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!

The City Manager’s budget recommends:

• $4 million to implement the elements of a bicycle-friendly city as outlined in the Charlotte BIKES plan.  If approved, this would be the first stand-alone funding for the City’s bicycle program since 2012.
• Doubling the funding for the pedestrian program from $15 million to $30 million for projects including sidewalks, street crossings, intersection improvements, and more.
• $2 million to create a new Vision Zero program to work towards the elimination of traffic fatalities and serious injuries.

PeopleForBikes gave Charlotte a score of only 2.2 out of 5 possible points in their new PlacesforBikes City Ratings system.  There’s still a long way to go, but with full funding as recommended in the transportation plans adopted by Council last year, Charlotte will move closer to becoming a world-class city in terms of livability and transportation choices!

We’re asking for YOUR help to make sure these budget recommendations are approved as City Council moves toward official adoption on June 11.

Please let those who represent YOU know today that you support a 2019 budget that fully funds our City’s bicycle, pedestrian, and new Vision Zero programs.

In case the link above did not work for you, here are the emails of Mayor Lyles, Council, and City Staff for you to copy and paste into your own emails:

mayor@charlottenc.gov,julie.eiselt@charlottenc.gov,Larken.Egleston@charlottenc.gov,Justin.Harlow@charlottenc.gov,lmayfield@charlottenc.gov,gaphipps@charlottenc.gov,Matt.Newton@charlottenc.gov,Tariq.Bokhari@charlottenc.gov,edriggs@charlottenc.gov,james.mitchell@charlottenc.gov,dimple.ajmera@charlottenc.gov,Braxton.Winston@charlottenc.gov,Marcus.Jones@ci.charlotte.nc.us,ebabson@ci.charlotte.nc.us,dgallagher@ci.charlotte.nc.us,vcoleman@ci.charlotte.nc.us,dsmith@ci.charlotte.nc.us,kate.cavazza@sustaincharlotte.org

If you want to take a step further, we encourage you to sign up to speak this coming MONDAY, May 14 at City Council’s budget public hearing.  Sign up with the City Clerk’s office here!  If you do not want to speak, come with signs of support for walking and biking!

Read what our Bicycle Program Manager Kate Cavazza said at the public hearing!

Thank you in advance for speaking up and supporting the 2019 budget! 

Thanks for reading!

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