Debbie Smith, Director, Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT)

In an interview with Invest:, Debbie Smith, director of the Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT), discussed how Charlotte is managing rapid growth through major transportation investments. She highlighted the role of mobility infrastructure in supporting economic development, workforce access, and neighborhood connectivity. Smith also outlined the impact of technology and data-driven planning on project delivery and decision-making. Finally, she shared CDOT’s priorities for safety, accessibility, and long-term mobility across the city.

Charlotte is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. What transportation challenges and opportunities come with that growth?

Charlotte’s growth is a sign of economic success, and our responsibility is to ensure that growth creates opportunity for everyone. It includes those arriving, and the residents and neighborhoods that helped build this city.

In 2025, Mecklenburg County voters approved a one-cent sales tax for mobility, giving us the ability to invest in transit and transportation at a scale this region has never seen before – more than $25 billion over the next 30 years. We are putting that funding to work through a balanced approach. That includes ongoing programs that deliver sidewalks, bike facilities, safety improvements, and signal upgrades across the city. It also includes Strategic Investment Areas, where we are making targeted investments in the neighborhoods that need it most, and our Big Moves projects, which address the large, transformational projects needed to support long-term growth.

At the same time, data guides where we invest, but data alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Residents understand their streets, intersections, and daily transportation challenges in ways no dataset can fully capture. Our job is to bring both together, and the funding resource we have now provides the opportunity to deliver projects in a way that keeps pace with Charlotte’s growth while improving safety, mobility, and quality of life for all residents.

How do transportation investments support economic development, business attraction, and workforce mobility across the Charlotte region?

Transportation is the foundation for economic opportunity. A well-connected city attracts businesses, supports workforce development, moves goods efficiently, and ensures residents can access jobs, education, healthcare, and essential services. The 30-year investment plan represents the largest economic development program in Charlotte’s history, but its impact extends far beyond infrastructure. With an investment of this scale comes a responsibility to ensure the opportunities it creates are accessible to a broad and diverse group of participants, like small and minority-owned businesses, local entrepreneurs, and others who may have historically been left out of major public investments. Through our Strategic Investment Area pilot and the result of intentional outreach, over 55 small businesses received targeted training, and more than 60% of construction bids went to small businesses. We continue to broaden our outreach and build capacity as we scale citywide.

What transportation projects or initiatives do you believe will have the greatest impact on Charlotte’s future?

Transit is a significant part of our mobility future. The region’s Transit System Plan will extend our network with new commuter rail, light rail, and streetcar lines, more frequent bus service, and new microtransit in areas not currently served, ultimately shaping where we grow and making affordable transportation a reality for more people.

However, transit is one part of a coordinated package. Our Capital Investment Plan includes sidewalks, bike networks, Vision Zero safety treatments, upgraded traffic signals, and more. Strategic Investment Areas bundle those investments in targeted neighborhoods for maximum local impact. Big Moves delivers large, complex projects that change how the city functions on a regional scale. The combination of all three (Transit, Capital Investment Plan and Big Moves) is what makes our strategy both ambitious and grounded.

How are technology and data changing the way CDOT approaches transportation planning and mobility management?

Transportation infrastructure is more than just asphalt and concrete. We have spent two decades building a fiber network connecting our traffic signals to enable real-time management that provides signal priority for transit and emergency vehicles, testing LiDAR and video-based intersection management, and multimodal data collection.

Data shapes how we plan: our Strategic Investment Areas were identified by layering crash history, equity indicators, network gaps, transit access, and growth patterns, and were then validated through community input. Public dashboards give residents real-time visibility into budgets and construction progress. The goal is to be a department that is continuously learning and consistently transparent about how decisions get made.

As infrastructure costs continue to rise, how is CDOT balancing immediate needs with long-term planning and investment priorities?

We have always planned with intention to meet the needs of our community, so as needs increase with growth, we begin with the end goal in mind by identifying the project’s importance and the quickest path to delivery, and while staying within budget to provide our community with investments that improve daily living experiences.

Our Strategic Investment Area pilot shows what’s possible when you remain practical, identify problems early, and manage the program with a broad, holistic focus: $55 million in projects delivered in two years.

We’re building that intentional practice into everything we do. The bigger move is shifting to a proactive stance, building a pipeline of identified, defined, and feasibility-tested projects before committing full resources. That means fewer surprises, better value, and more projects on the ground for the people who need them.

Looking ahead, what are CDOT’s top priorities, and what would success look like for Charlotte’s transportation system by the end of this decade?

Safety and access are top priorities. Every Charlottean deserves a transportation system that gets them safely to work, school, home, and to all the places they want to go. Our commitment to build a safe and accessible transportation system is anchored in Vision Zero, our pledge to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries on Charlotte streets.

By the end of this decade, success means connecting gaps in the sidewalk and bike network, upgraded traffic signals, and maintained infrastructure across Charlotte.  It means completing over $400 million in Big Moves 2030 projects, and targeted improvements in 22 Strategic Investment Areas. And it means an improved relationship with our residents: accessible dashboards tracking progress in real time, continuous community conversations, and a model of investment that is transparent, accountable, and shaped by the community it serves.