http://66.225.205.104/JR20120504.mp3
Bus riders will be re-routed from the Uptown Transit Center when the Democratic National Convention is in town. Light rail commuters probably will be, too. A lot of big-time politicians and celebrities will be at Time Warner Cable Arena for the DNC and the city's public transit center across the street poses a nightmare problem for security. "About 50,000 people come through the transit center on a daily basis and 70 percent of our service is routed through the transit center," says Charlotte Area Transit System CEO Carolyn Flowers. So the city will temporarily relocate the Transit Center six blocks over to an empty lot on South Mint Street during the DNC. Flowers says the plan is "that all of the service that's currently going through the transit center will still be delivered on a daily basis during DNC." The temporary transit center will operate September 3rd, 4th and 5th. Flowers hopes to offer air conditioned tents, porta-johns and food trucks on site. LYNX light rail may also be disrupted during the convention, likely stopping at the Stonewall Street Station near the Westin Hotel. City officials have not determined the cost for relocating the transit center, nor have they said if it will be covered by a $50 million federal grant for convention security. The Transit Center will reopen at its normal location the morning of Thursday, September 6. That's when DNC activities shift to Bank of America stadium where President Barack Obama will speak.