The Bobcats preseason event, Cool School Field Trip, will take place at the Bobcats Arena on Thursday, October 18th. 17,000 eighth grade students are expected to attend and will be transported in over 300 buses. Heavy uptown traffic is expected starting at 9:30 am until 2:00 pm. On-street parking will be very limited on the arena side of College Street to McDowell Street.

School children will be crossing streets and walking to the arena from remote on-street and lot parking. Motorists are cautioned to be alert at all times. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers will be on duty at every main pedestrian intersection in this area.

Potential Closure of Church Street at CSX Railroad Tracks
Staff Resource: Doreen Szymanski, 704-336-7527, dszymanski@ci.charlotte.nc.us

CSX Railroad has contacted the Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT) with a request to close Church Street at their railroad tracks. This portion of Church Street runs between Liddell Street and the Tryon-Church Connector. CDOT is notifying property and business owners in the vicinity of a meeting to discuss this potential closure.

The meeting will be held November 14, 2007 in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, Room 280, between 4:00 pm and 5:30 pm. Initial reaction by property and business owners has been negative. City Council may hear from interested individuals.

The closing of the street is City Council's decision and will be placed on an upcoming agenda.

Complaint from Stormtech System
Staff Resource: Jeb Blackwell, 704-336-3603, jblackwell@ci.charlotte.nc.us

In response to inquiries from City Council, attached is a report from Engineering and Property Management staff regarding their efforts to date to accommodate Stormtech's request that the City use their system for underground detention of stormwater runoff.

Getting Ready for the Fall 2007 Leaf Season
Staff Resource: Victoria O. Garland, 704-432-4223, vgarland@ci.charlotte.nc.us

Each week, on the same day as garbage and recyclables collection, Solid Waste Services provides collection of leaves, grass clippings, tree limbs and other yard waste for City of Charlotte residents.

The fall leaf season is one of the busiest times for Solid Waste Services yard waste collection crews. Generally, Solid Waste Services yard waste crews expect to collect approximately 5,500 tons of leaves and other yard debris during the leaf season, which typically begins in November and runs until mid-December.

As reported in the January 2007 to the Council, the 2006 leaf season was an exception. Solid Waste crews collected more than 7,500 tons of leaves, causing major delays in schedules. Staff learned several lessons from that experience and will be applying those to how we collect leaves in the coming weeks. Those lessons include:

• Monitor weather trends. Based on information from the City Arborist and other tree specialists, staff expects the leaf season to be longer this year, causing leaves to start falling heavily in late October and likely continue to fall steadily until the New Year.
• Monitor customer set-out rates. Field supervisors will monitor how many bags of leaves customers are placing at the curb for pick-up and make crew and equipment adjustments as needed.
• Be prepared and flexible. Based on field observations, Solid Waste will assign temporaries to supplement regular crews. Funds are available in the approved Solid Waste Services budget to provide for this additional help if it is needed.
• Develop partnership with County. Mecklenburg County will partner with Solid Waste during the fall yard waste collection season by extending operating hours as needed. They also offer composting classes for Mecklenburg County residents. Residents can get more information at www.wipeoutwaste.com.
• Maintain communication with customers. Staff will continue to communicate to residents about the proper preparation of materials as well as any delays in the schedule should they occur. We will use the GeoNotification system, if necessary, to advise residents in specific neighborhoods about the status of service.

It is our intent to stay on top of leaf collection this year and stay on schedule. This is especially important this year due to the extremely dry weather and the higher potential for fire hazard. As we move into the leaf season, staff will keep Council advised.

CATS Bus Service in the Windsor Park Neighborhood
Staff Resource: Larry Kopf, 704-432-0497, lkopf@ci.charlotte.nc.us

Background
The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) initiated a review of route 232 Grier Heights after receiving citizen input. In the Windsor Park area, some residents requested that CATS review its operation and investigate the prospect of adjusting, reducing or eliminating route 232 service on Sudbury Road through Windsor Park. Subsequently, CATS received requests from riders on route 232 who opposed eliminating service in Windsor Park.

Outcome
The outcome of the CATS investigation, as outlined below, has been communicated to the Windsor Park Community leader. A more detailed report is attached.

• Many residents of Windsor Park consider route 232 Grier Heights to be a valuable service. As a result, CATS intends to continue to operate the existing service in Windsor Park.
• The investigation of ridership indicated that one early morning trip does not carry any riders, and this trip will be discontinued as a result. All other trips in Windsor Park are being used by residents.
• CATS Bus Operating Division will continue to emphasize to Bus Operators that they are required to obey speed limits in general, and specifically to obey speed limits in Windsor Park. Police officers working for CATS will patrol Windsor Park randomly for the next thirty days to monitor bus speeds and to ticket operators who operate in excess of the speed limit. The bus schedule will be adjusted to provide more time for operators to get through Windsor Park.
• Bus operators will be trained to assist in maintaining safe neighborhoods. CATS Operators will be trained to identify safety and security situations and will report such activities to the police via CATS Dispatch.

CATS will monitor route 232 to ensure that the service is safe, reliable and that the bus route continues to provide a valuable service to residents of Windsor Park in the future.

Draft 2006 Housing Market Study
Staff Resource: Stanley Watkins, 704-336-3796, swatkins@ci.charlotte.nc.us

The Housing Trust Fund Advisory Board and Neighborhood Development commissioned a 2006 Housing Market Study from Robert Charles Lesser and Company. This is the same company that prepared the 2004 Housing Market Study. New findings of the unmet housing demand are as follows: