As greenway system grows, how safe is it?

You’re reading Charlotte in Motion, a biweekly newsletter that examines how the Charlotte region is dealing with bumper-to-bumper traffic, rising housing costs, crowded schools and other challenges that come with the ultimate Charlotte story of growth. Charlotte in Motion is produced in partnership between The Charlotte Ledger and WFAE.

by Lindsey Banks

Mecklenburg County’s greenway network has grown by more than 20 miles in just a few years, and as cooler temperatures creep into the daily highs, it’s the perfect time for a fall walk. 

But the season also brings shorter days, and for those squeezing in a run or walk after work, it can mean starting in the daylight and finishing after dark. Even so, portions of the paved path cross through wooded areas, beneath roads and behind neighborhoods. It’s particularly isolating, especially for someone walking or running alone. 

As of March 2026, Mecklenburg County counted 85.5 miles of greenway trails. That’s up from 63 miles in June 2022 and 74 miles in January 2025. The county’s parks department says greenways are the No. 1 requested amenity among residents. 

But recent local incidents and the general perception from those who use the growing greenway system, especially among women, raise the question: How safe are all those miles of trail?

Four years ago, an unsettling report made headlines: a woman had been assaulted and almost raped on the McAlpine Creek Greenway at 11 a.m. on a Wednesday — in broad daylight.  

It’s not the only violent crime tied to Charlotte-area greenways in recent years. The Ledger requested police reports for violent crimes on or next to greenways between Jan. 1, 2023, and May 20, 2026, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police responded with 12 police reports. Some of the most serious incidents include: 

The records obtained also included other assault and robbery incidents, but they appear to have little connection to someone actually using a greenway, including a February 2023 incident in which a bullet was fired into a woman’s Sugar Mill Road home while she slept. 

CMPD did not respond to Ledger inquiries about trends in crimes reported along the greenway. 

After previous high-profile crimes on greenways, police have encouraged people not to use the greenways alone, and if they do, to tell others where they are going and when they plan to return.

It’s important to note that crime in Charlotte overall is down 16%, according to CMPD’s midyear report, and down 8% in violent crimes. Rape has decreased by 12%, with 81 incidents reported midyear in 2026 compared to 92 at the same point in 2025. The midyear report doesn’t specify where crimes took place and, of course, only tracks the incidents reported to authorities. 

But actual safety (determined by reported crimes) is different from perceived safety. 

Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation says it works with Charlotte Mecklenburg Police and other local law enforcement agencies on making greenways safe, and employs park rangers who patrol throughout the park system. The rangers, however, are not sworn law enforcement officers, meaning they have to contact local police when law-enforcement intervention is required. 

CMPD did not respond to Ledger inquiries about how it approaches greenway safety, including how police patrol greenways and if there are any challenges responding to calls that occur far back on the trail. 

Security infrastructure along trails is also limited. Park and Recreation said it has cameras at trailhead parking lots, but not along greenways, because those paths are primarily in floodplains. 

The county does install lighting in culverts and tunnels, but the trails themselves are not generally lit. 

Instead, another piece of the county’s safety system appears every quarter-mile: greenway mile markers. The markers, which look like narrow poles on the side of the pathways, include location information that users can provide to 911 dispatchers during an emergency. Address signs are also installed at neighborhood exits to help first responders pinpoint where someone is along a trail. 

The county advises greenway users to walk, run, bike or skate with other people; there are even occasional signs that encourage people to walk with a friend. It’s also recommended to avoid wearing headphones in both ears and to wear reflective clothing before dawn and dusk – especially with the time changes. 

Crime reports answer only part of the question. Whether someone feels safe enough to use a greenway – and whether that perception changes how often or when they use it – is harder to measure, particularly for women. 

For some Charlotte women, one solution has been to walk together. Groups have formed across the city not only as a way to make friends, but to have a group to safely exercise with – like Charlotte Girls Who Walk. 

Dorothy Hart, 34, moved to Charlotte about two years ago and joined Charlotte Girls Who Walk, a social walking group that organized outings at parks and greenways around the city. She’s now one of the group’s nine walk leads.

The group welcomes women of all ages, ranging from women in their 20s to 50s, and walks can draw anywhere from 10 to 50 women. 

“We have women in the group that wanted to feel safe, and they found the group, and they've been so happy to have that outlet now, where they feel like they can walk safely in a group,” Hart said.

She said many women have experienced being followed, catcalled or otherwise made uncomfortable while walking or running alone, so the group tends to operate with a “safety in numbers” mentality. Hart has always felt safe while walking Charlotte’s greenways in a group, though she’s heard from some of the runners in the group that they run with pepper spray for added protection. She also said the greenway needs more lighting. 

A trail can have relatively few reported violent crimes and still be a place where someone alters her behavior because she doesn’t feel comfortable alone. 

In Asheville in May, one woman took to Instagram to warn others to stay vigilant after she said a man followed her during a trail run, tried to punch her and threatened to knock her out and drag her into the woods. Luckily, she said in the post, two mountain bikers intervened. 

That same month, a 23-year-old woman was stabbed and killed in Atlanta on a Thursday at noon on a walk on the Beltline, a popular walking and biking trail. 

About a year ago in Charlotte, one incident on Reddit describes a woman who was verbally harassed and groped on the Mallard Creek Greenway in the University City area while on a run. She typically carried pepper spray and a taser but had forgotten them that day. The comment section is full of women, appalled and talking about what they usually carry for protection. 

Other high-profile incidents of random acts of violence against women have also rattled Charlotteans, including: a woman who was punched in July while walking in Dilworth, two women who were assaulted with a traffic cone at a Circle K gas station in Dilworth and the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska on the Blue Line.

Likewise, just because incidents happen doesn’t necessarily mean an entire greenway – much less an 85-mile countywide system – is unsafe. 

But for the people using these trails, the decision to walk along the greenway comes down to: Do I feel comfortable walking this stretch alone? 

And for Mecklenburg County, a broader question: Who bears the responsibility for making sure people feel safe using those public spaces alone? 

Lindsey Banks is assistant editor for The Charlotte Ledger. Reach her at [email protected]. 

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