CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Greenway users across Charlotte are calling for increased safety measures from city officials. This comes after a handful of recent incidents have been reported in just the last few months.
One of those incidents happened near Stewart Creek Greenway on Tuesday. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department arrested two men accused of shooting into occupied homes in a nearby neighborhood.
There are more than 70 miles of greenway trails throughout the Charlotte and Mecklenburg County area. But for communities connected by the greenways, there's a big hurdle for neighbors who want to enjoy them: safety.
That's why a run club called runCLTrun is pushing for city officials to help boost safety with more eyes on the trails.
Jesús De La Torre and the club are seeing the trails they enjoy being connected to several safety concerns. It's something he worries about.
“If people aren't feeling safe using the greenways, then they're not going to use them," he said, "and that would kind of defeat the purpose of it.”
De La Torre and runCLTrun are pressing city leaders and the county's Park and Recreation division to add more cameras throughout the trails.
“Call to action is just try to have people be cognizant about it, and people recognize it, and the decision makers to realize that there are issues that can't be overlooked,” he said.
WCNC Charlotte asked the Park and Recreation Department about safety along greenways. This reply was provided:
Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation continues to work with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies on greenway safety.
Additionally, Park and Recreation has cameras installed at trailhead parking lots. Park and Recreation does not install cameras on greenways because greenways are mostly located in floodplains. It is Park and Recreation's common practice to light culverts and/or tunnels along these facilities.
To help users identify their location to 911 in the event of an emergency, and to quicken the response time of emergency services, Park and Recreation continues to install location signs on greenway mile markers (located at every one-quarter mile), and on address signs at neighborhood exits. When they dial 911, a caller should be prepared to share the greenway name, and the closest mile marker or the address of the nearest neighborhood exit. The signs are being added to existing greenways through 2024. They will also be features of future greenways.
The warm weather is expected to bring more foot traffic to the greenways. De La Torre is confident that safety advocates and city leaders can connect on the same path and increase safety as well.
"Whether they run, they walk, they ride their bike, whatever, they should be able to do that without fear whenever, however they want to," he said.
Contact Myles Harris at mharris5@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.