UPTOWN CHARLOTTE

PEDESTRIAN COUNT REPORT

Prepared by:

Charlotte Center City Partners &

The Charlotte Department of Transportation

April 2008

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Table of Contents

Weekend Evening ..........................................................................................................................12

Conclusion........................................................................................................................................13

Outlook for 2009..............................................................................................................................14

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C

enter City Charlotte is the heart of one of the

nation’s fastest growing metropolitan areas.

Over the past decade Charlotte’s urban core has

beneted from more than $7 billion of public and

private investment in economic development.

Today, Center City has more than 70,000 employ-

ees, which is expected to grow to 95,000 by 2025,

mixed-use district where people live, work and play.

The evolution of Center City has had an intercon-

nected inuence on pedestrian activity and ows.

As a result in April 2008, Charlotte Center City Part-

ners, in collaboration with the Charlotte Department

of Transportation conducted a pedestrian count

study to gain a better understanding of pedestrian

movements within the Center City. This study

serves multiple purposes including:

• Assessing the condition of pedestrian activity

determined by the manual counting of individuals

walking in any direction past a designated obser-

vation point (intersections). Pedestrian trips were

recorded in 15-minute intervals at each location

and totaled at the end of each session.

Time Frames

Pedestrian counts were conducted on Tuesday,

Thursday, and Saturday during the weeks of April

1st and April 15th. Each day, pedestrian trips were

observed in two shifts:

• Midday - from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm

• Evening - from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Pedestrian count results were organized in four

categories:

Midday” and “Weekday Evening” totals. Counts

taken on two Saturdays were combined and are

reported as “Weekend Midday” and “Weekend

Evening” totals.

Weather

The weather was the single, most important factor

that affected pedestrian activity during the study.

Multiple rainy days signicantly lowered pedestrian

volumes at street-level locations that were ob-

served. (See Page 13 - Table 1, for a summary of

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and several projects likely impacted the study

area. New buildings sometimes require the clos-

ing of sidewalks in order to improve construction

site safety. The project with the most impact was

the Wachovia Cultural Campus which includes a

48 story, 1.3 million square foot ofce tower, the

Bechtler Museum, and the Afro-American Cultural

Center.

Other projects under construction that inuenced

overall pedestrian trips include, EpiCentre, a major

only)

• College Street between East Fourth Street and

East Fifth Street (2 blocks, east side only)

• West First Street between South Tryon Street

and South Church Street (entire street closed)

Jr Boulevard and West First Street (both sides)

• South Church Street and West First Street and

West Stonewall Street (1 block, east side only)

• Stonewall Street between South Church Street

and South College Street (2 blocks, north side

only)

• South College Street between East Stonewall

Street and Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard

(1/2 block, west side only)

The impact of future development on Center City

pedestrian activity is discussed in conclusion of the

report.

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Street and from College Street to Gateway Village.

The Overstreet Mall walkways were also observed.

ment venues.

These four zones are dened as follows:

North Zone

The North Activity Zone consists of six blocks

bounded by Fifth Street, North Church Street,

Eighth Street and North College Street. Five inter-

sections were observed in this zone. There are two

major employment centers and two entertainment

venues within this zone that contribute to pedes-

trian activity including:

Main Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

South Zone

The South Activity Zone consists of six blocks

bounded by First Street, South Church Street,

Fourth Street and South College Street. Six inter-

sections were observed in this zone. There are

four major employment centers that contribute to

• One Wachovia (954,000 sq ft)

• Two Wachovia (758,000 sq ft)

• Three Wachovia (885,000 sq ft)

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locations have clusters of retailers, restaurants, and

other services for people to use:

• Wachovia Plaza

• Wachovia Atrium

• Brevard Court / Latta Arcade

Overstreet Mall is a network of pedestrian walk-

ways that connect many major ofce towers, hotels,

and parking decks within Center City. For the pur-

poses of this study, three street overpasses were

observed:

In the report, total counts for the Overstreet Mall

Zone are included within the Activity Zone in which

the overpass resides.

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