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Best place to live in Charlotte for bike commuting

Submitted by RayW on Mon, 08/14/2006 - 22:58. General Topics

I am moving to Charlotte and am deciding where I should live. I would like to know which are the good areas to live in (within a 3 mile radius of Uptown) where it is easy to bike commute to Uptown on a daily basis. If possible, please include the time it takes for a leisurely ride from the location to Uptown.

Thanks very much.

RayW

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More great neighborhoods for cycle commuting to Uptown

Submitted by edbobnc on Fri, 10/06/2006 - 17:03.

Ray,

In addition to the neighborhoods listed by Bill, I'd like to add a few more. Not all of these are within the three miles you stipulated (but neither were all of the ones listed by Bill). They are:

o Commonwealth-Morningside
o Chantilly
o Elizabeth

You probably find housing in most of these neighborhoods expensive, although Chantilly may be a little less expensive. My personal favorite neighborhoods for biking are Comm-Morn, Chantilly, Plaza-Midwood, and Dilworth, because they are so conveniently close to a LOT of shopping. That means you can also use your bike for running shopping errands, not just commuting.

If you want less expensive housing, and are willing to add 2 - 4 miles to your commute, the neighborhoods around Woodland/Norland and Kilborne/Sudbury have well connected residential streets. They are on either side of Central Ave., which has its speed limit lowered to 35 mph, and has bike lanes in both directions between Sharon-Amity and a couple of blocks inside of Eastway.

This is probably too late to be of help to you, but I hope it will help others.

Ed

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Dilworth, Eastover, Plaza-Midwood, and Wesley Heights

Submitted by BillC on Thu, 08/17/2006 - 20:03.

Ray,

Great question! I'm glad you're asking before you rent or buy. It's easy to get stuck in areas of Charlotte where it's really hard to ride.

Dilworth, Plaza-Midwood, Eastover, and Wesley Heights are the "streetcar suburbs" of the 30's and 40's that have been or are being rehabbed and are well-known candidates if you want a close-in single-family home. Depending on your price range, they may have already appreciated too much. Next tier out, but still very rideable, are Sedgefield and NoDa (North Davidson, closest thing we've got to Greenwich Village).

There are an increasing number of condos, with prices more or less inversely proportional to distance from Uptown. I ride past one in Elizabeth that's being created from renovating an old apartment complex and that advertises "from the high 130's."

There are a number of other older neighborhoods of close-in single-family dwellings that are good candidates for "urban homesteading," depending on your appetite for risk (financial and otherwise).

You might want to stop by Black Sheep Cycles on West Morehead St. and ask Ethan his opinion. He's no Realtor, but I bet he'd have some good suggestions.

Spending a weekend riding increasingly larger concentric circles will probably let you discover neighborhoods that no real estate agent would ever tell you about. I've got a cue sheet for a 25-mile city circuit that might be a good start. Contact me at bill@bikementor.org if you'd like a copy.

If cost or availability force you to look farther from the center and you want independence from the tyranny of the automobile, of course you'll want to check for good bike routes, but also be sure to carefully check bus maps and schedules. Public transportation in Charlotte can be almost convenient, but you have to select your home and work place with that objective in mind.

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