Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Wednesday unveiled a detailed look at a new people mover that would connect the terminal to a proposed light rail station on Wilkinson Boulevard.
The Charlotte Area Transit System has proposed building the airport light rail station for the planned Silver Line on Wilkinson Boulevard, about a mile from the terminal. The station would be adjacent to a planned redevelopment of the area between Wilkinson and Interstate 85, with stores, hotels and offices.
To get passengers the rest of the way, the airport said they would take a seven-minute ride on the people mover. It would have five stops at the different parking lots and operate at 20 mph. The people mover would end at the hourly parking deck, meaning passengers would have to walk the final 500 feet to the main terminal.
Airport officials don't know yet if the people mover would be an automatic train on elevated tracks or self-driving buses.
The airport also said it plans to move the rental cars out of the hourly parking deck and move them to a new rental car facility, which would open in 2032.
The discussion about the people mover took place during the meeting of the Metropolitan Public Transportation Board.
The board also voted to have only 10 stations on the proposed Red Line commuter train to Lake Norman. Some neighborhood leaders had wanted a new station at Craighead Road just south of I-85.
But CATS recommended against that, saying there aren’t enough people who live nearby. Transit officials said a station that doesn't bring enough new riders could make it harder for the project to secure federal funding.
