THE BUZZ
In Commonwealth, you can walk to supermarkets and restaurants at one end of the neighborhood—but it may take more than 10 minutes. CO M M U N I T Y
Charlotte’s ‘10-Minute Neighborhoods,’ Part II Three more parts of our city where residents can walk to what they need
BY GREG LACOUR | PHOTOGRAPHS BY LOGAN CYRUS
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WHERE IS IT? Just south of Plaza Midwood, bounded by Central Avenue, Briar Creek, Independence Boulevard, and the CSX railroad tracks near the Central/Hawthorne Lane intersection. Don’t confuse it with Commonwealth Park, the next neighborhood to the east, toward Eastway Drive. GROCERY STORE ACCESS: 49% of housing units are within a half-mile of a full-service, chain grocery store, although that statistic is a bit misleading. The massive Harris Teeter at Central and The Plaza dominates the western end of the neighborhood. PHARMACIES: 100% within a half-mile: the CVS at Central and Pecan Avenue, the Harris Teeter, and D&D Pharmacy just on the other side of Briar Creek.
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IN THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE, we wrote about Charlotte neighborhoods that already come close to achieving a chief goal of the city’s new comprehensive plan: “10-minute neighborhoods.” The plan, which the City Council passed 6-5 on June 21, defines the goal this way: “All Charlotte households will have access to essential amenities, goods, and services within a comfortable, tree-shaded 10-minute walk, bike, or transit trip by 2040.” You won’t find many here, or in any city in the Southeast or out West, where most cities grew along with a vast system of roads and highways. But you can find a few in Charlotte that come close, or semi-close—places where people can easily walk or ride a bicycle to grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, parks, public transit stops, and other community assets. Last month, we looked at Fourth Ward, Eastover, and Lincoln Heights. Here are three more places that fit, however imperfectly, a version of Charlotte’s future that envisions the car as just one of an assortment of transportation options that includes your feet.
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PARKS: 94% within a half-mile of a park; 19-acre Veterans Memorial Park is practically in the middle of the neighborhood. TRANSIT: 100% within a half-mile of a transit stop. The CATS 9 bus rolls down Central, and the 17 line serves Commonwealth Avenue and Briar Creek Road. BANKS: 51% within a half-mile of a bank or credit union. A Wells Fargo branch occupies one corner of Central and The Plaza. BIKE-FRIENDLINESS: 1.6 on a zero-to-three scale that measures the transportation network’s ability to support cycling. UPSHOT: Good in most ways, although so many business and services crowded into the western end make it a bit inconvenient for folks who live to the east, nearer Briar Creek, and want to walk or bike. Continued on page 18
