Planned Projects for the 2026 Bonds

Affordable Housing Bonds: $125 million

Supports preservation of safe, quality, and affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households by leveraging other public, private, and non-profit funding. On October 12, 2026, City Council approved updates to the city’s Affordable Housing Funding Policy to include specific allocation goals for the proposed $125 million Housing Bond:

  • Rental Housing Production: $38 million
  • Homeownership: $31 million
  • Rental Housing Preservation and Staying in Place: $18 million
  • Supportive Housing and Shelter Capacity: $12 million
  • Site Acquisition and Assemblage: $10 million
  • Housing Rehabilitation and Emergency Repair: $5 million
  • Innovation Pilot Programs: $5 million
  • Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Improvements and Retrofits: $4 million
  • Administration and Evaluation: $2 million

The updated policy also established two overarching goals for spending across the investment categories above:

  • At least $25 million toward advancing “Mobility+”, such as anti-displacement projects along current or planned transit corridors to help residents remain in or return to areas affected by transit projects.
  • At least $35 million in affordable housing investments in high-opportunity areas with historically low levels of affordable housing development.

Transportation Bonds: $280 million

Transportation Bonds will support projects that increase safe, convenient, and reliable transportation options for Charlotte's residents, including sidewalks, bicycle facilities, streets, bridges, trails, and intersections. These projects promote access to transit and major transportation corridors and improve connectivity between communities.

Transportation projects center on the city’s Strategic Mobility Plan and include a mix of place-based projects focused on targeted geographies with large multi-modal transportation needs (e.g., needs across multiple transportation options such as sidewalks, bicycles, and roadways) and system-wide programs that address smaller transportation gaps across the city.

The place-based projects in the 2026 Transportation Bond include:

Place-based: $160 million

Projects in these programs address multi-modal transportation needs in targeted areas and will have a broad impact on the surrounding transportation network. Projects are prioritized and selected based on:

  • Data such as traffic congestion; sidewalk, bicycle, and transit access gaps; crash history; etc.
  • Opportunity (e.g., land availability, synergistic projects, state and federal grants, etc.)
  • Community engagement

Big Moves 2030: $100 million

The Big Moves program will fund large projects that provide transformational mobility improvements across the city and incorporate multimodal transportation options (e.g., vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, and transit connectivity). The 2030 Big Moves projects include:

Strategic Investment Areas: $60 million

This program scales projects across a range of project types in targeted Strategic Investment Areas (SIAs) to maximize their impact. Initial SIA investments were piloted in two geographies (Far East-Harrisburg and Arrowood), and FY27 and future funding will expand investments across the 22 SIAs and the Corridors of Opportunity. $5 million of the FY27 bond would support targeted street resurfacing opportunities in these areas. More information about the SIAs can be found here.

The system-wide programs in the 2026 Transportation Bond include:

System-wide: $120 million

These programs address infrastructure gaps in specific transportation modes across the city, such as sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and traffic signals. Projects are selected based on data such as the Pedestrian Priority Network, Bicycle Priority Network, and High Injury Network; opportunity; and measurable outcomes.

Improve Sidewalks: $50 million

This program completes critical sidewalk gaps and makes strategic sidewalk connections, guided by Council-adopted policies and plans such as the Strategic Mobility Plan, and mapping tools such as the Pedestrian Priority Network. Funding also supports accessibility improvements and barrier removal in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

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Street Resurfacing: $24 million

The city maintains more than 5,500 lane miles of streets across the city through resurfacing. The city prioritizes streets for resurfacing based on their condition and the schedule of prior paving projects. An additional $5 million for resurfacing is included in the “Implement Strategic Investment Areas” program for targeted resurfacing projects identified during SIA project planning.

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Pedestrian Safety (Vision Zero): $22 million

Vision Zero projects support safe and equitable mobility across Charlotte, including the global Vision Zero strategy to eliminate all traffic-related deaths and severe injuries. Projects include neighborhood traffic calming efforts, pedestrian crossings, enhanced traffic signals, and new street lighting.

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Connect Bicycle Facilities: $10 million

This program supports expansion of the city's bicycle network through targeted projects that repurpose existing infrastructure to create safe space for cyclists. The Council-adopted Strategic Mobility Plan and Bicycle Priority Network guide projects.

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Repair and Replace Bridges: $5 million

This program supports inspecting, repairing, and replacing bridges throughout the city. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) requires a biennial inspection program to identify projects.

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Maintain Intelligent Transportation Systems: $4 million

This funding maintains and replaces traffic management equipment such as real-time traffic cameras and fiber optic communications systems.

Upgrade Traffic Control Devices: $3 million

This program supports maintenance and replacement of outdated traffic control equipment such as traffic signals, pedestrian signals, detection devices, and signs to maintain safe and efficient traffic flow.

Improve Orphan Roads: $2 million

This funding will be used to evaluate, prioritize, design, and implement projects to improve privately constructed streets (“orphan roads”) so they meet standards for acceptance into NCDOT’s State Highway System. Orphan roads were built by private developers before annexation or without adhering to state construction standards and therefore do not qualify for state maintenance, which places a long-term burden on residents and neighborhoods. Improvements may include pavement rehabilitation, drainage upgrades, sidewalk repairs, right-of-way adjustments, and other improvements.

Neighborhood Bonds: $20 million

Neighborhood improvement bonds fund projects that address infrastructure needs in the city’s established neighborhoods and emerging high-growth areas. They support a network of streets, sidewalks, greenways and bike lanes to better connect neighborhoods with major employment, institutional and retail areas.

  • Promote Public-Private Partnerships: $20 million. Supports opportunities for the city to leverage private funding to enhance public infrastructure, such as road improvements, pedestrian connectivity improvements, or other public infrastructure near future private development sites associated with business relocation or expansion.
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