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CHARLOTTE – Leaders from the Urban Land Institute spent the past three days in Charlotte taking a look at challenges being faced along the Independence Boulevard corridor in east Charlotte. They made several suggestions, including creating an entirely new transit plan.

Years ago, Independence Boulevard was packed with stores and restaurants, now it is an expressway lined with vacant buildings. The Urban Land Institute's top suggestion is to find an identity for that part of town.

“One of the things I want to see happen over the next year is for some decisions to be made and for a specific implementation plan with a specific timetable to be placed on the table and approved,” Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx said.

The current transit plan calls for light rail or bus rapid transit to go down the center of Independence. The study says to scrap that idea and turn the road into high-occupance vehicle or high-occupancy toll lane with streetcars on Monroe and Central to get commuters in and out of town.