Piedmont Crescent coalition to link I-85 metro regions
North Carolina’s most populous areas sit along Interstate 85 like beads on a necklace, but business and civic leaders in that highway-defined arc from Gastonia to Raleigh don’t necessarily view it as a region with common interests and goals.
But consider: That crescent through the N.C. Piedmont holds three international airports, two intermodal terminals and two inland port terminals. It holds three of the state’s four largest universities, and the state’s five largest cities: Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Durham. Yet how often do Durham’s civic leaders, for example, work with those from Charlotte or Greensboro to influence state or federal policy, or even just share good ideas? The answer: Not as often as they might if they viewed themselves as a unified region.
A new, grant-funded initiative, the Piedmont Crescent Partnership, aims to bring together residents and officials from that broad Piedmont area to address shared issues and maybe help the region’s leaders more often speak with one voice on matters such as transportation, economic development and growth.
The effort is funded through a $50,000 grant from the New York-based Rockefeller Foundation and will be led by the N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition. The coalition, affiliated with the N.C. League of Municipalities, is a group of mayors from N.C. municipalities of 30,000 or more. The Winston-Salem-based Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation is also providing support to the effort.
John Francis, a consultant to the project, said it’s not just an urban initiative. The territory covers the state’s three large urban areas – Charlotte, the Triad and the Triangle – as well as the more rural areas within the reach of the metro areas. “To some extent it’s an urban initiative,” he said. “But we do think it’s important that we have stakeholders from rural regions and towns.”
Francis said listening sessions will be scheduled this spring, probably in April, followed by a summit conference, likely in May. Transportation will be one key focus, he said. “How do we make sure that people and goods can move through this region easily?”
Another focal point, he said, will be discussing how regional cooperation can help in addressing economic development challenges and in dealing with rapid growth.
After all, the state’s future hinges on the health of its urban areas. “What’s good for the Piedmont Crescent is good for the state,” Francis said.
by Mary Newsom
(PlanCharlotte)
