Dear City Council,
On behalf of the Asheville on Bikes’ (AoB) Board of Directors, I encourage you to vote to approve the 101 Charlotte St. project. Historically, AoB’s public input has been limited exclusively to issues of transportation. We’re breaking with that tradition because we feel this project is critical to our goals to establish a robust active transportation network that enables people to move about their community and connect to goods and services through a variety of transportation modes. The 101 project is an immediate opportunity to highlight the interconnectedness of mixed-use dense development and active transportation options, both of which are identified as City of Asheville’s goals in its comprehensive plan, “Living Asheville – A Comprehensive Plan for our Future.”

“Encourage Responsible Growth” is the primary goal of the comprehensive plan and two of the performance measure outcomes relate directly to the proposed change in use. They are:

• Higher density smart growth located in areas identified on the Preferred Growth Scenario Map. Charlotte St is identified on the Preferred Growth Scenario Map as an Innovation District and the corridor is a burgeoning business district with existing sidewalks, transit stops, and bicycle facilities. A dense mixed-use development adjacent to these urban transportation essentials aligns directly with Smart Growth principles.

Additional comprehensive plan goals that 101 project actualizes include: “Increase Mixed-Use Development Along Transit Corridors,” “Make Streets More Walkable, Comfortable and Connected,” and “Increase Access to Safe Bicycling.” The related performance measures and their metrics include:

• More activity, including people living and working, within a quarter-mile walk of transit
• Greater access to jobs, neighborhoods services and transit
• Increase access to bicycle infrastructure
• Increase in the percentage of people who bike
• More bicycle parking facilities

And again, the 101 project inches our City toward the above-codified goals that our community established.

AoB breaks with tradition to support this project because we’re responding to the community’s need to elevate the dialogue regarding the relationship between mobility, proximity, and land use. Dense mixed-use development results in close proximity to goods and services people need. The distance to the market, the doctor’s office, the park, the restaurant, the school, and employment all can exist within a 1, maybe 2-mile circle. Proximity, when coupled with sidewalks, transit, and bicycle facilities, reduces people’s dependence on automobiles.

So much of the 101 opposition is focused on preservation of old homes on the property and traffic without any recognition of how proximity to goods, services, employment, impacts housing costs, mobility options, and health. When we choose urban mixed-use development we offer our citizens accessibility beyond the automobile. Consider that the Charlotte St road diet has increased bicycle use on the street by 70% according to the recent study conducted by Transportation Planning and Design. When we invest in mobility options, people use them especially when distances to goods and services are reduced.

AoB recognizes that existing homes are going away as they are in disrepair and the owners no longer want to be landlords anymore. The property will be redeveloped and the usage will change. A dense mixed-use development adjacent to a burgeoning business district with existing sidewalks, transit stops, and bicycle facilities is the appropriate next iteration of the property.

AoB advocates for bicycle facilities not simply for bikeablity’s sake but rather as an investment in the health of our community. We understand the 101 Charlotte St. project as an investment in the vitality of our city and its people.

Respectfully submitted,

Mike Sule

The post AOB 101 Charlotte St Public Comment appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

The time is now to reach out to Asheville city council to share your support for active transportation improvements on the Charlotte St corridor north of Chestnut St.

This affects all cyclists and your attention is warranted. Charlotte St has the potential to connect a large residential area to downtown; it represents a key link in our future multi-modal grid. It will also be used as a safer route for recreational cyclists who come and go from Elk and Town mountain.

There is growing resistance for the Charlotte St road diet and that resistance needs to be countered by you. Council members have received several letters opposing safety improvements to Charlotte St. Now is the time to demonstrate your support for Charlotte St road diet.  

On Tuesday, Nov. 13 city council votes to fund the Charlotte St road diet design. If you support the establishment of an active transportation network it’s critical that you share your support. Support for Charlotte St sends a clear message that the Asheville community supports investments in active transportation options.

Asheville on Bikes asks that you do several of the following to support the expansion of Asheville’s active transportation network into Charlotte St.

• Email city council at AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.gov and share your support for Charlotte St road diet. Incorporate a few of the bullet points below. A personal letter of support is more compelling than a form letter. Include a personal experience and / or attach a pic of you, friends, and or family walking and / or cycling.
• CC AoB at ashevilleonbikes@gmail.com on your letter to city council.
• Share AoB’s Charlotte St position on your social media platforms and encourage people in your circles to support Charlotte St road diet. Encourage three more people to contact council in support.
• Reach out to your circles directly and encourage people to send emails of support to city council.

Items to include in your letter of support for Charlotte St road diet:

• I want to safely walk and bike from my house to Charlotte St businesses. Charlotte St Computers, Taco Temple,  City Bakery, Ultimate Ice Cream, Chop Shop, Ghan Shan Station, and Waterbird are just a few of local businesses on this corridor. Say the name of the businesses you love.
• Asheville, NC remains one of the most dangerous cities in North Carolina for all modes of transportation. It’s time to invest in multi-modal infrastructure.
• A road diet means more biking and walking, and more of that means lower rates of disease and chronic illness for me and my neighbors.
• By traffic volume, Charlotte St north of Chestnut is a perfect candidate based on the experience of other cities. Traffic volume is 12k-14k/day in the area of this project. Even Charlotte Street’s peak traffic volumes, 20k, which occur only for a few minutes on weekdays at the intersection with Chestnut, are well within the range recommended for road diets.
• A 4 to 3 road diet gives the corridor room sidewalk improvements and a bike lane.
• A 4 to 3 road diet reduces collisions for all users; one study of similar complete street designs found a 70% reduction in collisions across 36 projects that were tracked.
• No one is stuck behind left turning cars, because they use the center turn lane.
• A road diet improves school bus safety; buses stop in the travel lane and have fewer instances of cars whipping around
• Road diets improve retail sales in businesses along the corridor
• Road diets leave ample room for street trees, if we wanted Charlotte St to be a tree lined corridor again one day

This is an important project for the future of our City and your actions help determine our future. Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Mike Sule

Supporting Materials that you may enjoy reading or watching:

1. What is a road diet? 5 min video on Vox
2. Charlotte Street project description on City website
3. Community support for Charlotte St road diet at April 24, 2018 city council meeting starting at 1:06:53
4. Federal Highway Administration’s Resources regarding Road Diets.
   1. Emergency Response
   2. Economic Impacts
5. AARP Road Diet Fact Sheet

The post Write Council RE: Charlotte St Road Diet appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.