Haywood Road Repaving Project, History and Details

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is performing a regularly scheduled road resurfacing of Haywood Rd in West Asheville from Ridgelawn Rd to Patton Ave. The project is identified as Project # HL-0003 in the State Transportation Improvement Project and will be implemented in the summer of 2023. 

The French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization is providing additional funding for the resurfacing project in order to improve safety along the corridor.

This road once served as the only route west out of downtown Asheville and was also a leg in the Asheville trolley system, which had a line than ran up to Beachum’s curve. When the location of I-240 was decided in the 1960’s, that interstate demolished many homes and streets in low income and majority black parts of town, including through West Asheville. I-26 and I-240 divide the City today and the interstate divides West Asheville into two parts. Haywood Rd runs along the top of a ridge connecting those two parts and is often considered the heart of West Asheville. Read more history in this Mountain Xpress article or download this excellent pdf, “The Story of Haywood Road,” published by the West Asheville History Project.

Each repaving project presents an opportunity to change lane configurations, improve intersections, improve ADA compliance, and make other alterations in between the curbs, in the current right of way. Repaving projects do not typically alter the curb configuration of the road or change the size of the right of way.

How to leave a public comment on the project

NCDOT is accepting public comment for the Haywood Rd resurfacing project until Jan. 13, 2023. Asheville on Bikes encourages you to include our  recommendations in your comments and send a copy of your comments to us at ashevilleonbikes@gmail.com. 

To share your comments with NCDOT: 

Email:  Haywood-Maintenance-Buncombe@publicinput.com  

Phone: (984) 205-6615

Mail: Attn: Alecia Hardy, NCDOT EAU

                     1598 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1598

Our Summary of Haywood Rd Existing Conditions

This section of Haywood Rd is a vibrant commercial corridor connecting West Asheville neighborhoods. The road is in a 2 lane configuration except for the I-240 bridge and the junction with Patton Avenue, where it briefly extends to 4 lanes.

Existing conditions:

• Haywood Rd ranked 16 in the City of Asheville Close the GAP (p. 36 & 37) which indicates that the corridor’s existing conditions are unsafe and unnavigable for differently abled people.  
• Haywood Rd hosts the highest bicycle and pedestrian counts outside of downtown Asheville
• The vehicular average daily traffic volumes (ADT) range between 1300 – 15,000 / day 
• Pedestrian and bicycle needs have historically been ignored along the corridor. There are several American With Disabilities Act (ADA) violations along the corridor
• NCDOT representatives confirmed at the public engagement meeting on Dec. 6th 2022 that the proposed treatments were not informed by Haywood Rd crash data, speed analysis, or the Close the GAP plan.

Our Guidance for Haywood Rd Public Comment:

• All design changes to the corridor should be informed by vehicular speed and crash data with the goal of reducing excessive speeds and collisions. 
• A design speed of 20 mph throughout the entire corridor should be used if bicycle sharrow markings are to be incorporated into the project. The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) recommends sharrows on streets with a less than 25 mph design speed. 
• Bicycle May Use Full Lane signs should be incorporated wherever sharrow marks are incorporated.
• Where road widths allow incorporate bicycle lanes with special consideration of bike lanes that funnel into bicycle boxes at intersections so that people on bikes have priority movement through intersections. 
• All pedestrian facilities must comply with American with Disabilities standards. 
• The design should include midblock crosswalks with refuge islands and elevated crosswalks. 
• All crosswalks must be marked. Unmarked crosswalks are unacceptable. 
• Signalized crosswalks should be timed to allow for the greatest allowable crossing time as opposed to the minimum. 
• Curb extensions and vertical speed control elements like speed tables and speed cushions should be incorporated to ensure a 20mph design speed and to improve pedestrian crossings. 

I-26 bridge concerns

We have also written about the special concerns that surround the future I-26 project bridge replacement at Haywood Rd and I-26, as well as the need to better accommodate the future users of the new greenway that will join Haywood Rd across from B&B pharmacy. This future greenway will wrap around to the Patton bridge, resulting in a car-free path to the west side of downtown with no red lights and less elevation change than the current dip to the river on Haywood before the climb up.

We hope this future bridge design can be an example of the multi-modal changes this corridor needs, instead of forcing a car-centric design into the middle of this vibrant area.

You can read that earlier post here, which links to the I-26 project public documents.

The post Haywood Road Repaving Public Comment Guidance, NCDOT Project # HL-0003 appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

What is Asheville’s greenway plan?

The City of Asheville’s greenway planning process, called the “Close the GAP” project, combines 3 plans: the City’s Greenway Plan (G), its ADA Transition Plan (A), and its Pedestrian Plan (P). The main goal of Close the GAP is to better understand who uses our community’s greenways & sidewalks and why in order to update & expand our pedestrian network. 

Why do we need your help?

Greenways and sidewalks are integral to a community’s connectivity, health, equity, and overall livability. In order to help City officials enhance Asheville’s pedestrian network, it’s important that residents are given the opportunity to provide their input. To do this, we need your help surveying Asheville’s greenway users. 

What does this volunteer position entail?

As a volunteer, you will help conduct greenway user interviews at the Wilma Dykeman Greenway in Asheville’s River Arts District and at the Reed Creek Greenway near UNC Asheville’s Botanical Gardens on August 10 and 14. In the event of bad weather, our makeup dates are August 17 and 21. You can help out by volunteering for a 2-hour shift on one or both of these days at either location. 

As a volunteer, you agree to:

• Encourage greenway users to complete the survey.
• Dress in comfortable clothes and bring the water & snacks you may need.
• Wear a mask if asked to do so. We will provide disposable masks.

How do I sign up to volunteer?

To learn more and sign up for a volunteer slot, visit https://bit.ly/GreenwayInterview or contact Linda Giltz at lindagiltz@gmail.com.

Please share this volunteer opportunity and information about Close the GAP with your friends, organizations, and others. Thank you for being a valued community member and greenway supporter!

The post Call for Volunteers—Help Update Asheville’s Greenway Plan! appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Dear Ms. Bereis,

The post Amelia: Faster driving speeds will make Merrimon more dangerous and less pleasant for all users, whether they are walking, biking, or driving appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Dear Kim Bereis, 

The post Initial Designs…have disregarded the opinions of business owners, our local government, and our community appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Dear Kim,

I am writing regarding the NCDOT Merrimon Avenue Widening Projects U-5781, U-5782 Initial Designs. The proposed designs must be re-evaluated given several issues with the initial designs. I urge NCDOT’s Division 13 to partner with the City of Asheville’s (COA) Transportation Department and incorporate existing COA plans into NCDOT planning. Several existing COA plans were not incorporated into NCDOT’s proposed Merrimon improvements (e.g. Asheville in Motion, Asheville CIty 2025 Plan, etc).

Additionally, the proposed design does not incorporate active transportation standards and best practices for safety. Please see the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) guidelines and standards pertaining to active transportation infrastructure. I urge you to work with active transportation content experts, such as Asheville on Bikes, to incorporate best practices and that prioritizes public safety.

Thank you,

April Brown

The post April: Proposed design does not incorporate active transportation standards and best practices for safety appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Kim,
I am writing to echo the sentiments of so many other Asheville residents who do not support the current plan for changing the Merrimon Ave corridor.

We are a community that values active transportation and SAFETY on our roadways. Increasing the speed and adding a turning lane does not move us toward our goals, but further away. The current plan does not include adequate infrastructure for pedestrians or cyclists or anyone who is not able bodied to move safely.

I am continually disappointed by NCDOT division 13’s performance and lack of collaboration with Asheville’s elected city officials, staff and residents with regard to the roads that we use everyday. In this particular instance, the fact that NCDOT has ignored its own  Complete Streets guidelines as well as the City of Asheville Bicycle Comprehensive plan, that there was no alternate plans  presented, no collaboration with city officials or neighborhoods nor does the design adhere to federal design standards (AASHTO) makes this plan particularly disgusting.

We want safe roads with the focus on moving all people, all modes!    I strongly encourage you to listen to the voice of the Asheville community and go back to the drawing board on the Merrimon Ave re-design, and invite input from the people who have the most at stake, who’s neighborhoods and safety you so profoundly impact with your decisions.

Sincerely,
Emily Muscarella
Asheville resident

The post Emily: I am writing to echo the sentiments of so many other Asheville residents who do not support the current plan appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

The post Jamie: I am very concerned about the plans proposed for Merrimon Avenue and what it will do to our community appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Hi Kim,

The post Alex: I think NC DOT’s proposed plan for Merrimon Avenue in Asheville isn’t a good plan. appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

I am submitting input on the Merrimon Avenue widening project as an Asheville resident, a public health professional, and an enthusiastic-and-extremely-concerned bicyclist. NCDOT’s proposed plan for widening Merrimon Ave from W.T. Weaver Boulevard to Edgewood Road completely misses the mark with both process and design, and fails to meet the needs of all residents who wish to travel this corridor on bicycles and on foot.

The process used to develop this plan—particularly the apparent complete lack of engagement with the City of Asheville, and the fact that no alternatives were presented to the public—is incredibly troubling. Further, the proposed design itself would make this corridor (which is already notoriously treacherous for bicyclists attempting to travel between North Asheville and the downtown area) even worse. This design mimics some of the worst roads in the Asheville area and runs completely counter to the groundswell of support in Asheville for people-centered road design that allows residents and visitors to move throughout the city safely and by many different modes.

The City of Asheville has already invested years of effort to develop thoughtful, comprehensive plans for improving multi-modal transportation in our community, including the Asheville in Motion (AIM) plan and the Asheville City 2025 Plan. NCDOT’s Division 13 should partner with the CoA Transportation Department to align designs for improvements to Merrimon Ave with these existing plans.

The current proposal does not even align with NCDOT’s own Complete Street Policy, or with NC’s Vision Zero Policy, which both call for close coordination and partnership with local government to design complete streets that optimize mobility and safety for all users including pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transit users. NCDOT Division 13 should ensure that the process it uses to develop alternatives for the Merrimon Ave corridor, as well as the details of those alternatives, align with the existing guidelines in these policies.

Finally, the current proposed design does not meet existing federal standards or align with evidence-based design guidelines from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). In particular, the proposed 2-foot bicycle lane along with a planned 40 mile per hour speed limit is a glaring failure to align with AASTHO recommendations of at least 4 feet bike lanes. Sub-standard design is a recipe for even greater safety issues for bicyclists and pedestrians.

I am disappointed and extremely concerned by the total lack of engagement with the City of Asheville, the lack of proposed alternatives, and the proposed design which leaves bicyclists effectively fending for themselves against high-speed vehicular traffic. As a bicyclist I am convinced this design will leave me and my fellow bicyclists far worse off than we are now. I encourage NCDOT Division 13 to go back to the drawing board and work closely with the CoA, local businesses, and residents, to design a Merrimon Avenue that works for us all.

Sincerely,

Emily Kujawa

Emily Kujawa, MPH, RD

Executive Director, Kujawa Consulting

The post Emily: NCDOT’s proposed plan completely misses the mark with both process and design appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Mr. Hood and Mr. Clark,

The post Aimee: Merrimon is the main commercial area that UNCA students can access by walking. Making a plan that would likely lead to student deaths is just plain wrong appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.