Despite spending millions of dollars on traffic safety, Charlotte is falling short of its ambitious goal of zero traffic deaths by 2030, according to a new audit.
When the city of Charlotte adopted Vision Zero five years ago, officials acknowledged getting to zero traffic deaths would be a stretch. But they said it was possible. Now, a scathing internal audit released last week and first reported by the Charlotte Observer finds the problem is getting worse. There were 125 deaths on Charlotte streets in 2022, up from 81 in 2020.
"The City is finding it difficult to undo decades of automobile-focused development to increase all road users’ safety. Although safety spending has increased, there hasn’t been a significant decrease in crashes resulting in deaths and/or suspected serious injuries," the report found.
The audit said:
- The city hasn’t implemented many of its own recommendations, like rapidly studying and modifying streets where serious crashes occur. The city also hasn't designated a single person to oversee and coordinate the Vision Zero program, creating a lack of accountability. "Clear ownership of actions has not been established nor are stated goal owners held accountable for not meeting performance targets," the report said.
While Charlotte has identified the high-injury roads that account for most fatal crashes, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police traffic enforcement doesn’t focus on those routes. Instead, traffic enforcement is scheduled and distributed evenly throughout the city.
"Enforcement operations are evenly scheduled and distributed around the City by CMPD Division without regard to the severity of each corridor’s crash history," the report said.
- City vehicles often block sidewalks and bicycle lanes, contributing to unsafe conditions.
Police often don't correctly record data about crashes, making it hard to track progress. Moreover, the Charlotte Department of Transportation doesn't track the effectiveness of traffic-calming and other infrastructure improvements and it doesn't publish annual metrics that people could use to understand how traffic safety enforcement and other measures are working.
"CDOT and CMPD are not accountable for setting and meeting specific traffic safety performance goals," the report said.
- The state controls about half of the major routes in Charlotte, meaning the city can’t implement the changes it wants like more bike lanes. In some cases, the N.C. Department of Transportation actively opposes such measures, and asks for them to be removed.
Charlotte earmarked $75 million for Vision Zero and road safety improvements in fiscal 2023, up from $15 million the year before Vision Zero started.
