Read on to learn more about the West Wayne installation process and the amazing people who made this project a reality.

Video footage of the West Wayne project courtesy of Asheville on Bikes.

The Street Tweaks Team and tactical urbanism

This project would not have been possible without the Street Tweaks Team and their approach to creating more safe and vibrant cities. Asheville Street Tweaks is a coalition of local non-profit organizations including Asheville on Bikes; the AARP, North Carolina, Mountain Region; and the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club, whose goal is to make public spaces more accessible, safe, and functional for all users.

The Street Tweaks Team accomplishes this goal through tactical urbanism, an approach that allows a city to make widespread, lasting improvements by funding and implementing a variety of smaller, cheaper, quick-turnaround projects. City officials are often reluctant to approve large-scale infrastructure projects because they aren’t sold on their benefits or they’re overwhelmed by the required investment; tactical urbanism allows them to test a project before committing to a long timeframe or spending a lot of money. Larger cities like New York City and Seattle have had great success implementing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects, which has led smaller cities like Memphis and Asheville to embrace this approach.

Help from our Asheville community partners

There were many organizations outside of the Street Tweaks team who helped make the West Wayne project a reality. These include:

• Wood Environment & Infrastructure Solutions
• UNCA’s STEAM Studio
• Art of Belonging
• East West Asheville Neighborhood Association
• West Asheville Business Association
• People for Bikes
• The City of Asheville

This project would not have been possible without the generous support of these partners who invested their time and talent.

Why did Street Tweaks choose this intersection?

Simply put, it’s dangerous. Asheville has the most pedestrian deaths per capita in North Carolina, and the Westwood Place & Waynesville Avenue intersection is exceptionally dangerous due to its high volume of mixed-modal traffic and lack of crosswalks. 

Another reason Street Tweaks and the City chose this location is because it’s a very wide intersection, which makes it ideal for accommodating traffic fixtures and pedestrian flow.

What’s the inspiration behind the artwork?

Asheville-based artist Leslie Rosenberg was commissioned to design and implement the street art based on her role as studio technician with UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio and her experience as an artist. In order to develop the idea for the artwork, Rosenberg polled neighbors to find out what they’d like to see portrayed. Overwhelmingly, residents said they wanted to memorialize Christopher’s Garden, which was known for its goldfinch, blue bottles, and milkweed. 

If you’re wondering why the Street Tweaks Team includes street art in their projects, consider that street art has been shown to increase mental well-being and boost tourism revenue.

Where else has tactical urbanism been used in Asheville?

Before the West Wayne project was underway, the Street Tweaks Team spearheaded the Coxe Avenue project in 2018. Funded entirely by the Street Tweaks Partnership, the Coxe Ave project was Asheville’s first foray into tactical urbanism and, according to the project’s follow-up report, was a huge success. The installation, which featured new stop signs, crosswalks, widened pedestrian paths, a temporary street mural, and bike lane dividers, was able to reduce traffic speeds by over 28% and increase pedestrian & bike use. 

From the get go, the project was intended to be temporary (a main tenet of tactical urbanism projects). It was installed in November of 2018, with an understanding between the Street Tweaks Team and the City of Asheville that it would be removed after 2 years. But while the butterfly mural was removed in August of 2020 (it was beginning to fade from vehicle use), the City extended the project due to COVID-19 because it helps support social distancing.

Is the West Wayne project here to stay?

The West Wayne project is designed to remain in place for a year with the possibility of being extended if it receives direct support from the City, neighbors, and local businesses. The best way for you to show your support for this project is to use it, share your experiences about it, and write to Asheville City Council.

Check out photos & a video recap of the installation.

The post The West Wayne Project is Officially Complete! appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

2 Action Items:

1. Take the survey and emphasize bike and pedestrian facilities when you answer each question.
2. In the map section of the survey, drop at least 7 pins, with text descriptions, on their map (you can drop more). We have suggestions listed below.

Your support is critical to advance bicycle and pedestrian facilities between Downtown and Biltmore Village.

Why this survey matters

It’s essential to amplify support for bicycle and pedestrian investment along this corridor, which is controlled by NCDOT. In order for our transportation planning system to decide to make a change, we must present evidence that change is needed, that it can succeed, and that we are paying attention. To this end, AoB provides you with input guidance; please use it and share it.

Biltmore and McDowell should serve different purposes

Biltmore and McDowell should serve different purposes in establishing an active transportation network. Biltmore Ave, if made safe, is the preferred north south bicycle pedestrian connection from downtown to Biltmore Village and is a good candidate for a road diet and complete street treatments. Even with the current dangerous conditions it is used as a cycling route by people with  limited transportation options.

In contrast, McDowell can handle extra vehicular traffic so long as bicycle pedestrian crossing movements are well protected at intersections, allowing easy filtering of bicycles and pedestrians who are moving to and from the Southside, East End , and French Broad neighborhoods as well as the River Arts District.  Therefore, you are encouraged to prioritize bicycle and pedestrian facilities on Steps 3 & 4 of the survey.

Unlock hidden demand for walking, biking, and ebiking

• East End / Valley St = 1968 residents
• Downtown (Darn) = 3424 residents
• South French Broad= 2149 residents
• Kenilworth = 3902 residents
• Saint Dunstans = 51 homes, 146 Condos (508 residents)
• White Fawn = 55 homes, 97 Apartments
• Reed St / London Rd = 230 homes
• Oakley = 6238 residents

In Buncombe County we average 2 cars per residence. If we assume 1 car per resident and, where we only know the number of homes, 2 cars per home, we have at least 19,347 cars in these adjacent neighborhoods.

Because these neighborhoods do not have safe active transportation options, most residents drive everywhere in those cars. Consider the foolishness of planning a City where nearly all Kenilworth residents are asked to move a car ½ mile to downtown and back. A road diet for Biltmore Ave enables people to diversify their habits of transportation. We can make changes that unlock the latent demand, currently unmeasured, for biking and walking to and from these areas. Let’s reduce congestion by reducing car trips.

Guide to the survey with examples

The Biltmore and McDowell St Corridor Survey is a 7 step process. AoB’s survey guide directs people to respond to a few questions in very specific ways in order to amplify the need for robust active transportation investment in the corridor. Follow AoB’s guidance but you’re also encouraged to share your own perspectives, especially in  Step 7.

Survey Steps 3 & 4:

Be sure to prioritize bicycle and pedestrian issues as the top three issues. Avoid selecting congestion because, historically, NCDOT’s only solution to congestion is road widening for automobiles.

Survey Step 5:

Call out the existing conditions for what they are and use the language below so that NCDOT and City of Asheville have to face that the built environment puts people’s well being at risk. Copy and past this statement into the text box:

“Inhumane conditions that threaten the safety and wellbeing of our most vulnerable road users.”

Why inhumane? Because these roads are deadly to all users and cannot be safely used with or without a car. Here’s a map of fatalities from all collisions + bicycle and pedestrian injuries that generated police reports, from just a few recent years:

Survey Step 6:

Up vote the comments, please amplify the comments that support bicycle and pedestrian investment by selecting the “agree” option.

Examples of types of comments to amplify:

Examples of comments that we disagree with:

Survey Step 7:

AoB has prioritized 7 pins and provided corresponding copy for you to copy and paste into each textbox. For this survey, AoB opted to focus on critical intersections (but will publish on recommended facilities in upcoming posts) because   The National Association of City Transportation Organizations (NACTO) emphasizes the importance of thoughtful intersection design.

Drop pins at the following intersection and past copy into the pin textbox.

Pin 1: Asheland Ave, Phifter St, & Southside  

Phifer St across the Southside Ave is a high priority east west active transportation connection that will include future greenway connectivity therefore complete street treatments are essential.

Asheland from Patton Ave to Southside is experiencing mixed use development and therefore a complete street treatment is essential to public safety and mobility.

Pin 2: Biltmore Ave, Southside Ave, & S. Charlotte St

Biltmore Ave & Southside Ave is a high priority east west connection that connects the East End Neighborhood to the South Slope, it will include future greenway connectivity,  and this area is vibrant with pedestrians during baseball season. An improved complete street treatment is essential to public safety.

Pin 3: Biltmore Ave & Short Coxe

Short Coxe and Biltmore Ave is a transit stop that lacks pedestrian and bicycle facilities. As Biltmore adopts complete street designs this intersection should be improved. This intersection has a high rate of pedestrian vehicular conflict, reflected in collision reports.

Pin 4: McDowell St  & Choctaw St

Choctaw and the Nasty Brand alignment are future east west  greenway connections which serve to connect French Broad Neighborhoods and the River Arts District to the hospital, Mountain Side Park and Beaucatcher Ridge.

Pin 5: Biltmore Ave  & Hospital Dr to Victoria Rd & Livingston St

The current car-centric design of Victoria Rd and Hospital Dr does not allow for safe east-west connections by bicycle. These intersections are ripe for bicycle and motorist conflicts, nor do they match the intent of the proposed Livingston complete street treatment. Bicycles cannot trigger any of the lights, Hospital Dr is wide, and cars are fast moving. This corridor connects the Southside neighborhood to the hospital, to AB Tech, to the greenways in the River Arts District, as well as connecting Kenilworth to those same areas. This east-west flow of bicycle and pedestrian traffic needs to be encouraged and provided with safer streets.

Pin 6: Biltmore Ave & Forest Hill Dr

Forest Hill Dr connects the Kenilworth Neighborhood to downtown, Biltmore Village, the hospital, Asheville Highschool, and AB-Tech. This intersection should be improved to accommodate a variety of modes. A road diet with a center turn lane would make multiple dangerous turning motions more safe.

Pin 7: Biltmore Ave & Caledonia Rd

Caledonia connects the Kenilworth Neighborhood to Biltmore Village and future greenway systems along the French Broad and Swananoa Rivers therefore the intersection should be improved to accommodate a variety of modes. A road diet with a center turn lane would make multiple dangerous turning motions more safe.

Pin 8: Biltmore Ave & Meadow Rd

Biltmore & Meadow intersection are foundational to Asheville’s greenway network and the proposed Hellbender Regional Trail System as it connects East Asheville, to South Asheville, and North Asheville along the French Broad and Swannanoa Rivers.

Thank you! Go take that survey! 

Map of bicycle usage from the Strava global heatmap. This map shows the clear preference for Biltmore, for cycling, as a necessary route between Biltmore Village and downtown:

The post Take the McDowell St – Biltmore Ave Corridor Survey 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.

French Broad River MPO

339 New Leicester Highway

Asheville, NC  28804

Dear MPO leaders:

On behalf of our members and supporters, Asheville on Bikes and MountainTrue write in opposition to cascading Section A of the I-26 Connector Project from the statewide to the regional tier of projects. We firmly believe that negotiations between the City of Asheville and NCDOT on outstanding design questions related to the Connector Project should be completed and incorporated into the final Environmental Impact Statement before the project moves forward. We cannot support cascading Section A until this occurs.

We recognize that the City’s negotiations with NCDOT to date have produced several good outcomes including new bike/pedestrian facilities, good greenway connections, a Section A with six lanes instead of eight, and a much-improved redesign of the Amboy Road interchange (though no one has yet seen revised maps that reflect these design improvements). However, there has not yet been success in determining the number of lanes going across the river and in the design of the Patton Avenue/Bowen Bridge corridor. The City of Asheville remains committed to making this corridor a multi-modal, urban boulevard that serves as a gateway to downtown, but NCDOT is not yet committed to these outcomes.

Until negotiations with NCDOT are complete and the drawings are updated so that the City can say with confidence that the project will increase livability for the residents of Asheville, advance active transportation, and meet the City’s vision for the redevelopment of Patton Ave, we stand with the City of Asheville in opposing cascading Section A. We strongly encourage NCDOT to continue to work with the City of Asheville to reach agreement on these critical design issues.

Sincerely,

Mike Sule, Executive Director
Asheville on Bikes

Bob Wagner, Co-Director
Mountain True

To support Asheville on Bikes and Mountain True, please send emails supporting our position to these members of the MPO:

mpo@landofsky.org
cc: brownie.newman@buncombecounty.org
cc: jasmine.beach-ferrara@buncombecounty.org
cc: info@ashevilleonbikes.com

The post Letter in opposition to the cascading of Section A of the I-26 Connector Project appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.