By Edward Erfurt, Strong Towns
In Summary:
The 2022 death of Michael-Luther Black while crossing a major roadway in Charlotte illustrates the dangers of disconnected street design that prioritizes vehicle speed over pedestrian safety. Despite the presence of sidewalks, transit stops, and nearby destinations, fragmented development and high-speed “stroads” force pedestrians into hazardous environments. The author argues that cities already have the authority to require better street connectivity and safer designs, but must choose to use it.
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On the morning of February 14, 2022, Michael-Luther Black was killed while trying to reach a bus stop in Charlotte, North Carolina. As he crossed West Mallard Creek Church Road at Claude Freeman Drive, a car traveling 43 miles per hour struck him and threw his body nearly 80 feet.
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This tragedy is not an isolated event. It underscores a broader pattern of urban design failure that plagues Charlotte and countless other American cities: a disconnected street network that forces pedestrians into unsafe, high-speed environments. Municipalities have full authority over street design, zoning, and development patterns, yet they continue to enable an infrastructure that prioritizes vehicle throughput at the expense of human lives.
As I examined the area surrounding this fatal crash, I was struck by the glaring disconnect between its intended walkability and its actual pedestrian experience. Transit stops, retail destinations, and residential neighborhoods are all present, yet the network of streets fails to support safe, logical movement. Fragmented development, high-speed arterials, and isolated sidewalks create an environment where walking is neither safe nor practical. A closer look at the area's urban form reveals a fundamental issue. Luckily, it's one that cities have the power to fix.
The vicinity of the crash site. It's characterized by wide roads supporting high speeds, a bus stop, and some businesses.
Mallard Creek Church Road is a textbook example of a "stroad": a dangerous hybrid that combines the speed of a highway with the access demands of a neighborhood street. It is the worst of both worlds. As I examined the area surrounding the crash site, the contradiction was hard to ignore. The presence of sidewalks, transit stops, and commercial destinations signals an expectation of walkability. Yet the physical reality tells a different story: High-speed lanes, wide curb radii, long crossing distances, and fragmented connections create conditions where walking is not just uncomfortable, but dangerous. The lack of internal street connections means that neighborhoods, retail centers, and transit stops are effectively cut off from one another, making even short trips dangerous and inconvenient. Frequent driveways and signalized intersections collide with high travel speeds, increasing both the likelihood and severity of crashes.
The collision site from the perspective of a driver. Photo courtesy of Jaden Blank for the Crash Analysis Studio.
Cities Have the Power to Fix This
Cities have long exercised control over the details of new development—materials, plantings, the shape of the site itself. They can use that same authority to require something far more consequential: the small, strategic links that complete a street network. Sometimes the fix is almost embarrassingly simple: remove a berm, extend the pavement a few feet, and two disconnected streets suddenly become one coherent route. Those incremental connections give everyone more, slower, safer options for moving around.
This is how cities used to grow: adding streets and blocks in a pattern that kept people connected and kept speeds in check. Modern codes broke from that tradition, prioritizing large, isolated projects while ignoring the connective tissue that makes a city work. The result is costly infrastructure, cut-off neighborhoods, and dependence on fast arterials that are hostile to anyone outside a car.
Yet the power to change course is still in local hands. If a city can dictate what materials a developer uses, it can certainly require that the project tie into the surrounding street network. Reclaiming that authority isn’t complicated, but it is essential. It’s how we can reduce exposure to high-speed traffic where people are expected to walk, and avoid preventable tragedies born from disconnected design.
Connectivity is not just a matter of convenience. It is a matter of safety, equity, and long-term sustainability. Cities have the tools and the authority to fix this problem. The real question is whether they will take responsibility for shaping development to prioritize human lives over vehicle throughput.
What Apopka can do
Apopka has the tools to address this problem if it chooses to use them. As new developments come forward, the city can require stronger street connectivity standards that link neighborhoods, commercial areas, and transit stops, rather than allowing isolated projects that funnel all movement onto high-speed arterials.
Updating development codes to limit excessive curb radii, shorten crossing distances, and require internal street connections would give pedestrians safer, slower routes that don’t force them onto roads designed for speed.
Over time, targeted retrofits—such as adding midblock crossings, reducing lane widths, and closing small gaps between disconnected streets—could help Apopka balance growth with safety, creating a street network that supports walking, transit, and local access rather than prioritizing vehicle throughput alone.
Key Points:
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A pedestrian fatality in Charlotte underscores the risks created by disconnected street networks.
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High-speed arterial roads often coexist with transit stops and sidewalks, creating unsafe conditions.
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“Stroads” combine highway speeds with local access, increasing crash likelihood and severity.
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Cities have zoning and development authority to require better street connectivity.
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Improving connectivity is a matter of safety, equity, and long-term sustainability, not convenience.
