Data from the City of Charlotte’s Vision Zero Dashboard show there were 144 fatal or serious injury crashes in Charlotte last year; 51 of those involved pedestrians. In the first part of this series on safe streets, Reid Livingston talked about her experience being hit by a car during her morning run back in January.
In part two of this series on safe streets, we’ll explore what it will take to make streets safer, the City’s commitment to making it happen, and what runners can do to be part of the process.
Safety Over Speed
“It really comes down to better street design,” said Sustain Charlotte executive director, Shannon Binns. “It’s the biggest factor in terms of how seriously someone is injured or killed whether they’re walking or driving.”
Yes, there’s a role for education, he said, but the real solution, “the root problem we believe, is the design itself.” Design, Binns said, is where we can prioritize the safety of all users, and not just the efficiency of moving cars back and forth as fast as possible.
There are more than 8 million registered vehicles in North Carolina. On some days, it can feel like each and every one of them is in front of you on the way to work, school, or wherever you’re headed. Those 117 people moving here every day are likely bringing cars with them, too. If you’ve been to the local or area DMV, you’ve experienced the long lines and lobbies filled with folks trying to get themselves or their cars street legal.
America’s love affair with cars is changing more slowly in Charlotte than in other urban areas, Binns added, but there is at least a greater awareness of the issue since the City’s Vision Zero commitment that was made in 2018.
The City’s capital budget includes $50 million for sidewalk funding and another $8 million for the Bicycle Program, which the city’s Vizion Zero website hailed as the, “largest funding commitment in program history.”
And at least some of that money has already been put to work.
According to the City’s Vision Zero Action Plan Update, a sizeable number of safety projects were completed between 2021 and 2023, including the installation of 22 pedestrian hybrid beacons and 19 rectangular rapid flashing beacons, 15 new school zone flashers, 80 new Leading Pedestrian Flashers, and 4600 streetlights along the High Injury Network; the construction of 40 miles of new sidewalk and 29 new miles of new bike lanes; and speed limit reductions on 275 streets.
Even when there is the political will and public support, financial capacity to fund it remains a wild card. But there’s potential good news in that column, too.
Charlotte has lobbied for years for the power to levy a 1-cent sales tax to pay for roads and transportation. Local government officials estimate such a tax could generate $19.4 billion over 30 years. It’s no sure thing, but three North Carolina State Senators filed Senate Bill 145 just last week, which – if passed – would allow Mecklenburg County to add such a referendum on the ballot as early as November. Stay tuned.
But with 117 people moving to the Charlotte area every day, it’s fair to say these fixes may take some time to impact the crash data.
“I think people need to realize that it’s everyone’s responsibility to keep this effort going,” said Lisa Landrum. She’s helped organize the Mobility Safety Forums. They’ve met over the last three years to discuss issues, problems, and progress related to runner and pedestrian safety.
“It’s grassroots, people caring enough to show up, and people caring enough to continue the conversation,” she said. “No one is just going to show up with a safety plan.”
Here’s What Runners Can Do
No mistaking it; lots of us do drive. That includes the policymakers as well as (most) folks who want to see safer streets. Creating change is an uphill battle, but not something like Sisyphus’ eternity. It’s more of a Green Eggs and Ham thing, as Landrum suggested, where consistency matters most.
Binns says citizens have the power to increase political will for decision-makers by keeping up with public policy changes, contacting their elected officials, and amplifying the voice of agencies – like Sustain Charlotte – that advocate for legislation to make a difference.
“It’s a matter of creating a collective voice, rather than just one or two,” added Landrum. “It’s really on all of us to continue the conversation and invite new people to the table.”
Like Reid Livingston, I’m a statistic. But I also want to be counted among those who help create the kind of change that makes the streets safer for everyone who uses them.
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