Mecklenburg County will offer a free shuttle bus to the new Ramsey Creek beach on Lake Norman beginning Saturday, to ease parking and traffic congestion.
The public beach is the first in a Mecklenburg County park since the 1970s. It opened May 28, bringing big crowds and traffic.
County parks officials also will ask commissioners at their meeting Tuesday (June 21) to increase the access fee at Ramsey Creek.
Parks officials outlined their plans at a meeting with park neighbors Thursday night at Cornelius Town Hall. Neighbors have complained about traffic on the road into the neighborhood and on nearby Catawba Avenue.
The county says Charlotte Area Transit System will provide a free "pilot" shuttle service beginning this weekend. Beach-goers can park at the Northcross Park and Ride lot, at 17126 Northcross Drive, Huntersville, to catch the bus. That's off I-77 Exit 25. Shuttle riders won't have to pay the admission fee ($3 per car for county residents, $5 for nonresidents).
A spokesman said Friday the park department also is proposing to raise the fee for county residents to $5, and non-residents to $10, for Mondays through Thursdays, and to $10 and $15 for Friday through Sundays. Discounts would continue to be offered for seniors and disabled residents and for season passes.
The service will continue through Labor Day weekend, pending county commission approval. The shuttle will run weekends and holidays every 15 minutes from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
