May 25th 2011
City Holiday Hours
City of Charlotte offices will be closed on Monday, May 30.
Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) bus routes and the LYNX Blue Line will operate on a Sunday schedule on Monday, May 30. No express bus service will operate on that day.
For more information please contact CATS Customer Service at 704-336-RIDE or visit
www.ridetransit.org.
Solid Waste Services will provide garbage, recyclables, yard waste and bulky items collection on a normal schedule. For information on how to properly prepare your materials for pick-up, visit
http://curbit.charmeck.org.
Speed Street Closures
Speed Street will begin Thursday, May 26 and finish Saturday, May 28. Streets will close Wednesday, May 25 at 9:30 a.m. and reopen Sunday, May 29 at 8 a.m.
Commuters can access parking facilities regularly before 9 a.m. Motorists are advised to:
- Seek alternate routes around the uptown area
- Allow for additional commute time
- Utilize Trade, Fifth and Sixth Streets
Visit the Charlotte Department of Transportation’s
web page for more travel tips and detailed street closure information.
For more information about the Speed Street festival visit
www.600festival.com or click
here to link to the operational plan.
CATS Revs up Service for Race
The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) is gearing up for the large crowds anticipated during Speed Street. On Sunday, May 29, the 79X Concord Mills Express bus will operate every 20 minutes between noon and 6 p.m. to help fans get to the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The 79X Concord Mills Express operates from the Charlotte Transportation Center in Center City Charlotte to the Speedway and ends at Concord Mills Mall.
Customers can catch the 79X Concord Mills Express on the Fourth Street side of the Charlotte Transportation Center (CTC). The 79X will make a loop uptown and stop near the NASCAR Hall of Fame and major hotels on Martin Luther King Boulevard and McDowell, Fourth, College and Trade Streets before departing to the Speedway.
Fare for the 79X Concord Mills Express is $7 round trip. Tickets can be
purchased online in advance and be picked up at the Charlotte Transportation Center. You can also purchase your tickets at the Charlotte Transportation Center before getting on the bus.
For parking information and other race day details visit the CATS web site
www.ridetransit.org or call 704-336-RIDE.
Energy Efforts go Mobile
The City of Charlotte’s energy efficiency and conservation educational campaign “Power2Charlotte” has gone mobile. A mobile website has launched, marking the beginning of an on-the-move promotional campaign with the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS).
In addition to promotions on the exteriors of CATS buses, LYNX Light Rail riders can test their energy IQ using a free smart phone application. Riders with the app can answer questions using Quick Response Codes (QR). For more details about the Power2Charlotte’s mobile efforts and to view the QR codes, visit the
City’s Newsroom.
Visit
www.Power2Charlotte.com to sign up for a free newsletter featuring the City’s energy initiatives and learn how to get the Power2 recycle, conserve and protect the environment.
CMPD Citizens Academy
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s (CMPD) Citizens Academy program continues with next week’s workshop about Criminal Investigations and Gangs. Participants will learn how cases are assigned to detectives, the investigation process and about the four Criminal Investigations Divisions. Additionally, there will be a discussion about gangs, gang prevention and youth initiatives in Charlotte.
Criminal Investigations and Gangs Workshop
Tuesday, June 7
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Police and Fire Training Academy
1770 Shopton Road
To register, complete the
online registration form or call 704-432-1655. You can also e-mail
mwilliams2@cmpd.org with any questions. Visit the Citizens Academy
web page at cmpd.org for more information about the workshops offered, including complete course descriptions and dates of future courses.
Art Proposals Ready for Review
Come see artist’s proposals for the LYNX Blue Line Extension Parkwood and 25th Street Stations. Join the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) as artists present their public art proposals for two of the light rail stations located within the EcoDistrict, which includes the Belmont, Optimist Park and Villa Heights neighborhoods.
Selected in 2009 after a national call to artists, Atlanta artist Maria Artemis has created concepts for the Parkwood Station. Local artists Kit Kube and Sharon Dowell were selected to create concepts for the 25th Street Station. Inspired by the identity of the surrounding communities, the art is proposed for integration into the platform concrete, glass windscreens, seating and fencing or as wayfinding sculptures for the LYNX Blue Line Extension.
Thursday, June 9
6 – 8 p.m.
Belmont Regional Center
700 Parkwood Avenue
For more information on the LYNX Blue Line Extension and CATS’ Art-in-Transit program, visit
www.ridetransit.org.
Small Business Week 2011 Recap
The enhanced local Small Business Week 2011 included more than 23 events geared toward helping Charlotte’s Small Businesses improve operations or enhance sales and featured the launch of the
charlottebusinessresources.com web portal. More than 1,300 people attended the week’s events.
The new web portal is a collaboration of several local, state and federal organizations that support small businesses in the local community. The portal provides an easy way to deliver this wealth of information and resources to the entrepreneurs. Click
here for complete details about the new web portal.
A unique highlight of the week was the creation of the Extreme Makeover: Small Business Edition contest, whereby 3tailer.com was selected by a panel of resource partners to receive five business enhancement services/consultations over the next five weeks in the areas of strategic planning, branding and marketing, sales enhancement, tax advisory services, and human resources audit.
Visit
http://nbs.charlottenc.gov for more information about small business week.
The GOV Channel is Your City Source
The GOV Channel brings you the latest City Source episode on
Thursday, June 2 at 7 p.m. This episode will give you an in-depth look at 32nd Annual Community Relations Awards ceremony where Police Officers were honored for their contributions to improving Charlotte’s communities. You’ll also learn about this year’s budget recommendations, improvements to uptown’s recycling program and why the non-residential building code was created.
For your convenience, you can view episodes of
City Source online at
charlottenc.gov by clicking on the GOV Channel logo.
If you know someone who would be interested in reading CMail, please forward it to them!
You can always visit www.charlottenc.gov, Twitter or Facebook for City information as well.