Debbie Smith leads the Charlotte Department of Transportation with 25 years of experience in transportation engineering. As department director, she oversees and supports 408 employees among six divisions at five facilities in a transportation system that includes more than 5,400 lane miles of streets, 2,250 miles of sidewalk, nearly 190 miles of bikeways, 900 traffic signals, 350 miles of fiber communications, and close to 500 traffic management cameras.
Debbie and her team are leaders in innovation including establishing Charlotte's first Strategic Mobility Plan, adopted in 2022, which shapes a safe and equitable future of transportation. Additionally, Debbie and her team developed the first Vision Zero Action Plan in 2018, the first railroad Quiet Zone in 2017, the first of many green bicycle lanes in 2014, the state's first Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon signal in 2007, and several of the first road diets and street conversions in 2003.
Smith's public sector experience includes both city and state government. She received her B.S. in Civil Engineering from UNC-Charlotte, and she is a registered professional engineer in North Carolina. Debbie has spent the last 23 years serving the City of Charlotte in the Department of Transportation.
Debbie is a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) including the North Carolina Section of ITE. She is a retired member of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, serving on the Railroad & Light Rail Technical Committee for ten years.