Liz Babson

Biographie : As Director of the Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT), Liz has more than 25 years' experience as a transportation engineer and spent the last 20 years of her career with CDOT. Liz is a Charlotte native and attended UNC-Charlotte, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and later attended Pfeiffer University and earned a Master's in Business Administration. She has worked in the public sector for both state and local transportation agencies. In her role as CDOT Transportation Director, she is responsible for the department's 425 employees and a transportation system that consists of more than 5,300 lane miles of streets, 850 traffic signals, 218 structures including bridges, 200,000 traffic control signs, 2,300 miles of sidewalk and over 190 miles of bikeways. Liz recently received her national ADA Coordinator Training Certification. She has spent much of her career advancing ADA improvements in the public right-of-way through policy work and project development in Charlotte in addition to her national work serving on the National Committee for Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Transportation safety has also been an area of focus as she and her team have led the citywide effort to make Charlotte a Vision Zero city through the development of the first Vision Zero action plan that identifies strategies to make Charlotte streets safer and have no fatalities or serious injuries by 2030. Liz and her team have received national and state-wide recognition for their work on creating complete streets and their continued work on helping to transform Charlotte into a more walkable and bicycle-friendly city. CDOT awards include: Charlotte Walks American Planning Association - National Planning Achievement Silver Award North Carolina America Planning Association - Marvin Collins Award Protected Crosswalks/Leading Pedestrian Intervals – North Carolina Section Institute of Transportation Engineers – Project of the Year Award 2016 Urban Street Design Guidelines - National EPA Award for Smart Growth Achievement Designated as a "Walk-Friendly Community" – Bronze level Designated as a "Bike-Friendly Community" – League of American Bicyclists – Bronze level Open Streets 704 – 2018 Best Community Event/Festival by Charlotte Magazine