Waxhaw Master Transportation Plan

In a fast-growing community like Waxhaw, addressing the challenges of securing funding begins with understanding current transportation needs and how to develop recommendations based on community priorities. Since transportation planning is most effective through a collaborative approach, considering the relationships between transportation, land use, the environment, community resources, urban design and economic resiliency is vital. In tandem, empowering the public to provide community-based knowledge enhances the overall process and recommendations.

The overarching goal of Waxhaw’s Master Transportation Plan is to create a vibrant, locally-driven plan that:

• Identifies critical transportation improvements
• Creates a defensible implementation strategy
• Includes an action plan that outlines priorities, funding options and partnership needs

This Plan begins with an inventory of local projects recommended through previous plans and studies from local, regional and state sources. This task gives way to a review of performance using readily available data. Lastly, performance gaps (i.e. transportation needs) are identified to develop a prioritization process and communicate results.

2024 Waxhaw Master Transportation Plan (PDF)

2020 Waxhaw Master Transportation Plan (PDF)

The Waxhaw-Marvin Road Corridor Study represents a unique opportunity for the Town of Waxhaw to be proactive and make planning decisions to mitigate issues before they happen. The study area runs north-south and parallels NC-16 (Providence Road). 

View the Waxhaw-Marvin Road Corridor Study (PDF)

Traffic Evaluation

This Traffic Evaluation Request Form is available for citizens who have concerns regarding speed or other safety issues in their neighborhood. Once received by the Town Engineer, your request will be evaluated according to the Traffic Calming Evaluation Policy. Traffic Calming requests are handled on a first‐come, first served basis based on the date this form is received. 

Traffic Evaluation Form (PDF)

Traffic Calming Policy 

The Town of Waxhaw’s goal is to provide safe and pedestrian friendly streets for all residents of the Town while balancing the need for an efficient transportation network. As part of that goal, the Town understands that traffic must be able to flow freely but do so as safely as possible. This policy is meant to provide an avenue for citizens to report unsafe conditions, establish a process for review, and develop solutions for unsafe areas on existing roads. 

Traffic Calming Policy (PDF)

State law allows the Town to regulate the use of public streets along with the construction of connections into any street within the municipal limits, including the construction or reimbursement of improvements reasonably attributable to the traffic using the connection.

On January 12, 2016, the Town Board approved a Traffic Impact Analysis Ordinance, and an Access and Curb Cuts to Public Streets Ordinance in the Waxhaw Code of Ordinances. The intention of these ordinances are to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people traveling on the public ways in the Town of Waxhaw.

Related Documents: 

• Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) Policy (PDF)
• Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) Process (PDF)
• Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) Request Form (PDF)

The purpose of the Waxhaw Origin-Destination (O-D) Study is to support the Town of Waxhaw’s evaluation
of committed and conceptual road projects through:

• Determining origin and destination travel patterns in and around Waxhaw
• Evaluating local versus regional pass-through trips, and
• Analyzing the impacts of the planned Waxhaw Parkway on future travel patterns

Waxhaw Origin-Destination Study (PDF)

This report reviews the likely impacts and costs associated with construction of the proposed Waxhaw Parkway on new location from NC 16 east to NC 75. The project is located east of the Town of Waxhaw and west of the Town of Mineral Springs in Union County.

Waxhaw Parkway (H150208) Project Feasibility Report (PDF)

At its Regular Meeting on October 14, the Waxhaw Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the Waxhaw Safety Action Plan (SAP), our Town’s foundational document for improving roadway and multimodal safety which is required to receive federal funding for transportation improvements. The funding comes from the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

The SAP is the Town’s toolkit that provides the framework, guidance, and strategies to improve roadway safety in the near term and well into the future. The plan outlines how the Town can implement safer roadway design, prioritize pedestrian and bicycle facilities to fill gaps in the multimodal network, and create a culture of safety through education and awareness.

The Board of Commissioners also passed a resolution committing the Town to Vision Zero, a national initiative to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility. 

View the Waxhaw Safety Action Plan (PDF)

Waxhaw’s Safety Vision and Goals 

Waxhaw’s vision is to provide a transportation network that prioritizes safety for every community member across all modes of travel, creates a culture of safety, and promotes the Town’s unique charm.

Programs, policies, and strategies are organized around six key goals:

• Connectivity: Prioritize safe connections to key community destinations, including schools, parks, downtown, places of employment, and businesses.
• Multimodal Design: Prioritize the design of multimodal systems to improve safety on our bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
• Vehicular Design: Prioritize the design of transportation systems to improve safety for vehicles on our roadways.
• Implementation & Funding: Prioritize efforts to implement improvements through identification of funding, alignment with existing plans and policies, and public-private partnerships.
• Community Context: Prioritize improvements in Waxhaw’s most disconnected communities.
• Safety Culture: Prioritize building awareness and educating the community about transportation safety through engagement and enforcement.

Public Engagement

The Town made a concerted effort to ensure all voices from the community were heard during the development process. It first established an advisory Safety Task Force made up of 24 Town staff, local representatives, and residents to provide input and steer decision making. The project team met with the Safety Task Force four times throughout the life of the project.

In April 2025, a public open house was held at Waxhaw Town Hall to introduce the SAP, educate the public on the Safe Systems Approach, present the findings from the State of Safety, and provide interactive opportunities for attendees to engage with the project and express safety concerns.

The project team also created a website to act as a digital hub for the project, including information about the SAP, links to documents like the State of Safety Report, and an engagement hub where people could virtually participate and provide their feedback.

Other engagement efforts included an online survey and in-person interaction at Kaleidoscope Festival in May.

What Happens Next

The Town will use the SAP to apply for federal funding from the SS4A program through the FHWA, focusing on projects that are currently unfunded.

Town administration and staff, elected officials, residents, and visitors all have a role to play to ensure the safety needs of this community are met. Through your support, the Waxhaw SAP will be successful in helping achieve the goal of safety for all.