As Charlotte’s population increases, its roads will continue to experience more traffic and congestion. Because the city is embracing its emerging status as a thriving urban center, creating alternative modes of transportation such as the light rail and biking makes sense.

The Uptown Connects study completed last year made recommendations to improve biking in Charlotte’s center city, including a cycle track, or separated bike lane, along 6th and 5th streets, connecting the Little Sugar Creek and Irwin/Stewart Creek greenways.

The City of Charlotte has partnered with Stewart Engineering to design the cycle track and is seeking the public’s input on design options through a series of pop-up events on July 31.

ABOUT THE POP-UPS

On July 31, the City will host a series of community pop-up events for people to weigh in on the design of the cycle track. The public is invited to visit any of the following pop-ups:

·      8-9:30 a.m. – Gateway Village Promenade, 800 W. Trade St.

·      10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. – Trade and Tryon in front of the Marriott Hotel, 100 W. Trade St.

·      2-4 p.m. – Fourth Ward Park at 6th St. near Poplar

·      4:30-5:30 p.m. – 7th Street Public Market

·      6-7:30 p.m. – Charlotte Knights BB&T Ballpark centerfield entrance at Mint and 4th St.

The evening of July 31 is also the Ride to the Knights event, where people are encouraged to ride their bike to the Charlotte Knights vs. Norfolk Tides game, which starts at 7:04 p.m. The first 50 people who arrive at the Knights game by bike can valet with Charlotte B-cycle for free and receive a voucher for $4 off tickets for the game that night and be entered to win a $100 Knights gift card.

CYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE

A cycle track is like a sidewalk for bikes that uses planters, curbs, parked cars or posts to separate bikes from vehicles on busy streets. They make biking a safer and more pleasant commuting choice for people without negatively affecting drivers. The public tried out the 6th Street Cycle Track route last October during a weeklong demonstration, which helped to influence the design.

In other cities, benefits of bike lanes have included safer conditions and fewer crashes for all road users – drivers, pedestrians and cyclists alike – as well as increased retail sales along the lanes. Previous studies have also shown cycle tracks have little to no effect on automobile traffic or travel time.

For more information about the pop-ups, visit www.rocktherideCLT.com.