CHARLOTTE, N.C. — What if your daily commute went from 10 minutes to 40? Staff with Sustain Charlotte say that could be a reality as the city grows and transportation remains the same.
However, they're pushing for more transit options through new funding.
When most people think of sustainability, Eric Zaverl says, plants come to mind. However, he says it means much more.
"It's the buses, the bike paths," Zaverl said.
He's currently an urban design specialist for nonprofit Sustain Charlotte, but his story didn't start there. It was a volunteer opportunity that got him involved with sustainability.
“Before I knew it, I was talking to city council members, city staff. I've never dealt with any of this stuff before, but they asked about, you know, traffic crossing, street lights, stop signs, sidewalks," Zaverl said.
They're all things that make a city both walkable and liveable, and according to him, it's something Charlotte is still working on.
“Some of the projects we've worked in the past include part of the Uptown cycling. So the first segment of Sixth Street that goes in the Fifth Street connecting the two greenway sections here, the focus now is connect this network, make it safe. But that will take additional funding," Zaverl said.
Funding could come in the near future, especially after a city council meeting that addressed a 1-cent countywide sales tax. Zaverl believes the increase would benefit not only Mecklenburg County, but surrounding areas, too. He says the city needs more bike lanes, bike paths, buses and other forms of transportation as the population continues to rise.
He worries if we don't address the need for transit now, it'll make the situation more complicated down the road.
"If we don't start now and every day we push it later down the road, is this going to make the situation a lot worse? Any movement towards getting there, we support, and we hope the other local towns and Mecklenburg also start supporting as well and realizing that we have to work together on this," Zaverl said.
He says the goal is to get it in front of legislation — and on a ballot — in the 2024 session.