Charlotte City Council Enhances CATS Transit Security and Advances One-Cent Regional Mobility Referendum

City Council Strengthens Security and Fare Enforcement on CATS Light Rail

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — In a unanimous vote in late October 2026, the Charlotte City Council authorized an $8.2 million transit security modernization package for the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS). Under the measure, the city will deploy dozens of dedicated off-duty Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officers alongside trained civilian transit safety ambassadors across Lynx Blue Line stations and uptown bus transfer facilities. Transit directors explained that the upgraded safety protocols—which include high-definition platform surveillance cameras and modern ticket validation kiosks—will protect daily commuters and restore public confidence across Mecklenburg County's rail network.

Council members noted that dependable transit security is a foundational requirement for expanding ridership as corporate headquarters continue adding thousands of workers to Uptown Charlotte.

Regional Coalition Unites Behind One-Cent Sales Tax Transportation Referendum

Addressing Charlotte's rapid metropolitan expansion, interim Mayor Robert Harrington joined municipal leaders from surrounding Mecklenburg towns to formalize legislative proposals petitioning the North Carolina General Assembly for authority to place a one-cent countywide sales tax referendum on an upcoming ballot. If authorized by state lawmakers, the dedicated revenue stream would generate an estimated $300 million annually to finance the proposed Lynx Silver Line east-west light rail expansion, modernize cross-town bus networks, and build hundreds of miles of neighborhood sidewalks and protected greenways.

Regional civic coalitions stressed that securing sustainable transit funding is indispensable to preventing chronic gridlock across Interstate 77 and Interstate 85 travel corridors.

Affordable Housing Trust Fund Allocations and Greenway Extensions

In housing and community vitality actions, the council approved $16 million from the voter-approved Housing Trust Fund to subsidize 320 new income-restricted workforce apartments near the Sugar Creek light rail station. Additionally, the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation department broke ground on a two-mile extension of the Cross Charlotte Trail, expanding accessible, car-free mobility corridors for pedestrians and cyclists across central Charlotte.