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We can all breathe a little easier about the fresh air we enjoy at Open Streets 704, now that Charlotte has joined the ranks of 19 other cities named by Bloomberg Philanthropies as an American Cities Climate Challenge winner. The Climate Challenge is naming 25 cities (originally 20) across the United States to receive grants and logistical resources to meet goals reducing their carbon footprint.

“We’re taking a really big step forward for Charlotte,” says Charlotte’s Sustainability Director Rob Phocus. “It’s an opportunity for our leadership and our community to really walk the walk.”

The American Cities Climate Challenge accelerates Charlotte’s efforts to make its transportation system and buildings more energy-efficient. Buildings and transportation account for roughly 80% of a city’s emissions, according to Bloomberg Philanthropies. Money from the $70 million program will allow Charlotte’s sustainability office to share technical expertise with cities that have already cut emissions in important areas, says Phocus. The support will help Charlotte address its highest-impact projects first.

Phocus says the first year of the two-year program is about getting the city organized and outlining a plan for reduction. As part of the program, Phocus will add two more employees to his office, nearly doubling the number of people who work there. One will focus efforts on transportation solutions; the other on buildings. The office will also get logistical support from an implementor, or task master of sorts, and a program manager from the National Resources Defense Council.

Cities who participate in the Climate Challenge agree to uphold and pursue the goals of the Paris Agreement for climate change, which sets its sights on making sustainable solutions that help grow the economy, protect public health, and improve quality of life.

That’s big news to Scott Curry, the Active Transportation Coordinator for the City of Charlotte. “Active Transportation” is another way of saying “getting around with your feet,” and Curry is part of the city’s planning department for bike and pedestrian travel. He’s part of the team that helps organize Open Streets 704, the car-free events which encourage enjoying the town from ground level.

“One of the core values of Open Streets 704 is wellness,” says Curry. “We know that residents who participate in Open Streets 704 are more likely to leave the car at home and try walking, biking, or taking transit as a part of their daily routine.”

Framing the Climate Challenge around the two pillars of reducing emissions from buildings and transportation means Open Streets 704 and its goal of wellness are right in line with the goals of the city’s new grant. “That’s great for air quality, and it’s a key way that Open Streets 704 supports wellness year-round,” says Curry.

Two days before the Climate Challenge win was announced, Charlotte City Council voted to pass the city’s first Strategic Energy Action Plan, to reduce per capita carbon dioxide emissions from 12 tons to 2 by 2050. In the next two years, the city will retrofit buildings to create deep energy cuts, promote renewable energy, and stifle sprawl through smart growth policies.

You’ll also hear more about community-wide efforts to get all of Charlotte on board for saving energy, including the use of electric vehicles. The city plans to upgrade some of its fleet to electric in the next few years. The Bloomberg American Cities program also includes microgrants and technology to smooth the way for these efforts.

“The impact of this support can’t be undervalued,” says Phocus. “We need this to move forward.”

Click here to learn more about the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge. https://www.bloomberg.org/press/releases/michael-r-bloomberg-names-charlotte-winner-bloomberg-american-cities-climate-challenge/

Debra Franklin gets her passengers rockin’, ridin’, and rollin’ on her routes

One in a series of Open Streets 704 profiles on Charlotte’s bike and pedestrian advocates. 

Debra Franklin is always on the move.

And we don’t mean from desk to desk.  We mean that if you put a GPS tracker on Debra, you could follow her to work in the morning and around the city all day. After she finishes her day shift, she keeps moving well after 5 p.m., too — helping others to get moving the way she does.

What keeps her so busy? Debra, a CATS bus driver for the city of Charlotte, is also an advocate for biking and walking around the city whose bus routes she knows so well. As the Executive Director of Bike Routes 4 Fitness, her two «jobs» may seem an ironic conflict to some, but to Debra, they go together perfectly.

«Bus passengers talk about getting around, how hard it is when they have to work and have no transportation, or their car breaks down,» she says. She notes that sometimes even getting to a bus stop can be an obstacle. «I want it to be safe,» she says.

Debra’s own childhood was filled with the freedom of working because of her bike. «My life was built on a bicycle,» she recalls. Her wheels allowed her to earn money babysitting, and with a paper route.  She understands how, as workers grow up and start to drive, they leave their bikes behind — but they don’t have to.

She started Bike Routes 4 Fitness to show her passengers that they can commute on two wheels and get fit, while also helping the environment by keeping cars off the road. «Bicycling is cool now,» she says. She came up with the idea of creating bike and pedestrian routes around the city based on bus routes. The bike routes would give her passengers another way to get to work, or at least another way to light rail stations or bus stops that may be far from their homes. Buses accommodate two bikes at a time, and light rail also allows bikes on board. Debra calls it, «the first mile and final mile» to work and home.

She also understands that commuting steals a lot of time from a worker’s day, often taking away time from fitness activities. Bike Routes 4 Fitness creates an opportunity for biking or walking that helps them stay healthy.

«Let’s get to work, but let’s be fit,» she says. It’s Debra’s goal to pass this philosophy onto her passengers, but she also realizes the dangers of being a pedestrian or cyclist in a car-centered city and wants to make it safer. «If we’re going to do this, let’s do it right,» she says. «Let’s train.»

Debra took Smart Cycling classes, and then became a League Cycling Instructor for the League of American Bicyclists. Being an LCI offers insurance, which she knows is a real necessity, while she teaches rules of the road. She shows others how to adopt a fit lifestyle while commuting, like she adopted for herself nearly two years ago with exciting results.

In January 2017, Debra decided to change her life of driving a bus all day and sleeping through the weekends to «rest up» for her work week. She wondered how others had the energy to go places and do fun things on their days off. She started riding her bike to work and back home.

In just a year and a half, she lost 30 pounds and lowered her blood pressure to healthier levels. «No more medications!» she exclaims with a laugh. Recent blood work also showed lower cholesterol levels and a far lower risk for diabetes, which had been at borderline levels. She lives what she preaches to her bus passengers.

«There are instant results!» she says. «They’ll feel better, sleep better, and have more confidence. People will notice!» She gushes about opportunities to walk or bike to work or at lunch because of better pedestrian paths and greenways, and outdoor-centered activities like Open Streets 704.

«We used to call them block parties,» she laughs. «Open Streets 704 connects the blocks so neighborhoods can be connected to each other!» She is especially excited about the fall route connecting Historic West End to uptown and South End on September 30th, and the culture it will share between neighborhoods.

«Open Streets opens up social capital for everyone — for all people, all ages — We are ONE, Charlotte!» she says, excited about the opportunity to walk, bike, and roll through an afternoon of activities on car(e) free streets.

«Let’s do it!» she says with an enthusiastic punch. «Everyone should be at Open Streets 704!»

On September 30, Open Streets 704 will temporarily close select streets to automobiles so people may use them for walking, bicycling, dancing, playing, and meeting neighbors

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – September 26, 2018 – Charlotte residents are invited to enjoy car(e) free streets and explore the unique culture and history of Historic West End during the sixth Open Streets 704 on Sunday, September 30.

The event, supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, includes special programming by the Five Points Community Collaborative – a network of community leaders who plan events and advocate for the West End.

Open Streets 704 programming in the Historic West End will include:

Five Points Neighborhood Collaborative Stage – Performances of inspirational music, smooth jazz, and R & B favorites from the Historic West End, programmed by the Five Points Neighborhood Collaborative.

West End Celebration Station – The neighborhoods of the Historic West End will come together to showcase what makes the Five Points community one of the richest cultural areas of Charlotte! The Celebration Station allows each individual Historic West End neighborhood to show what makes it unique.

BOOM! Echoes – The first in a new initiative that brings the creative excitement, energy, and community spirit of the BOOM! festival to other Charlotte neighborhoods. An open community “living room” features a wide variety of performances and other creative activities led by diverse local talent.

Knight Foundation is sponsoring the event as part of its strategy to build an inclusive and engaged Charlotte, by investing in public spaces that enhance quality of life and link people and neighborhoods.

“The Open Streets 704 event will help connect Charlotte residents to their community and to each other. Through it, we will bring people together to meet, play, and experience first-hand the rich art and culture of the Historic West End,” said Charles Thomas, Knight Foundation program director for Charlotte.

“We’ve been honored to have the support of Knight Foundation from the very beginning of this adventure,» said Scott Curry, Active Transportation Coordinator for the City of Charlotte. «We’re thrilled to deepen that relationship with them and with our neighbors in the Historic West End!”

Open Streets 704 powered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina invites you to share an afternoon of car(e) free streets from 1 – 5 p.m. on September 30. See the route here: openstreets704.com/route/