I am writing to tell you that I am NOT in favor of the proposed NCDOT plan to widen Merrimon Avenue. I might be in favor of a plan that takes into consideration what the citizens of Asheville want, which so far have been ignored by the DOT. I might favor a plan that connects the greenway and supports bike and pedestrian traffic. But so far I have not seen those plans.

I live on the north side of Asheville for a reason – it does not look like the south side which looks like every other sprawled out city USA. I would like to see a bike and pedestrian friendly proposal and I am just not seeing it with this plan. I don’t want to encourage higher speeds along this road. I don’t want to see the businesses I frequent negatively affected and maybe forced out of business. I think you can do better.

I DO WANT to keep at least one part of our city quaint and with a small town feel and not become a Charlotte. Asheville is already struggling with too much growth and not enough intentionality in planning. BUT the City has spent money and made a decade of planning changes on Merrimon that contradict the nature of this proposed design. So when the DOT ignores the feedback from residents, it is not appreciated.