Officials unveil new efforts to make greenways safer in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — County officials, along with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, are unveiling a new effort to make our greenways safer.

This move comes in the wake of several assaults in the past year.

Channel 9′s Hannah Goetz delved into what changes you can expect ahead of your next walk, run, or bike ride.

Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation crews have installed new 911 location signs on the greenway.

Those signs, which tell you your exact location on the greenway, appear every quarter of a mile once you enter. If anything happens to you while you are at the gateway, you can call 911 and give them the mile marker location.

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Officials said they can pin you as close as 5 feet to where you are, which makes it easier for park rangers or first responders to locate you.

Parks and recreation representatives told Channel 9 that the greenways are getting so long that this will help speed up response times.

“When someone says they’re on a greenway, it’s a long greenway. The goal behind this is every quarter mile,” Director of Park Operations Greg Clemmer said.

There are more than 70 miles of greenway in Mecklenburg County.

Last month, CMPD arrested a man who they said attacked a woman on the McAlpine Creek Greenway.

The attack occurred in September 2022, and police do not think the suspect in that case was connected to two other assaults on that same greenway.

Officials said they hope to have all the signs out by the end of 2024.

VIDEO: CMPD increases presence on city’s greenways after sexual assault reported