AoB has advocated for these types of changes for years and we have provided direct feedback for each of these plans, which you may remember from our past calls to action. Each of these corridor studies is built on sound engineering, rounds of public feedback, hard lessons from our current roads, and advocacy for designs more in line with Vision Zero, Complete Streets, National Association of Transportation Officials  (NACTO) guidelines. 

As part of our advocacy, we wrote to City Council in support of these corridor studies. You can read our letter here.

Now is the time for the City Council to vote and adopt the corridor studies, which call for bike lanes, increased pedestrian features, safer intersections, and other changes that revolve around making these roads better for all users. 

In November, instead of bringing up these proposals for a vote, the City council delayed until the December meeting. With Asheville still ranked as one of the most dangerous cities to bike or walk in NC, we cannot afford to delay approving the plans contained in these corridor studies. You may remember the long running effort to “study” Charlotte Street, when, even twenty years ago, evidence was clear that a different traffic pattern on Charlotte Street would be safer for everyone. We don’t want that to happen here, where further delays are akin to voting in favor of injury, death, and roads clogged with cars.

Email Asheville City Council and let them know that you support the adoption of the Hendersonville Road, Tunnel Road, and Biltmore Avenue/McDowell Street corridor studies.  Each study is a critical step in advancing Asheville’s active transportation network.

Taken together, these three plans point to a rejuvenated Tunnel Road that is bikeable and walkable; separated bike lanes for Biltmore/McDowell suitable for ebikes and scooters; and a multi-use path for Hendersonville Road. The proposals:

• Include National Association of Transportation Official (NACTO) treatments and design standards which the City’s Multi-Modal Transportation Commission endorsed in 2017.
• Embrace the change in land use from strictly commercial to dense mixed use redevelopment in response to our affordable housing crisis. 
• Serve to strengthen the integrity of Asheville transit system as pedestrian and bicycle facilities connect to transit hubs which increases mobility while it decreases cost of living.
• Include meaningful north – south connections for people traveling without a car

We need you to contact the city council and share that you support Asheville on Bikes’ position, as listed below, to adopt the corridor studies.

AoB’s Suggested Letter. You can copy and paste: 

Dear City Council,

Continued and robust investment in active transportation facilities is an important issue to me. It’s alarming that our city continues to rank as North Carolina’s worst city for pedestrian and bicyclist crashes. While many interventions are required to improve conditions in our rights of way, your vote to approve the  Hendersonville Road, Tunnel Road and the Biltmore Avenue/McDowell Street studies is the next action to take. Please do not delay this vote any further and vote to adopt these studies. 

I support Asheville on Bikes’ position on this matter.

Respectfully, 

(Your Name) 

Or draft your own letter of  support. Either way, AoB asks that you cc us on your letter to council using  ashevilleonbikes@gmail.com so that we can track support. 

City Council Members Email:

Mayor Esther Manheimer – esthermanheimer@avlcouncil.com

Vice Mayor Sheneika Smith – sheneikasmith@avlcouncil.com

Sandra Kilgore – sandrakilgore@avlcouncil.com

Antanette Mosley – antanettemosley@avlcouncil.com

Kim Roney – kimroney@avlcouncil.com

Sage Turner – sageturner@avlcouncil.com

Gwen Wisler – gwenwisler@avlcouncil.com

To share a message with all City Council members using one email that goes to each, send your email to: AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.gov.

Thank you! Please cc: ashevilleonbikes@gmail.com on your emails to council.

Read AoB’s letter to City Council, Nov 17, 2021, urging Council to adopt the findings from these corridor studies.

The post Call To Action: Ask Council to Vote Yes on Corridor Studies 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 Hendersonville Road Corridor Study will examine this roadway and propose strategies relating to congestion, pedestrian and cyclist safety, and connectivity along and across the road. To accomplish this, the project team will be collaborating closely with the City of Asheville, the French Broad River MPO, Buncombe County, NCDOT, as well as representatives of the communities and institutions along Hendersonville Road. In order to make this plan the biggest success it can be, we will call on the community, the residents, students, and workers who live near or travel on Hendersonville Road every day to participate in the planning process.

The mention of “congestion” before “pedestrian and cyclist safety” catches our eye. When NCDOT  hears congestion, the solution has historically been a road widening as opposed to multi-modal investments. Asheville continues to rank as one of the most dangerous cities in North Carolina for pedestrians and cyclists.  If you value roads that prioritize the safe movement of all people moving by a variety of modes, you should respond.

Example of current biking and walking conditions on this corridor

Before reading further, consider this map made from NCDOT data that shows the study corridor, overlaid with bicycle and pedestrian crashes, along with fatal crashes of all types. People are biking and walking on this corridor, particularly in the Gerber Village area.

Other projects and key connectors in this area

NCDOT has previously published an extensive redesign of Sweeten Creek Road, project U-2801A, which parallels this section of Hendersonville Road. You can read our 2018 public comment on that not-yet-built project here. The Sweeten Creek Road corridor includes a multi-use path, separated from traffic, alongside Sweeten Creek Road, planned to run from the Blue Ridge Parkway to the intersection of Sweeten Creek Road and Hendersonville Road. Rather than supplanting the need for a more bikable, walkable Hendersonville Road, those changes will result in more people riding bikes and trying to connect over to and across the corridor being studied in this survey.

Additionally, several local road bike rides make use of this area, even though the area is ill-suited to the needs of most bicycle riders. You can easily see the bicycle use on Strava’s Global Heatmap. This portion of Hendersonville Road is part of the larger problem in south Asheville where we are missing safe north-south routes as well as safe east-west connections across this part of the City. At least four connections that are used by cyclists stand out today: the Blue Ridge Parkway, Mills Gap Road, Glen Bridge Road, and Christ School Road.

AoB Guidance for completing this survey

Go here to take the survey, “Hendersonville Road Corridor Study: Survey 1,” after considering:

Question 2 & 6: Identify yourself as a bicyclist. 

Question 8: Note that retail shops aren’t included as an option. Gas stations are but what about retail? Or offices?

Question 9: Select “providing for all modes of transportation” as the highest priority. 

Question 10: Identify “Hard to get around on foot and bike” as the biggest transportation concern. 

Question 11: Rank active transportation (bike, pedestrian, transit, greenway and trails as the as the most important considerations. 

Question 13: Identify all types of mixed use development as a priority. 

Question 15: State your dissatisfaction with existing active transportation facilities. 

Question 15 continued: State your satisfaction with motorist facilities. 

Additional comments. Respond to the need for NCDOT to design Hendersonville Rd in accordance with its Complete Street and Vision Zero policies. It’s always constructive to reference NACTO design standards.

Here’s the link again, to take the survey: Hendersonville Road Corridor Study

The post Action Item: Respond to Hendersonville Road Corridor Study appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.