CHARLOTTE, N.C. — City leaders cut the ribbon Tuesday on a $4 million project in east Charlotte. It's part of the city's initiative to invest in projects to help the area.
You might not think a few stop signs would make much difference, but along Commonwealth Avenue, Bob Smithwick tells a different story.
“(It’s made) a huge difference,” said Smithwick, with the Plaza Midwood Merchants Association. “You couldn’t safely walk across here because this was a cut-through.”
Ten years after the city started talking about changes there, community leaders cut the ribbon on $4 million worth of improvements.
The stop signs slow traffic for pedestrians using new crosswalks and wider sidewalks, and a narrower street welcome bicycles.
For Debra Campbell, who heads Charlotte's planning department, it's the kind of progress she's long wanted to see.
“You will see mothers pushing strollers, bicyclists riding down the street,” she said.
And for drivers, dozens of reverse angle parking spaces for businesses are winning over converts like Blake Barnes at the Common Market, who's seen an increase in customers.
“I'd say virtually every vendor on the street is liking what's happening now,” he said.
It's a definite boost for the east side, where a renovated Harris Teeter is nearing completion on Central Avenue, a new apartment complex is leasing nearby, and small businesses are popping up in old buildings.
“A lot of the businesses along here, I think, are looking to the city involvement and saying, ‘This is a great thing.’ It's time to put our money behind it and invest,” Smithwick said.