6. News: CityLYNX Gold Line streetcar officially up and running . WBTV Web Staff . WBTV. August 30, 2021 . August 30, 2021.
  7. Web site: George Bates . September 19, 2021 . City of Charlotte.