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.

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As a resident of North Asheville who lives less than 1 block off Merimon Avenue and just north of the Edgewood Rd. intersection, I am asking that NCDOT consider additional alternatives for the Merrimon Avenue widening project.

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I’m writing to make an official comment on the proposed changes on Merrimon Ave in Asheville. I work several times a week in the North Asheville Rec Center, a block away from Merrimon on East Larchmont Road. I feel that these changes would negatively impact my life and the others who use the North Asheville Rec Center.

We have two teen groups that meet here every week. The kids walk on Merrimon to get lunch. It’s already hard to cross. This will make it much worse.  We have several volunteers who ride their bikes to our space. A 2′ wide bike lane is a joke!

These changes are not designed for people, only for cars. I think they will not only endanger pedestrians and cyclists but also hurt local businesses. It will be harder to pull in and out of parking lots at places like Luellas, Yolo, and Jus Running. This is not a highway, this is a city street. Future plans should be slowing down the traffic, making it better for walkers and bikes, not speeding it up.

Please scrap this plan and come up with something that is appropriate for humans.

Jennifer Murphy
Asheville 28806

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First off, thanks for taking the time to read my concerns regarding the proposed alterations to Merrimon Ave in Asheville, NC.  We appreciate that your time is valuable, and I hope that you value input from the citizens of Asheville/Buncombe County.  With the rapid growth in the city of Asheville, we want what is best for not only the current citizens of Asheville, but we also want to think of future citizens as well.  As the father of 10 month old twins, I want my girls to grow up in a place where they can be pedestrians and cyclists.  And I want them to feel safe being either.  Please consider revising your plans for Merrimon Avenue.  In Asheville, we’d love to see more complete streets being built to support our cycling and pedestrian community.  These streets allow for an alleviation of the current traffic woes, while also allowing safe passage for cyclists and pedestrians. The City of Asheville has spent time and money working on designs for Merrimon avenue.  All of which conflict with your proposed design.  The City of Asheville Comprehensive Bike plan, which was reviewed and endorsed by the NCDOT, identified needs for Merrimon.  All of these needs seem to be ignored in your proposed changes.  As well, the proposed changes include a 2 foot shared bicycle lane on a road with a 40 mph design.  This does not conform to the AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) guidelines pertaining to active transportation standards.  We have other streets in Asheville that were built very similar to this proposal.  They don’t allow for pedestrian/cyclist safety.  We don’t want to repeat mistakes on Merrimon Avenue.  Please consider what I’m saying.  Thanks again for your time.

Wes Gibson

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The NC DOT’s role as steward of transportation infrastructure gives it the responsibility to plan, fund, and design “complete street networks that sustain mobility while accommodating walking, biking, and transit opportunities safely.”

However, the current plans for Merrimon Ave are car-centric, short-sighted, environmentally reckless, and uninspired.

They’re also bad for business, both local and tourism. As you may already know, there’s a compelling body of research that shows bike lanes are good for business. They also create a clear way for cars, bikes and pedestrians to interact, which dramatically reduces accidents and conflict.

I would challenge you to study this area as a major growth sector in the city and consider how it can be safer, more environmentally friendly, and even more profitable with the addition of more amenities for bikes and pedestrians.

Thank you,
Georgeanna

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Dear official,

It is very important to keep the historic streets the way they are. The old trees and local environment have taken decades to establish. This is irreplaceable. Wider faster roads kill the life of a neighborhood area. We saw this happen to Caldwell St. in Brevard, nc. Thankfully they saved the the old trees although the beauty of the street is all but gone.

It’s easy to see how traffic data suggest that these projects are needed. It’s also easy to see HNTB needs jobs to stay in business, as we all do. Big business needs to start appreciating the small towns they impact. We are more than dollars and a project. We live here. Please consider beauty and history of this old throughway.

Faster traffic means less stops to local businesses funneling it to larger box stores outside of city limits where taxes are lost. I’ve seen study’s. My step father is an architect and a planner. New urban studies show that wider faster sprawl diminishes returns for the city. Diluting neighborhood culture. Cutting people off from their once walkable neighborhoods.

Please reconsider project. There are other solutions for Merrimon that benefit the community as a whole.

Thank you for your time,

Nicholas H

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TIP No. U-5781 & U-5782

“Intersection Improvements on US 25 (Merrimon Avenue) at Edgewood Road and WT Weaver Boulevard”

I attended the public meeting on January 8 with a long list of questions, few if any of which were satisfactorily answered. I saw very little that I deemed would “enhance safety.”  The only possible change I see as an improvement—and this was only on verbal assurance, not from the maps and other materials provided—is that sidewalks are to be extended where they are currently lacking.

It seems to me that an important way to reduce congestion on Merrimon Avenue is to make it convenient and safe for people who live and work nearby to get about on foot, by bicycle, or using public transit. Instead, NCDOT has ignored decades of planning and information-gathering by the City of Asheville (sanctioned and funded by NCDOT) to develop a plan that favors motorized, high-speed through traffic over other modalities. On information and belief, NCDOT did not even obtain Level of Service data except for motorized vehicles. It ignored principles of NC’s Zero Vision and Complete Streets policies as well as recommendations of City of Asheville including Asheville In Motion and Asheville City 2025 Plan. Guidelines of the  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), supposedly incorporated into NCDOT bicycle policy, and NCGS 20-150, were also ignored.

At the meeting, I was told that bicycles, far from having a bike lane or even a climbing lane, were to be “accommodated” by an extra two feet in the travel  lane, for a total width of 13’ for that lane. My comment that this was totally inadequate was met with a shrug and a statement that “we’re trying to take bikes into account.” My bicycle handlebars alone are wider than two feet, and the guidelines mentioned above suggest that 4 feet, not two, is a minimum safe width (not counting gutter). AASHTO guidelines suggest that lane widths of 14 feet or greater allow cars to pass cyclists without encroaching into adjacent lanes.

I commute to work by bicycle from our home near UNCA to West Asheville (Covington Street) and feel  generally safe, as I am on city streets where the City of Asheville has provided bike-friendly infrastructure such as bike lanes (Haywood and Hilliard), climbing lanes (Clingman), and “traffic calming.” To get by bike to businesses on Merrimon, I  make significant detours on adjacent side streets to minimize my travel time on Merrimon, which I view as extremely hazardous.

My family lives off Mount Clare—the intersection where an ART passenger disembarking from the bus was struck and killed by a car is just blocks from our house. Residents had been trying for decades to get a traffic light at that intersection, by the way. The Merrimon corridor in this project  is used by many types of pedestrians: UNCA students, people (including families with children) going to and from Weaver Park and the greenway, transit users, and customers of the many businesses on Merrimon Avenue.   Most sidewalks have no, or very little, buffer from the car traffic speeding by and often exceeding the current 35 mph speed limit. NCDOT’s plan, which will make the road wider and straighter (thus encouraging higher vehicle speeds), and which is designed for a 40 mph speed limit, only increases the danger to pedestrians and cyclists.

I did not receive a satisfactory answer when I asked how a central turn lane—often called a “suicide lane”—was going to decrease congestion or increase safety for anybody, including drivers. The high number of adjacent business on Merrimon means that northbound and southbound traffic trying to turn left from that central lane will often come into conflict.  My question as to the feasibility of dedicated left-turn-only lanes at designated intersections, with traffic lights and travel lanes (here I am picturing the Merrimon  intersection across from Chick-Fil-A, which seems to work fine) was basically brushed aside. I get the impression that NCDOT is already invested in this one design and does not really welcome public input.

I also question the short timeline, lack of alternatives,  and cost of the project, and its disruption of local businesses and neighborhoods. NCDOT should take into account the extensive research and planning already done by City of Asheville, and work closely with the city. Many improvements could be done incrementally with less disruption.

Michele Newton Dohse

The post Michele: An important way to reduce congestion on Merrimon Avenue is to make it convenient and safe for people who live and work nearby to get about on foot, by bicycle, or using public transit appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

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