Map: Where pedestrians are being killed on Charlotte’s streets (Axios)
Charlotte is spending millions to try to accomplish Vision Zero, the city’s goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries. However, a new study shows that more pedestrians are being killed on Charlotte-area streets and most pedestrian fatalities are in Charlotte’s crescent of poverty, in the west, north and east of the city.
Charlotte leaders want more people to walk, bike and take transit to reduce emissions and lessen congestion as the city grows. But to do so, there needs to be infrastructure in place that allows people to get around safely. And the city must contend with how to undo decades of planning decisions that left neighborhoods of color behind in the construction of essential infrastructure like sidewalks. “(Charlotte) made a lot of mistakes in the past in planning both land use and transportation,” says Meg Fencil, director of engagement and impact with nonprofit Sustain Charlotte. “And now we know that population growth is coming to Charlotte, we have an opportunity to do better in the next decade.”