Tuesday, April 21, 2009

A new director for Charlotte Trolley

The non-profit group Charlotte Trolley has hired Andrea Feay as its new executive director, replacing Ron Tober, who is working for the transit system in Seattle.

Charlotte Trolley is the caretaker of the city’s streetcar heritage. It markets weekend trolley service on the Lynx Blue Line and it also operates a trolley museum near the Bland Street light-rail station.

Feay, who relocated to Charlotte from South Bend, Ind., where she led Southold Dance Theater. A graduate of Notre Dame, the university established in 2005 the Andrea Feay Award for Excellence in Community Service.

Tober is the former chief executive of the Charlotte Area Transit System. He stepped down in December 2007 and then headed Charlotte Trolley. He left a year later to become a consultant for the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority.

The historic trolley operates on weekends from Atherton Mill to uptown. The Charlotte Area Transit System operates the service.

13 comments:

JAT said...

A fitting choice. The trolley is more performance art than transportation option.

Yet the public funds it lavishly from scarce transit dollars.

A mystery -- wait, a murder mystery, with dinner! Stage it ON THE TROLLEY and call it ROLLING Bones.

I am a genius. Where is my grant?

jonathan5052 said...

The trolley is no more "performance art" than an SUV is a fuel-efficient, high-mileage vehicle. Where do we find all of these negative people? Trolleys have been running up and down streets and corridors in many cities of all sizes around this country for the last 2 centuries, and with lots of success, I may add! My biggest concern: Why did Charlotte Trolley select a director without some kind of major expertise in rail transit, which would always keep the trolleys on the front burner with the city and CATS. Let's move those trolleys off the LYNX line and get them rolling along Elizabeth Avenue now!

jonathan5052 said...

Officials from CATS, Charlotte Trolley, and the city all need to travel to New Orleans, Tampa, San Francisco, and Galveston (Texas), to study the success of trolley systems in these cities, and apply some of their findings to the Queen City.

Anonymous said...

How do we find out details on the compensation package this new director received? I'm curious what the overall package is - not just dollars but total comp (non-qualified retirement plans, benefits, etc). In this age of economic trouble the city needs to be clear on what it values...if they are paying top dollar for this person yet laying off hundreds of teachers we have a major issue on our hands.

Any help in tracking this information down (via Freedom of information Act request?) is appreciated!

Anonymous said...

Salary of Director is public info shouldnt be hard to find. As a former ASC employee I used to see a lot more going on with the Trolley. Since the Lynx, Trolley hasn't even been on the map. (We dont know how to keep our history alive, we act like imbecils when it comes to the word historic). If there are no plans to actually use the Trolley, as mentioned Elizabeth avenue, shame. However, the cars can still be used for something historic and creative...put them outside of the Southpark pavilion to listen to the symphony in, for instance. Use the brand new building on Camden for Events (not just kids events!) That's a great building-there is nothing in it.

Anonymous said...

11:00 - How do you define "success"? By the amount of subsidy being diverted away from real government services such as police?

Tell me how "successful" the trolley is when your daughter gets raped.

jonathan5052 said...

Public transportation IS a government service! Government must provide mass transit for those of us who lack personal transportation. The federal government needs to release the maximum funds, so that cities can provide citizens with viable choices beyond the automobile. President Obama says he wants to improve our national rail network, now is the time for him to "walk the walk." C'mon, Mr. President, toughen up! And what does "rape" have to do with responsible alternatives to the automobile?

Anonymous said...

JAT - hope you get out of your mom's basement one day, rent an apartment, get your first kiss, and grow some. please admit finally that even you at times wonder "why am i such a negative loser with no friends and no future. keep hating on CATS and we will take away the route in front of mom's house.

barkomomma said...

"...she led Southold Dance Theater"

Seriously? SERIOUSLY? WTF does that have to do with ANY kind of transportation issue - even if it is just the weekend toy train ride?

I keep hearing about "progress" and being "world class" but as far as our local transportation system is concerned, all that comes up is how GREAT 19th century technology is.

Math went right out the window with LYNX - the two bus routes that got canned when the McCrory Line started carried more people per day than that tinker-toy AND the bus riders HAD to pay to ride (not just jump on and roll the dice that some inspector would decide to ask to see a ticket).

Common! A horse-drawn carrige ride is "quaint" too, but jeez - if you're going to spend a bajillion tax dollars on some one-size-fits-all, multi-county/state transportation solution, at least lie to us and say that you're going to give us the George Jetson flying cars already!

back_to_the_future said...

If we took all the money CATS spends on public transportation and bought horses, do you think we might be ahead of the game?

Anonymous said...

History in Charlotte consists of bronze plaques embedded in the sidewalks that pretty much all say the same thing:

"Something significant used to be here, but we tore it down to make room for another surface parking lot."

Anonymous said...

We can thank Dan Morrill and his minions at the Historic Landmarks Commission for the lack of preserved history in Charlotte.
For 25+ years Morrill has rolled over for corporate Charlotte and without as much as a whimper allowed the destruction of downtown Charlotte's history.
It's far too late now - it's all gone.

jonathan5052 said...

So we want to downplay the effectiveness of "19th-century technology," which is probably more 21st century than the gas guzzlers running up and down the interstates and city streets these days. Blame CATS for bad thinking, if they should not have cut out 2 bus routes when LYNX officially started service. Did you know that the average passenger train can remove hundreds of drivers and their vehicles from the streets and highways...and an average freight train can remove over 250 tractor-trailer trucks from our roadways every day? You think: "19th century technology." I think: "Still up to date in the 21st century!" Those "weekend trolley toys" that so many naysayers seem to oppose are running with great success in cities such as New Orleans, where city leaders had the foresight and intelligence NOT to dismantle their mass-transit systems in the 20th century! No matter how you try to slice it, the railroad IS the superior form of transportation, and will continue to stand the test of time!