Latest news with #SustainCharlotte
Axios
2 days ago
- Axios
This crisis in Charlotte has killed 31 people in 2025
On a Friday in May, 73-year-old Bill Yoder was riding his recumbent bike, as the grandfather often did to maintain his independence. Traffic had backed up at the intersection of East Woodlawn Road that afternoon, halting a tractor-trailer in a fading crosswalk. Yoder attempted to move around the truck, as many cyclists might in that situation. But at the same time, the semi drove forward, striking Yoder. He died on the scene. The big picture: Charlotte's streets are becoming more dangerous, and Yoder's death has raised new alarm over the issue. Less than halfway into 2025, 31 people — including five cyclists and four pedestrians — have died in crashes, according to the city's latest data as of May 28. Including those that caused serious injury, there have been nine crashes involving cyclists this year — up from seven in 2024 and four in 2023. Only one case is reported for 2022 and 2021, each. What they're saying: Yoder was the father of a member of the Sustain Charlotte team, a nonprofit advocating for safer streets and overall smarter city growth. The organization is using his death to push for street improvements, arguing that traffic violence has become normalized. "If there was anything else happening in Charlotte that had caused 30 people to die, everybody would be talking about it," says Shannon Binns, Sustain Charlotte's executive director. The City of Charlotte has pledged to eliminate traffic deaths through the "Vision Zero" initiative it launched in 2019, investing millions in pedestrian crossings and hosting events to spread awareness of safe driving. Yes, but: There's no real goal or deadline for reaching zero. Charlotte doesn't have benchmarks for when it expects to reduce traffic fatalities, while the number of crashes is rising yearly. An internal audit, which Axios reported on last year, criticized the city for not executing the Vision Zero program effectively. Among the findings, it stated the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department was not concentrating enforcement efforts in areas with the most deaths and injuries. CMPD made 7,223 motor unit stops in 2024 — a 41% drop from 2023, according to the department's annual report. Chief Johnny Jennings has said there's "not as much time to go out and enforce traffic as there used to be," and more resources, such as red light and speed cameras, would help. Charlotte City Council has not formally discussed the audit results, but the Charlotte Department of Transportation says a Vision Zero plan update is slated for the coming year. It may introduce new strategies to reduce crashes. Of 73 actions outlined in the audit, 43 actions (59%) have been completed, according to CDOT. Sixteen actions (22%) are in progress, and a small batch has not started, "largely due to resource constraints or shifts in priorities." By the numbers: Charlotte has recorded 76 crashes with fatalities or serious injuries so far in 2025, the Vision Zero dashboard shows. Between the lines: It's hard to pinpoint what's causing the increases. Potential factors could be the return of commuting since the pandemic, Charlotte's fast population growth and clashing driving styles from different regions, and reduced traffic enforcement. Exceeding the speed limit is the top contributing factor for Charlotte crashes, per the city's dashboard. What they're saying: Sustain Charlotte's Binns says city leaders aren't discussing the issue as much as they should. He calls it "a matter of political will." "If you are intentional about how you design your city and your mobility network, you can really almost eliminate these deaths and serious injuries," he says. "But you have to be intentional, and you have to be committed. They're not just going to go away." Zoom in: The intersection where Yoder died is flagged alarm-color red in the city's High Injury Network, a map of corridors with high rates of fatal and serious crashes. Despite being close to Sugar Creek Greenway and attracting many bikers and pedestrians, the area lacks dedicated bike lanes. CMPD is still investigating Yoder's May 9 crash. Once the crash report is complete, CDOT says it will conduct an engineering investigation to determine if improvements, like more markings or signs, are needed at East Woodlawn Road and Park Road. At the least, Binns suggests the city should add more paint and fresh bollards to create space between bikes and cars in problem areas. Those improvements would be quicker and less expensive than concrete changes. A more expensive but impactful option is "road diets," like the one starting soon on Matheson Avenue near NoDa. A 0.6-mile stretch, between North Tryon Street and Jordan Place, is being transitioned from four lanes to two to slow down cars and make the route safer for bikers and walkers. It's a $12.9-million undertaking. What's next: Mecklenburg County is working toward putting a 1-cent sales tax referendum on this November's election ballot. If passed, the tax would generate an estimated $19.4 billion over 30 years for transportation projects, not including potential federal matching dollars.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sustain Charlotte urges local investment as EPA dismantles environmental justice initiatives
In an effort to eliminate Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility initiatives from the federal government, new EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin closed the agencies environmental justice offices and placed 171 federal workers on administrative leave. Trump administration directs all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on leave Zeldin argues environmental justice unfairly factors race and background into federal funding decisions, but supporters of environmental initiatives say it's about ensuring money goes where it's needed most. Shannon Binns, the executive director of Sustain Charlotte, points to Charlotte's Historic West End Green District as an example. 'It's looking at what are the discrepancies,' he said. 'What is needed in one community or for one individual may not the be the same as what's needed for another individual.' The west Charlotte neighborhood has a history of poor quality due to nearby industry and highway pollution so CleanAire NC started the initiative to address the problems. In partnership with Mecklenburg County and the federal government, their efforts got an EPA air quality monitor in the neighborhood to provide real-time data on pollution while investment in greenspaces and strategic tree planting has helped them create more natural air filtration. To Binns, environmental justice is a necessary framework that helps communities identify where communities are suffering most from pollution or face the highest risk from climate disasters. It also factors in the histories of those communities acknowledging that these are places that historically haven't seen much investment at all, let alone for environmental mitigation. Lastly, he said it's important to acknowledge these places tend to be low-income areas and, especially in Charlotte and across the Southeast, predominantly Black communities. 'The fact of the matter is that policies and budgets have discriminated against people of color over many decades and really centuries so that requires addressing if we want to give people equal opportunities,' he said. That's where Zeldin takes issue. He and the Trump Administration believe focusing on race and inequality adds an unnecessarily ideological spin to the work they do. In a statement regarding his decision to eliminate environmental justice initiatives and positions, he said, 'We will be good stewards of tax dollars and do everything in our power to deliver clean air, land, and water to every American, regardless of race, religion, background, and creed.' Meanwhile, Binns argues ignoring issues of inequality won't make the issues go away, but if places like Charlotte want to make environmental justice a priority, funding, and support will likely have to come from state or local sources moving forward. VIDEO: Lowe's shifts DEI programs, will end participation in Human Rights Campaign survey
