21 January 2023
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — City of Greensboro leaders are spending more than $569,000 to look into making the city car-optional in the next 17 years.
The Mobility Greensboro 2045 Plan is focused on public transit, biking, walking, carpooling and riding rails and making everything you like to do close and convenient enough to ditch your vehicle.
“I love the idea of having walkable cities and being able to go somewhere without worrying about gas getting too expensive,” Billy Vos said.
“There are so many restaurants and grocery stores around…it would be an awesome experiment,” Hannah Henza said.
“To do that, you really need to be able to see yourself having more than one way to get around…you realistically could go on foot as a pedestrian or ride your bike or combine those with a transit trip to get to where you need to go,” said Hanna Cockburn, who oversees the Greensboro Transportation Department.
There are 12 chapters outlining the vision, the challenges and the safety of a transportation system providing convenient choices to access destinations throughout the Greensboro Metropolitan area and the Triad.
“This type of plan really needs to address emerging needs today as well as build our system out to meet the needs of the future. It really is for everyone,” Cockburn said.
Busing options for everyone are where things will start.
“Public transportation is really unique because it relies on the rest of the system working well to make it work well. So there is absolutely a connection in how we prioritize new sidewalk investments, how we prioritize connections to our greenways systems and other bike facilities. All those things play into transit,” Cockburn said.
Then city leaders will broaden the scope and include all modes of transportation.
“We’re excited about the broader conversation with the folks in Greensboro today and the folks investing in Greensboro creating new jobs and new places where jobs are that currently isn’t served by transit to figure out how to close that gap,” Cockburn said.
Over the next two years, a company recently hired will take a detailed look at what can work.
City leaders also plan to involve you in this process through public engagement opportunities.