Thank you for participating in the Belk Greenway Connector online presentation. The City of Charlotte does not discriminate on the basis of disability. We will provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to persons with disabilities upon request. To make a request, or if you have general questions about this presentation, please contact Jeremy Shue, project manager, at Jeremy.shue@charlottenc.gov or 980-423-8477.
The purpose of this presentation is to share project details and provide an update on the status of the project. This project will construct a two-way cycle track that will connect segments of the Uptown CycleLink from Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard to Pearl Park Way. Its purpose is to provide a safe pedestrian and bicyclist connection in uptown. The project will also make all curb ramps and pedestrian signals ADA-compliant within the project limits. It is aligned with the city’s safety and transportation initiatives such as Vision Zero, the Strategic Mobility Plan, the Strategic Energy Action Plan, and the 10-Minute Neighborhood Goals in the Comprehensive Plan. The project budget is $4.53 million and is funded through the city’s bicycle program, along with federal funding.
The Belk Greenway Connector will be a 1,500-foot-long two-way cycle track that will run along the north side of McDowell Street from Pearl Park Way, formerly known as Baxter Street, to Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard. It will connect the existing cycle track on MLK Junior Boulevard to the cycle track that was recently constructed by The Pearl in June of 2025 as part of a partnership to get part of the project completed sooner.
This map shows the larger Uptown CycleLink network and the Little Sugar Creek Greenway near Uptown. The Belk Greenway Connector project, depicted by the blue line, will finish a connection from the Uptown CycleLink to Little Sugar Creek Greenway and the Cross Charlotte Trail.
Currently, the section of McDowell Street within the project limits comprises two lanes in each direction with lane widths of 10 to 12 feet and median widths vary between 4 and 14 feet. This project will reduce the lane widths to 10 feet and reduce medians to a width that will range between 2 feet and 12 feet, depending on the location.
The proposed cycle track will be 8 feet wide -- not including the gutter -- with a 2-foot-wide concrete buffer.
The project is currently in the real estate acquisition phase, which is expected to finish by the end of the year. The project team is working on the 100 percent plans. Once the final plans are complete, they will need to be approved by the North Carolina Department of Transportation before the bid phase can start. The project is expected to go out to bid in the fall of 2026 and that phase will likely take about a year. Construction is expected to start in the fall of 2027 and finish in the summer of 2028.
The project team will post quarterly updates on the project webpage at charlottenc.gov/cyclelink. You’ll find the link to the Belk Greenway Connector under “Road Segments.” From that page, you can also sign up to receive updates via email or text message.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns about this project, please contact Jeremy Shue, engineering project manager, at 980-423-8477 or Jeremy.Shue@charlottenc.gov. If you have general questions about bicycle facilities and projects in the city, please reach out to the Charlotte Department of Transportation at 704-336-4119 or email charlotteDOT@charlottenc.gov.
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