Meet the Intern: Payton Coleman
Hi, my name is Payton Coleman and I am very excited to be a summer intern at Sustain Charlotte. I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, but currently reside in the lovely city of Charlotte, NC. I am currently a senior at Catawba College double majoring in political science and environment and sustainability with a concentration in sustainable planning and leadership. With this degree I hope to serve in the Peace Corps for a few years, and then attend law school and become an environmental lawyer.
From left: Kate Cavazza, Payton Coleman, and Michael Zytkow, at the 2018 Charlotte Sustainability Summit.
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South End Vision Plan, Vision Zero, and a New Approach to Charlotte’s Zoning Update
SouthEnd Vision Plan
Monica Holmes from the city’s Planning Department gave an overview of changes incorporated into the SouthEnd Vision Plan since the previous Transportation and Planning meeting. Check out the full presentation here. During the April Transportation and Planning meeting, members voiced their concern about the absence of affordable housing language in the plan.
Photo courtesy of: Charlotte Agenda
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Charlotte City Council Environment Committee Passes Sustainable Energy Resolution
At their June 4 meeting, the Charlotte City Council Environment Committee passed a comprehensive resolution that, among many things, calls for the city to source 100% of its energy used in its buildings and fleet from zero carbon sources by 2030.
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375 people explored FreeMoreWest on foot at our 2018 #WalkCLT event!
More than 375 Charlotte area residents enjoyed exploring the FreeMoreWest business district, surrounding neighborhoods, and greenway as they participated in the third annual #WalkCLT powered by OrthoCarolina!
This fun, family-friendly event invited residents and visitors to walk, rather than drive to destinations in their area by taking a map-guided twilight stroll. Following check-in at Recover Brands, participants were invited to explore special activities and deals at nearby destinations including Enderly Coffee, Town Brewing, Rhino Market & Deli, Charlotte Fencing Academy, American Burger Company, Pinky's Westside Grill, Crossfit QC, Wallace Pruitt Recreation Center, Can Do! Signs, KeenDog Training, and an after party at Blue Blaze Brewing!
#WalkCLT neighborhood explorers enjoyed a healthy walk and lots of fun stops!
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Speak up for public transit in NC!
Right now the draft state budget includes a provision that would make it impossible for any light rail projects to move forward in NC, by requiring that federal funding for a project be in place before a project can apply for state funds. One of the key requirements in applying and being approved for federal funding is that local and state funds have already been committed to a project, which makes this provision a deal-breaker for light rail projects statewide.
As an organization that supports public transit expansion, Sustain Charlotte asks you to contact your Charlotte-area legislators and ask them to change this provision.
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Cycling advocates brave weather for Shifting Gears
Sustain Charlotte hosted our second Shifting Gears of 2018 on May 24th at Central Piedmont Community College. The goal of Shifting Gears is for every participant to come away with one action item and one community contact to help them achieve their goal.
Did you miss the workshop? We have a summary for you right here!
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Leaders call for collaboration to expand regional transit network
"Build a system that works, and the riders will come." Keynote speaker John Martin from the Southeastern Institute of Research inspired attendees at the Regional Transit Summit last Thursday with a message of hope for the future of transit as our area struggles with accommodating the transportation needs of a growing population. He explained the transportation and lifestyle preferences of the various generations currently living in the United States, and emphasized the need to shift from talking about transit riders as a captive audience. "It's not about Transit Dependent. It's about Transit Empowered." In other words, when transit performs well compared to the choice of driving alone or using a ride-sharing service, people of all ages will choose to use it. Nowhere has this been more clear than in Seattle, where that city's investment in fast, frequent transit has led to a huge increase in the number of daily transit commuters.
Summit attendees raised their hands to express support for transit expansion!
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Sustain Charlotte members share priorities for air quality in Mecklenburg County
At our May Grow Smart CLT event, attendees were focused on air quality, and what they can do to improve the air we all breathe. We were excited to have staff from Mecklenburg County Air Quality Division at the event, collecting public input on the Division’s priorities for air quality. During the networking time before the program, attendees were able to provide input by dropping marbles into glass jars, each labelled with a different potential priority. The potential focus areas included transit expansion, complete streets, airport shuttle electrification, and much more. Air Quality Division will take that input and use it to help inform the initiatives they pursue next to improve our air quality.
We were also thrilled to have Sun Raised Farms at the event, handing out delicious food samples! Huge thanks to all the staff and owners for being part of the event!
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ACTION ALERT: Support Groundbreaking 2019 City Budget for Active Transportation!
Help your City go the last mile to fund critical transportation programs!
On Monday, May 7, City Manager Marcus Jones presented the preliminary budget for Fiscal Year 2019 to City Council. Read the document, executive summary, and presentation here!
After continued advocacy in partnership with many concerned citizens, we are thrilled to announce that the Fiscal Year 2019 proposed budget positions Charlotte to take a huge step to advance active transportation!
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Senior Mobility Survey
Are you a Senior? Want to improve transportation options in our community? Please take our survey and share it with other seniors! We'll use the results to help inform our work to empower neighborhoods and senior residents to address the challenges they're seeing in the community.
The last week to complete the survey is the week of June 25-30th, so please share with your friends, family, and networks.