AG 1999 06 21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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provide. It was their collective opinion that the folks who live in S. Rowan County look to the Concord/Kannapolis area for goods and services rather than to Salisbury. During March, 1999, two public meetings were held to present the study to the community at- large. The first was held in Concord on March 23rd at Barber-Scotia College. The meeting was very well attended and administrators and students at the Collev. g, as well as residents of the Lol~an Community in Concord, expressed the strong desire for service. 'It was also revealed during this meeting, that the curriculum at Barber-Scotia is geared toward those who wish to specialize in the hotel/motel/food service industries. Also, 85 % of the students at the College do not have transportation to get them to essential services and to those jobs that could help them with expenses while supplying essential on-the-job training. The second hearing was held in Kannapolis at the YMCA on March 25th, and even though Kannapolis mailed out notices with its water bills, the meetin, l~ was veT poorly attended with two representatives of the Rowan Transit Service b[ing the only attendees. Presentations and up-dates of project activity have been made to elected officials throw, h out hl.~.~ilj, l~. So far, presentations have been made to the City Councils of Concord and Kannapolis, the Boards of Atdermen in Landis and China Grove and to the Technical Coordinating Committee and to the Metropolitan Planning Organization. When the project began, we were being told by those in the development community that the new Concord Mills Mall, which will open on September 16, 1999, and related development, would generate 3,500 new jobs in and around the 1-85 / Speedway Boulevard interchange. Later the number was expanded to 7,000 new jobs. We are now hearing that the Mall and all of the proposed development, either approved or in the process of being approved, will generate 10,000 new jobs. The proposed 350 acre Kings Grant project south of the mall and extending into Mecklenburg County will have, if approved, at least 700,000 square feet of retail, 1,200,000 square feet of office space and over 2,100 residential units. Many of the new jobs being created will be minimum wage, hourly workers. Many will work shift or split- shifts, and, again, if experience holds true, many who will apply for the jobs will have neither a drivers license nor an automobile. Given the present economy and the low unemployment rate through out the region, it is essential that those who are transportation disadvantaged in one form or another, be provided a reliable means to get to and from jobs. On February Ir !999~ Concord and Charlotte began a publicly subsidized commuter transit service between the Northeast Medical Center in Concord and downtown Charlotte. The service is contr, a. cted out to a private provider and runs 4 trips in the morninl~ peak period and 4 i,~9_t/'~fl~. The route is primarily along US 29 with intermediate stops at UNCC and at a park and ride lot at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. Since service inception in February, ridership has increased each month w,ith the latest figures showing~ 74 riders per day. Officials with the City of Charlotte, who are operating the service, indicate that the ridership has exceeded their expectations and that they are very pleased with the public response. The Gnnnett Fleming ENGINEERS AND PLANNERS