Hundreds of people gathered in uptown Charlotte on Monday to view alternative concepts for adding toll lanes to I-77 south of uptown. The concepts were showcased during a three-month pause on the project by the DOT.
The designs, which focused on preserving green space, adding bike lanes and reconnecting communities, were part of the “Reimagining 77 South” exhibit. Taylor Harrington, who studied urban design, had her concept on display at the Dubois Center. She proposed adding shuttles to free up the congested interstate and give people an alternative way to travel between busy zones.
"We would have these autonomous shuttles running nonstop all the time, going from these three hubs that we're proposing, which would be a mixed-use hub,” Harrington said. "That people would park their cars, get coffee, drop their kids off at daycare, get groceries, save time on errands."
More than 30 concepts, including submissions from professional architects and students, were entered. Amaya Woliansky, 10, was among those who submitted a design and displayed it at the Dubois Center. She says she’s pleased to see community members getting involved.
“It feels really nice that this many people even care about this and even want to try and help,” Woliansky said.
Woliansky's mother, Sadrah Schadel, stood next to her daughter during the event. Schadel says her daughter has always been interested in city planning and design and was keen to get involved.
“She took it upon herself to get a Google Map, a screenshot, and then she redesigned it in Canva to remap the layout of the roads,” Schadel said. "And then she moved that design into a 3D model on City Skylines, the video game, wrote up her design and her vision, was really independent about it and really motivated.”
Amidst community concerns, the DOT opened up a resource center to hear from residents. Jack Williams lives in the Wilmore neighborhood, which could see homes destroyed with the expansion.
"It's very energizing, I think it's exciting to see a lot of creative ideas," Williams said. "A lot of things I think the NCDOT should look into and evaluate, and consider.”
Shannon Binns is with Sustain Charlotte. Binns said they created the "Reimagining 77 South" exhibit for a specific reason.
“Because unfortunately, the types of designs and ideas that we're seeing tonight have not really been discussed among elected officials and among state DOT,” Binns said.
Binns says they plan to send the designs to city officials and the DOT.
