Tell us something about your transportation habits. How do you get around Asheville?
Automobile, cycle, walk, occasional transit.
What do you consider to be the most significant transportation advancement in Asheville and what impact does it have on our community?
Past 5 years – improvement in routes and timing of the transit system.
Emerging – bicycle infrastructure.
Please identify one way in which you’ve worked to make Asheville safer for pedestrians, transit users, and / or cyclists. What did you learn from this experience?
As a member of City Council and an appointed member of the regional transportation coordinating body, French Broad River MPO, I have coordinated increased attention to, prioritization for, and funding for sidewalks, transit, greenways, bicycle infrastructure in Asheville and the region. Much of the impact will be seen once projects are built (e.g., protected bike lanes in the RADTIP).
What do you consider to be Asheville’s primary transportation challenge and how do you propose to fix it?
Over-reliance on the automobile.
Continued emphasis on improved transit, improved bicycle infrastructure, and emphasis on connecting sidewalks between neighborhoods and destination amenities.
A key part of the multi-modal initiative will be to reframe our land use planning and regulations to emphasize compact “smart growth” development along transit corridors.