MATTHEWS, N.C. — The Town of Matthews is working to make John Street a safer environment for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users. Town leaders want to hear from the public on how to do so and are taking recommendations to learn what the needs are in the community.
Matthews, home to nearly 35,000 people, is known for its small-town feel.
“When I moved here in the '80s, it was still farms on the road and now, we are all neighborhoods,” Matthews resident Benjamin Martin said.
“It is a beautiful historic town, and we are fortunate to have it as is,” Sante Restaurant Chef and Owner Adam Reed said.
However, it's the small-town charm that is attracting more people to Matthews.
“A lot of people want to live here,” Mayor John Higdon said. “We have great schools, a lot of amenities, good parks, good restaurants.”
But, because of its growth and appeal, the roads in Matthews are becoming more congested.
“The traffic now is pretty much continuous,” Reed said.
That congestion includes John Street, a main road in Matthews full of shops, businesses, and restaurants. The street also connects to a greenway, state Route 51, and Interstate 485, with tens of thousands of cars traveling on it daily.
A larger-scale widening project is in the works for John Street through the NCDOT but the project doesn't start until 2030.
In the meantime, the town is looking at smaller improvements that can already be made on the road. Town leaders are conducting the John Street Pedestrian and Bicycle Study to get more insight from the community.
Mayor Higdon said this would be a huge benefit to its citizens.
“There's a lot of pedestrians that use the corridor and the concerns they brought to my attention and other elected officials’ attention are safety related, and how can they cross the street safely,” said Higdon.
Higdon added these would be small to medium-scale improvements that can be made on John Street to create a better experience for travelers.
“It could involve multi-use paths, crosswalks, lighted crosswalks with buttons that are safer,” said Higdon. “Even additional transit stops so people can catch the bus safely.”
People in the town are excited to have their voices heard.
“We would like to see a pedestrian-friendly and bike-friendly [street], but just still a small town feel,” Martin said.
“The walkability of John Street is very hard, there aren’t a lot of sidewalks,” Reed said. “As far as being able to accommodate more people walking in town or biking in town it's not conducive, so improving that would be a big difference.”
Town leaders said all the feedback will be useful to make the final recommendations in the fall.
“We get our very best ideas from the people that actually use the corridor,” Higdon said. “I would rather have the people that are regularly using it inform us how they'd like to see it improved.”
People have until Jan. 31 to share their input.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.