Glad to return to the good things in Charlotte

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This past Christmas, I went back to New Orleans to visit family. It was my second trip to my old hometown since moving to Mecklenburg County in June to become editor of The Mecklenburg Times.

Though I love New Orleans and always will, seeing the city after living in the Charlotte area for six months made me realize just how lucky Charlotteans are.

Sure, Charlotte has its share of problems, which I’ll get into in a sec, but most big cities do. Still, when comparing Charlotte to some other cities, we really have a lot going for us.

First – and this is the thing that perhaps struck me the most about Charlotte when I moved here – the city has managed to expand while keeping many of its trees. The Queen City is indeed a “city of trees,” to quote from the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce’s website. Of course, lots of trees help make our city attractive to businesses and families, and, according to at least one study, trees can have an impact on crime. One researcher involved with the study, which was published last year and involved an analysis of Portland, Ore., crime data, said the findings suggest that large street trees can reduce crime.

Charlotte also continues to impress me with the nonstop announcements from companies that are expanding, relocating or opening here.  Especially in the last quarter of 2010, there seemed to be such announcements every day. And we’re not talking about tiny job numbers. For example, there’s Siemens, which plans to create at least 865 jobs over the next five years as part of a roughly $170 million expansion. Then you’ve got Electrolux, which plans to add about 290 jobs over the next five years. Those two announcements are just a fraction of the many made last year.

When it comes to education, there are some really good public schools in the county. People love to complain about CMS – people complain about the public school system in every city, always have and always will – and CMS, like most public school systems, is not perfect. But having young children who will be entering school in the next few years, I’m excited that there are public schools where more than 80 percent of the students perform at or above grade level overall. Coming from a city where most people sent their kids to private school because the public school system is an utter failure, that blows me away.

Lastly, compared with other cities, our roads are in pretty good condition, although they could be better, too.

But, as I said, Charlotte has room to improve.

Ask most people and they’ll tell you that this is a place where being successful is based on who you know, whether you are running in the right circles and rubbing the right elbows. Places that cliquish are annoying and bad for business.

Also, we have got to do something about traffic, particularly interstate traffic, which is horrendous. And that’s putting it nicely. Interstate 77 is a nightmare during rush hour. Why is it that there are only two lanes heading south in north Mecklenburg County? It should be at least four.

Crime also is a big problem here. In 2008, Forbes ranked Charlotte No. 9 on its “America’s Most Miserable Cities” list. The city’s worst showing was in violent crimes (838 crimes per 100,000 residents, according to Forbes).

Lastly, Charlotte needs to diversify its economy further, especially after the banking crisis. There’s a movement to market the city as an “Energy Capital,” but more diversity is needed.

Despite the blemishes, we have a lot going for us. The Christmas visit to New Orleans was fun, but I’m glad to be home.

Editor Deon Roberts can be reached at [email protected].