Charlotte Walkability: What We Learned from Our Park Road Safety Audit
On June 10, our team at Sustain Charlotte was joined by nine employees from Stantec to conduct a walkability audit along a particularly dangerous stretch of Park Road from Mockingbird Lane to Woodlawn Road.
This was not just another event on our calendar. It was deeply personal.
Earlier this year, one of our team members lost her father after he was struck by a vehicle while biking on this corridor. His tragic death is a heartbreaking reminder that Charlotte’s streets are too often designed for cars, not people. And on Park Road, that reality couldn’t be more apparent.
A Street Built for Speed, Not Safety
Led by our Urban Design Specialist, Eric Zaverl, the group walked both sides of Park Road, documenting sidewalk conditions, crossing safety, driver behavior, transit access, and how it all feels from the perspective of a pedestrian or cyclist.
The observations were striking, though, sadly, not surprising:
- Crosswalks are limited, and in some cases, completely absent across major intersections.
- Sidewalks were narrow, poorly maintained, or forced pedestrians dangerously close to fast-moving traffic.
- Transit stops lacked basic infrastructure like benches or shelters, and many were isolated or difficult to access..
- Drivers rarely yielded to pedestrians, even when walk signals were active.
- Overall, the corridor sends a clear message: Cars come first, and everyone else is left to fend for themselves.
This corridor tells the same story we’ve seen on too many Charlotte streets: busy, fast-moving, and unwelcoming to anyone outside a car.
The Power of Walking Together
As we walked from Pasta & Provisions to the Park Road Shopping Center, what stood out—beyond the poor infrastructure—was the power of shared experience.
Stantec employees, city residents, and our staff noticed the same pain points, and shared stories of close calls or near misses. Together, we saw clearly what needs to change and why that change is urgent.
We believe seeing a street while walking is one of the most powerful tools for understanding how safe (or unsafe) it really is. That’s why walk audits like this one are central to our advocacy. They ground our policy work in real experiences and help ensure that solutions are informed by what people actually face when walking, biking, or using transit.
What’s Next
We’re compiling the audit findings to share with the Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT), with the goal of influencing both immediate improvements and long-term design changes that make Park Road and similar corridor safer for everyone.
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