CITY OF CHARLOTTE
BICYCLE PLAN
Approved by the Charlotte City Council
September 8, 2008
Acknowledgements
This Plan was prepared under the guidance of the City of Charlotte Department of
Transportation. Support for the development of this Plan was provided by a local Stakeholder
Group. Funding was provided by the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Division of
Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation, the Transportation Planning Branch and the City of
Charlotte.
Prepared for:
Charlotte Department of Transportation
600 East Fourth Street
Charlotte, NC 28202
Phone: (704) 336-4119
Fax: (704) 336-4400
Project Managers: Ken Tippette and Dan Gallagher
Prepared by:
Toole Design Group, LLC
6525 Belcrest Road, Suite 400
Hyattsville, MD 20782
Phone: (301) 927-1900
www.tooledesign.com
In association with:
The City of Charlotte would like to thank the following individuals for serving on the Charlotte
Bicycle Master Plan Stakeholder Group:
Lauren Blackburn: Mecklenburg County BAC
Appointee
Neal Boyd: Bicycle promoter
Jane Cacchione: Dowd YMCA
Julie Clark: Mecklenburg County Park and
Recreation Department
Scott Cole: North Carolina Department of
Transportation (NCDOT)
Bob Cook: Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan
Planning Organization (MUMPO)
Ann Gabrielson: Bike commuter
Paul Griffin: League Cycling Instructor (LAB)
Alan Hunt: Uptown Bicycle Commuters Support
Group
Julie Jackman: Mecklenburg County
Department of Public Health
Table of
Charlotte Bicycle Master Plan
Harry Johnson: Trips for Kids and former BAC
member
Robert Mosher: NCDOT Division of Bicycle and
Pedestrian Transportation
Ed Moyers: Uptown Bicycle Commuters Support
Group
Jason Pauling: Mecklenburg County Park
and Recreation Department
Rich Reichle: Real Estate and Building Coalition
(REBIC)
Charlie Swanson: REBIC
Diane Thomas: Mecklenburg County Department of
Public Health
Kate Uslan: Mecklenburg County Department of
Public Health
Dick Winters: Charlotte BAC appointee
Martin Zimmerman: Charlotte Area Bicycle Alliance
Page
1.
Table of
Contents
Page
Number
Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
Bicycle Network Map
Immediate Action Recommendations
Near to Medium-Term Recommendations
Long-Term Recommendations
Policy Recommendations
Implementation and Funding
Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 15
The planning process
Plan overview
Chapter 2: Why Charlotte Needs a Bicycle Plan………………………………………………………………… 19
Overview
Benefits of bicycling
Community support for bicycle transportation
Chapter 3: Policy Review and Recommendations………………………………………………….…………. 24
Chapter 4: Existing Conditions………………………………………………………………………………………….… 43
Overview of Charlotte
Thunderhead Alliance Benchmarking Report
TAP Guidance
Bicycle-related strengths in Charlotte
Challenges of bicycling in Charlotte
Past efforts and current initiatives
Chapter 5: Future Conditions…………………………………………………………………………………………….… 56
The future of Charlotte’s bicycle environment
The premier bicycling City in the US
Bicycle route network
On-street bicycle facilities
Signed routes
On-road bicycle and greenway connections
Barriers to bicycle movement
Chapter 6: Bicycle Education and Encouragement………………………………………………………….… 71
Near to medium-term educational and awareness initiatives
Education and awareness goals
Past City efforts
Charlotte Bicycle Master Plan
2.
Chapter 7: Bicycle Facility Engineering and Maintenance Design Guidelines…….…………… 79
On-street bicycle facilities
Bicycles on bridges
Off-road bicycle facilities
Bicycle amenities and treatments
Chapter 8: Implementation and Funding……………………………………………………………………….… 101
Overview
Immediate action recommendations
Near to medium-term recommendations
Cost estimates for the near to medium-term network
Funding
Chapter 9: Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 123
Appendix
Appendix A: Status of Policies in Chapter 3
Appendix B: Bicycle Plan Policies – Coordination and Support of TAP
Charlotte Bicycle Master Plan
3.