Notes provided by Julianne McCollum, Principal at Yellow Duck Marketing on May 2, 2023.

Recently, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Charlotte held a lively meeting to discuss the Parks and Recreation greenway system in the Charlotte area. Key speakers included Bert Lynn, Capital Planning Division Director of Mecklenburg County, as well as David Malcolm from McAdams, Rachel Russell Krenz from RAM Real Estate, and Beth Poovey of LandDesign who all sat on the Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) for the Albemarle Road Corridor Cultural Trail. Here is a recap of the meeting:

Bert Lynn spoke about the Meck Playbook, a 10-year park and recreation master plan, which identifies the needs across Mecklenburg County. The Capital Investment Plan focuses on reinvestment and improvement of existing parks and facilities, investment in new facilities and accounting for growth through impact fees. It was organized by facility types:

• Parks & Nature Preserves
• Park Amenities
• Facilities
• Greenway Trails

The plan also includes a strategic business plan, which focuses on staffing. The department is focusing on filling gaps in 15 identified areas, with a particular emphasis on applying equity. They identified target areas that have a higher-than-average youth/senior population where rental percentages are high and income is low, and the areas with two or more overlapping demographic traits have been identified as high-priority areas.

Restoring and protecting ecology is also a priority for the department. In 2021, the department acquired 308 acres for parks, and in 2022, they acquired 295. 2023 is a banner year because they have already closed 255 acres for parks, with 307 acres under contract and 295.2 under construction.

In the past, spending has been funded by bonds, but recent projects have been funded just through tax dollars. The plan identified 85 projects and after evaluating scopes and approximate costs, prioritized them from 1 to 85. They tend to prefer reinvesting in aging assets to revitalize them rather than just building new facilities. Lynn also mentioned working with other public health officials and built environment departments to evaluate areas for future needs. One big change in the Mecklenburg County Playbook is that they are now looking at urban trails, multi-use paths and the City’s cycle tracks’ priority network to connect to the County’s stream-based trails.

David Malcolm and Rachel Russell Krenz discussed the ULI-led Albemarle Road Cultural Trail TAP, with the aim to provide equitable access to one of Charlotte’s most diverse and underserved communities. The TAP includes as well as recommendations for community engagement. The trail is being designed to reflect the culture of the 105 different countries represented in the area and some of the best international restaurants in the city, so it would be a miss if the trail did not honor it. One suggestion that came out of the community feedback was to have signage along the trail with QR Codes to translate instructions in the 50 to 60 native languages represented in the corridor to encourage safe usage while honoring their cultures.

From an economic improvement standpoint, we heard from community members that real estate along the corridor especially strip malls are struggling with lots of retail and office vacancies but the key issue is that real estate assets are aging. The project also includes a public health assessment to ensure physical health and safety.

Beth Poovey discussed specific trail design and infrastructure improvements to create pedestrian-friendly areas. She recommended they knew they wanted to have a key design feature of the trail being “The Spine,” with fingers off the spine into the neighborhoods/destinations such as shopping, parks or even the Light Rail station. They also considered alternate design options like a loop experience or a zig-zag option. The final recommendation is ultimately a combined concept that would reimagine the six-lane road section to include bike lanes, retrofitting with a protected multi-use path, and dynamic activation of parking lots along strip centers to spur local trail-oriented businesses (e.g. bike shops or cafes).

Connecting to the Campbell Creek Greenway was a highlight of the recommended design because it would add 2.5 miles to the 5-mile McAlpine Greenway trail. Panelists noted that you start to see different uses when you hit the 4-mile distance and start to bridge different areas of town and we start to see people using it to get to work instead of just for recreation.

During the Q&A session, the impact of investing in public and private dollars was discussed. Private dollars tend to follow public investment, and when trails are placed next to businesses, landlords tend to invest in improvements in shopping centers. However, gentrification must be carefully considered to avoid displacement as the quality of corridors improves. The group also discussed the need for better collaboration and coordination of efforts especially with CDOT to ensure that the needs of neighborhoods are being met.

In conclusion, the Urban Land Institute meeting highlighted the importance of investing in parks and greenway systems to provide equitable access to underserved communities. The Meck Playbook as well as the Albemarle Road Cultural Trail TAP were presented as examples of how the community is working to fill gaps in recreational greenspace, help facilitate multi-modal transportation and create pedestrian-friendly shopping areas that enhance the private real estate investment viability long term. The group emphasized the need for collaboration and coordination of efforts to ensure that neighborhoods’ needs are being met and were excited about the intersection of recreation, transportation, and real estate investment.