WCCB Brings Back Emmy Award-Winning Defend Charlotte Series

Overcrowded schools and traffic jams.  Neighborhoods popping up all over the place.  Residents worried about crime.  They’re issues Charlotte residents are used to; now they’re spilling over to surrounding communities.

We’ve defended Charlotte during the city’s extraordinary growth.  Then in a new economy, it was time to Reboot: Charlotte, as the city emerged from the recession and hosted the Democratic National Convention.  Now, as Charlotte grows again, we’re seeing the Crown Town Effect on surrounding counties.  As we re-launch our Emmy Award-winning Defend Charlotte series, our team of journalists is working on stories about the impact growth in CrownTown is having on UnionCounty.

Some parents, frustrated by overcrowding, budget cuts, and school closings in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, moved to UnionCounty to get away from those issues.  Now they’re in the middle of a redistricting battle, as Union County Public Schools deal with explosive growth.  Part of that growth is from neighborhood development.  People are moving to towns like Indian Trail, Waxhaw, and Stalling to escape higher property taxes and higher home prices.  They’re lured by the dream of getting more bang for their housing buck. 

That migration south is causing new traffic challenges.  People commuting from UnionCounty towns to their jobs in Charlotte are making already jammed roads worse.  The Independence Boulevard corridor is one casualty.  A once-thriving business corridor is giving way to a paved pathway for hundreds of thousands of cars.

With a growing population, also comes growing concerns about crime.  Robberies were up in Charlotte last year, but overall crime dropped.  We’re looking at how crime in CrownTown is affecting our neighbors to the south.

Do you feel the Crown Town Effect?  Look for our reports coming up every Wednesday night on WCCB News @ Ten.