Pedallers,
I reviewed the plans for the Clingman Ave climbing lane yesterday and was surprised to find that the Clingman climbing lane stops short of the intersection at Hilliard and does not extend all the way to Patton Ave as stated in the Bicycle Comprehensive Plan.
Now is the time for cyclists of Asheville to be heard and have our questions answered. Why have the NCDOT and the City of Asheville ignored the intersection at Hilliard? I encourage all cyclists to pose this question to our city, county and state leaders.
We need to act in solidarity and question why the Bicycle Comprehensive Plan was overlooked concerning city road improvements on Clingman Ave.
Your community needs your help on this issue and Asheville on Bikes encourages you all to write our public representatives and employees (the email addresses are below) and ask them:
“Why does the Clingman Ave climbing lane stop short of the Hilliard intersection when the Bicycle Network Map, of the Asheville Bicycle Comprehensive Plan, shows the climbing lane extending all the way to the Patton Ave intersection? “Research has found that over 70% of bicyclist crashes occur at roadway and driveway intersections” (Asheville Bicycle Comprehensive Plan p.67). In order to insure safe travel of all modes, it’s vital that the road improvements on Clingman Ave include intersections.”
When you send your emails, please cc ashevilleonbikes@gmail.com so that we can keep a running tally of how many people are asking why the Comprehensive Plan is being overlooked. Feel free to copy and paste the above question and the below email addresses for ease of activism.
City Council
Mayor Terry M. Bellamy E-mail: mayorbellamy@gmail.com
Vice Mayor Brownie Newman E-mail: newmanasheville@gmail.com
Councilmember Cecil Bothwell E-mail: cecil@braveulysses.com
Councilmember Jan Davis E-mail: jandavis@main.nc.us
Councilmember Esther Manheimer E-mail: emanheimer@vwlawfirm.com
Councilmember Bill Russell E-mail: billrussell@charter.net
Councilmember Gordon Smith E-mail: gordonsmithasheville@yahoo.com
Gary Jackson, City Manager E-mail: gjackson@ashevillenc.gov
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
David Gantt E-mail: commissioner@davidgantt.com
Bill Stanley E-mail: bill.stanley@buncombecounty.org
K. Ray Bailey E-mail: ray.bailey@buncombecounty.org
Holly Jones E-mail: holly.jones@buncombecounty.org
Carol Peterson E-mail: carol.peterson@buncombecounty.org
North Carolina Department of Transportation
Jay Swain, Division Engineer E-mail: jswain@ncdot.gov Tom Norman, Bicycle Facilities E-mail: tnorman@ncdot.gov
On behalf of Asheville on Bikes, I thank you for taking the time to advance Asheville’s bicycle culture and infrastructure. Let’s continue to work together to build quality multimodal infrastructure. If you have any questions or comments please contact me at ashevilleonbikes@gmail.com.
I look forward to riding with you all at Saturday’s Bright Light Biker. Lets pedal together in order to promote safe and responsible bicycling.
Respectfully,
Mike Sule
Executive Director
Asheville on Bikes