CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Corridors of Opportunity program aims to reduce crime and make Charlotte communities safer.
This includes the Sugar Creek area.
“The Sugar Creek Corridor has historically been one of our underinvested areas, unfortunately," Charlotte City Council At-large Representative Dimple Ajmera said.
The program has already successfully cut down on crime by demolishing hotels in the area – hotspots for transactional criminal activity.
“That’s really helping to transform the area by reducing some of the transactional crime happening there," executive manager of Corridors of Opportunity for the City of Charlotte Monica Carney Holmes said. "As most people know, the interchange of 85 and Sugar Creek is right in between Atlanta and D.C. and it’s a hotspot, of people passing through, drug trafficking, human trafficking.”
The next step is to improve pedestrian and traffic safety.
On Monday, Dec. 11, Charlotte City Council approved millions in state and federal funding to add sidewalks and improve existing pedestrian pathways on Sugar Creek Road.
“Sugar Creek is on what we call the high injury network, which means that it is one of the top roads in the city for pedestrians’ deaths, people getting hit by cars, it’s not really safe to ride a bike there," Holmes said.
Holmes previously told WCNC Charlotte about the benefits of things like closing sidewalk gaps and improving bus transportation in the Albemarle corridor.
"The public realm and really what the street looks like and how it feels and how easy it is to get around is an important aspect to help attract jobs to that corridor and more opportunities for employment in that area," Holmes said.
About $12 million in grant funds will make up most of the $14 million the city council took into consideration.
Some of the projects include pedestrian improvements to the North Tryon and Sugar Creek Road intersection and the addition of three Charlotte Area Transit System mobility hubs.
City leaders have spent the last five years working to eliminate deaths and injuries by the end of the decade through the Vision Zero Initiative, but there's still work to be done.
“It’s an investment that’s long past due," Ajmera said. “I think it’s critical that we have economic opportunities in all parts of our city, that residents can get to and from work safely regardless of where they live. Their zip code should not determine their fatality rates. Most importantly this is going to save lives.”
The listed projects can be found in the city council agenda.
Contact Destiny Richards at drichards5@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Contact Lexi Wilson at lwilson@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at WCNC Charlotte.
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart
All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.