Charlotte Unveils Big Moves 2030: Transportation Plan Targets Rapid Deployment After Voter Approval

Charlotte City Council members laid out plans Tuesday to roll out "Big Moves 2030," a transportation initiative backed by a one-cent sales tax increase voters approved in November. The retreat in Ballantyne focused on turning new funding into visible progress across the city.

Ed McKinney, special assistant to the city manager, presented the roadmap. Speed matters. "We need to be doing things quick," McKinney said, according to WCNC. "Across the city, we're gonna expand quick projects with the funding. It's not just one by one or two by two. We need to be out there and talking to people, building excitement about what we're doing."

Leaders identified seven projects that are either designed or partially designed but lacked full funding until now. Those projects include improvements along Dearmon Road; the Ashley, Freedom, and Tuckaseegee intersection; the Lastway Drive and Shamrock Drive intersection; complete street upgrades for Shamrock Drive, Robinson Church Road, and Brown Grier Road; and a new corridor known as Bryant Farms Road.

"They have been in the works, but don't have full funding, or behind the scenes they didn't have full funding," McKinney explained. "They all have partnership, they are ready to go, shovel ready. With these dollars, we can advance them, these seven projects can get done in the next five years."

Council members also heard from the mayor of Denver and former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt about strategies for putting the new sales tax funding into action. The speakers addressed community concerns about how money would be spent.

Recent debates over the I-77 South toll lane project and its impact on historically disenfranchised neighborhoods were part of the conversation about transportation equity and public trust. The retreat was about more than balancing a budget.

Staff and elected officials framed the session as a strategy meeting focused on delivering results from funding voters approved. Multi-modal projects are designed to have citywide and regional impact.

Officials expect further discussion and refinement of the mobility plan in the coming months as projects move closer to construction timelines.