French Street station

French Street
CityLynx streetcar station
Streetcar stop along Beatties Ford Road
General information
Location	402 Beatties Ford Road Charlotte, North Carolina United States
Coordinates	35.24601°N 80.85688°W / 35.24601; -80.85688
Owned by	Charlotte Area Transit System
Line(s)	CityLynx Gold Line
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Bicycle facilities	Bicycle racks
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	August 30, 2021 (2021-08-30)[1]
Services
Preceding station CATS Following station Terminus CityLynx Gold Line Johnson C. Smith University towards Sunnyside Avenue
Location

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 nine-acre (3.6 ha) 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]

References

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

External links

• Media related to French Street station at Wikimedia Commons
• Historic West End