Recommended Charlotte City Budget Includes a Doubling of Funding for Bicycle Program and Vision Zero, Tripling for Sidewalks

CONTACT

Meg Fencil

[email protected]

704-968-2187

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Charlotte, NC (May 4, 2021) - At the Charlotte City Council meeting on May 3, the City Manager presented a recommended Fiscal Year 2022 budget that includes a record amount of funding for bicycle, pedestrian, and street safety infrastructure. Specifically, the budget recommends:

• $50M over the next two years for sidewalks, with 20% set aside for suburban areas. This is more than triple the previous allocation of $15M for years 2020 and 2021.
• $8M over the next two years for the Bicycle Program, which would fully fund implementation of the Charlotte BIKES Plan (adopted in 2017). This is double the previous budget of $4M for years 2020 and 2021.
• $4M over the next two years for Vision Zero, a program supporting the City’s 2017 commitment to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2030. This is double the previous budget of $2M for years 2020 and 2021.
• $20.5M over the next five years to complete the remaining two segments of the Cross Charlotte Trail.
• $14M to invest in the six Corridors of Opportunity, including $7M in jobs and economic development, $7M in housing and neighborhood stabilization, and $10M to continue infrastructure and mobility improvements in the corridors.

This large increase in transportation investments is a sign that the City is serious about implementing multiple Council-adopted plans and policies including the Strategic Energy Action Plan, Charlotte BIKES Plan, Charlotte WALKS Plan, and Vision Zero Action Plan.

“We are elated to see this proposed record level of investment in making our city safer for walking, biking, and accessing transit stops. If approved, all Charlotteans will benefit and our neighborhoods will be more connected via healthy, non-polluting, and affordable modes of transportation,” said Sustain Charlotte’s Executive Director Shannon Binns.

The City will hold a public hearing on the budget on May 10th, followed by adjustments and a vote to adopt it on June 14th. 

About Sustain Charlotte

Sustain Charlotte is a community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to educating, engaging and uniting citizens to solve Charlotte’s sustainability challenges. We inspire choices that lead to a healthy, equitable and vibrant community for generations to come. Learn more at Sustaincharlotte.org

About Sustain Charlotte’s advocacy for walking and biking

Since 2017 when Charlotte City Council unanimously passed the Charlotte BIKES Plan, Charlotte WALKS Pedestrian Plan, and the 5-year update of the Transportation Action Plan, Sustain Charlotte has actively advocated for increased city investments that make it safer and more convenient for people of all ages and abilities to walk, ride a bike, and access public transit stops. Sustain Charlotte also serves on the City’s Vision Zero Task Force. 

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