Last Monday evening, our Director of Engagement and Impact, Meg Fencil, spoke at the City Council Budget Hearing to express support for the funding listed in the recommended budget to support numerous projects, centering around those that will 1) Provide safe and equitable mobility, 2) Support more affordable housing, and 3) Reduce Charlotte’s greenhouse gas emissions.      Continue reading

(Photo: Charlotte Area Transit System) On Wednesday, April 26, the Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) held an eventful meeting. The MTC, established through an interlocal agreement in 1998 when the half-cent transit sales tax was enacted, is tasked with serving as part of the governance structure that oversees CATS. The MTC votes on CATS policy decisions and has some specific powers, such as the ability to terminate the CATS CEO. However, it became clear during the recent meeting that the MTC is quite limited in its ability to direct financial decisions. As such, commission members are struggling to find their place in our complex transit governance landscape.  These concerns need to be addressed so that all taxpayers supporting CATS through sales tax revenues are equitably represented in both policy and financial decision-making. This is an essential step in the process of building countywide and regional consensus on the need to invest in expanding the public transit system. Wednesday’s 4-hour meeting covered topics from NCDOT’s oversight role to existential questions about the purpose of MTC. We won’t go into those details here, but we do recommend these articles by WFAE and the Charlotte Post for overviews of the meeting. Here is our take on the two items that will immediately affect transit riders, operators, and advocates (light rail safety and service levels) and an update on battery electric buses.  Continue reading

2023 Sustain Charlotte Awards Last week, we spotlighted individuals and organizations for their inspiring work to reduce our community’s impact on the climate, advance racial equity, and support residents’ health and wellness. Seven winners were honored for advancing smart growth and sustainability in the greater Charlotte region before a crowd of more than 300 at the 2023 Sustain Charlotte Awards presented by Duke Energy. Continue reading

Thank you to the more than 100 people who responded to our action alert and advocated to Mecklenburg County commissioners for Park and Recreation Department funding! Your stories about the importance of greenways struck home with many of the commissioners, as evidenced by their vocal support during Tuesday’s public policy meeting. Continue reading

This blog post covers the second half of the April 3 Charlotte City Council Transportation, Planning and Development Committee meeting, including a CATS update and UDO text amendments portion of the meeting. For a recap of the mobility update from the first part of the meeting, please see this blog post. by Hope Wright, Advocacy Manager Continue reading

This month’s Transportation, Planning, and Development Committee meeting on Monday, April 3rd was chock full of information. Three items were on the agenda: a mobility update from Centralina Regional Council’s executive director Geraldine Gardner, a CATS update from interim CEO Brent Cagle and County Manager Marcus Jones, and proposed UDO text amendments presented by interim director for Planning, Design & Development, Alyson Craig. You can view the agenda and accompanying slides here. by Hope Wright, Advocacy Manager Continue reading

Sustain Charlotte's executive director Shannon Binns emailed Charlotte City Council members on April 6th, 2023 to share our perspective on why parking minimums are a barrier to Charlotte's sustainable and equitable growth: Dear Council Members, Our team was pleased to see a master and shorter list of mobility projects shared with you at your meeting on Monday. We will review closely, discuss with CDOT, and share our viewpoint soon. Hats off to the hard-working staff at CDOT who have been working diligently to create these lists. Our team was also pleased that you also discussed parking minimums. In response to your conversation, below we share four reasons why Charlotte should eliminate parking minimums as swiftly as possible.   Continue reading

Photo: City of Charlotte There has been a lot of news coming from CATS recently. We attended the recent Metropolitan Transit Commission meeting on Wednesday, Mar. 22 to hear the latest from interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle. The meeting opened with Mayor Lyles expressing the need for a “candid conversation” about the May 2022 Lynx Blue Line derailment that came to light a few weeks ago. Cagle then delivered a CATS Management Partners Update presentation, outlining the successes of the department, including steady bus and rail operations and a stable budget.    Continue reading

Photo: Charlotte Area Transit System If you live in Huntersville, Corneliu​s and Davidson, perhaps you’re familiar with North Meck Village Rider, a bus service with three dedicated routes that connect to several Charlotte Area Transportation System (CATS) fixed-route services and two park-and-ride stops. While the North Meck Village Rider follows a set schedule along the main routes, it also serves destinations up to ¾-mile off of them. Riders can schedule a pick-up and drop-off point and time with a customer service agent one day in advance.  Soon, CATS will pilot a microtransit program that may replace the North Meck Village Rider network.  Continue reading

Despite a postponement, rain, and chilly temps, our March 10 group walk on Irwin and Stewart Greenways was a success! We co-hosted the walk with AARP Charlotte, in partnership with our Growing Our Greenways friends, Partners for Parks and Carolina Thread Trail.  Continue reading