Statement on the Importance of Transparency and Public Process in I-77 South Decisions

We have learned that NCDOT Secretary Daniel Johnson recently held a private meeting with selected community leaders regarding the proposed I-77 South toll lane project.

Community engagement is an important responsibility of government, and every community deserves to have its voice heard. But this project has already undergone months of extensive public engagement, culminating in votes by the Charlotte City Council and the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization to rescind their support for the project. Those decisions reflected the judgment of the elected officials chosen by the people to represent their communities.

It is deeply concerning that, after local elected officials voted to rescind their support, NCDOT appears to be continuing its efforts to build support for reversing those decisions through private meetings with selected stakeholders rather than through an open and transparent public process. The individuals invited to these discussions represent important voices in our community, but they do not speak for every resident of West Charlotte, nor do they replace the role of the elected officials entrusted to make decisions on behalf of the broader public.

If NCDOT has developed new proposals, commitments, or investments related to this project, those ideas should be presented publicly so that every resident, every elected official, and every affected community has an equal opportunity to understand and evaluate them. The public deserves to know what was discussed at this meeting, who was invited to participate, and how those discussions relate to the ongoing effort to reverse the decisions of local elected bodies.

Major transportation decisions should be shaped through open dialogue with the public and their elected representatives—not through private meetings with selected stakeholders after those representatives have already spoken.

The people of Mecklenburg County made their voices clear. Thousands of residents participated in this debate, and local elected officials responded by voting to withdraw their support for the I-77 South toll lane project. If NCDOT believes there is new information or new commitments that warrant reconsideration, those should be presented openly through the same transparent public process that informed those earlier decisions. That’s how public trust is built, and that’s how decisions of this magnitude should be made.

– Shannon Binns
Founder and Executive Director
Sustain Charlotte