A formal public comment period is open through April 22 on the N.C. Department of Transportation’s plan to widen I-77 north of Charlotte by adding high-occupancy toll lanes, or HOT lanes. The Mecklenburg Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO) plans public meetings Wednesday in Huntersville and Thursday in Charlotte as part of its effort to gather input on the plan. Read the full story

The towns of Mooresville, Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville, the City of Charlotte, and Iredell and Mecklenburg counties will host a series of community meetings beginning Tuesday night offering details about the proposed $30 million Red Line Trail, which would run from Mooresville to Charlotte.

The 30-mile trail will provide a regional corridor for bicycle and pedestrian transportation roughly paralleling the proposed Red Line Regional Rail Project. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS
CorneliusNews.net

In meeting after meeting in recent months, state and local leaders have said plans are moving forward to widen I-77 north of Charlotte in the next few years by adding toll lanes. Just last week, state House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Cornelius) told toll-lane opponents at the state capitol that the state’s plan to hire a private company to build and operate high-occupancy toll lanes is happening, and it’s the best option for widening the road soon.

Still, opponents in the Lake Norman area are fighting on, holding public meetings and trying to build a following. Last Thursday, several members of the group Widen I-77 were out on the Davidson Village Green asking passersby to sign an anti-toll petition. And this Wednesday, April 3, they’ll host another public meeting on the issue. Read the full story

The April meeting of the Cornelius Planning Board has been moved to Tuesday, April 9, when the board is expected to take up two projects: Elevation Church‘s request for a rezoning that would allow it to use the old Palace Theater at Kenton Place, and the proposed Pender Pointe, a single-family home off John Connor Road in the Peninsula area. Read the full story

Workers this week demolished a run-down house at 20219 N. Main St. Cornelius planning officials said the county had issued permits to demolish the house, a garage and other structures on the site. Read the full story

Updated Wednesday, 11am
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools staff on Tuesday presented the school board with a new long-range facilities plan that calls for new schools and expansions as well as new programs that Superintendent Heath Morrison said would meet a goal of expanding educational choices in the district. The plan includes a proposed $7.56 million addition that would turn Davidson Elementary School into a K-8 school. Read the full story

Cornelius commissioners on Monday voted to start the process to close two streets – a part of John Connor Road in the Peninsula area and a dead-end section of Field Street off Zion Avenue, near the Antiquity development. The board also approved a new lease for the Cornelius Arts Center at the Oak Street Mill. Meanwhile, the board will head to Winston-Salem on Wednesday and Thursday for its budget planning retreat. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS
CorneliusNews.net

CONCORD – Cannon School has unveiled the largest fundraising campaign in its history, a $7 million drive to pay for new arts, athletics and middle school facilities. At a kick-off party at the Fillmore in Charlotte Saturday night, officials said they’ve already raised $5 million since the campaign’s “quiet phase” began last year. Read the full story