May 17, 2022
70 Court Plaza 
Asheville, NC 28801 

Dear Asheville City Council, 

On behalf of Asheville on Bikes’ Board of Directors and its members (over 800 strong), I’m writing to encourage you to vote in support of the Merrimon Ave road reconfiguration.

NCDOT, Division 13, City of Asheville staff, members of the Multimodal Transportation Commission have all worked in good faith to produce a public input process that clearly defines the benefits and tradeoffs of a 4 to 3 conversion on Merrimon. The final voice for a more complete Merrimon rests with you on May 24th. This is your opportunity to lead and advance safety and dignity of our public rights of way for all people traveling by a variety of modes.

For those of you concerned about the political repercussions of supporting a safer street configuration, I direct you to the outcome of the public process where 59% of more than 4,000 respondents supported a 4 to 3 conversion on Merrimon Ave. This 59% is a historic result in support of this conversion.  

More importantly, please take a moment and listen to this public comment from Gaia to the Multimodal Transportation Commission made on 3/24/2021. Gaia’s courageous statement helped catalyze the support that  brought this vote to you. Gaia was struck by a motorist while crossing legally on Merrimon Ave and, as a result of that collision, has suffered dearly. I invite each of you to draw upon Gaia’s courage and examine the opportunity before you. Your vote either advances safety and dignity or re-commits our community to the existing conditions of carnage.

Each vote in support of the Merrimon road reconfiguration is a vote to affirm our collective commitment to public safety on our rights of way. Help lead our City in a direction where these articles become untrue: 

1. Asheville continues to lead in North Carolina in pedestrian and bicyclist collisions
2. Asheville Citizen Times, A troubling trend: Asheville ranks first in the state for pedestrian deaths per capita). 

According to NCDOT and the City of Asheville, the Merrimon data shows that:

• “ …there is approximately a 150% higher rate of crashes on Merrimon compared to other similar roadways across the State (for every 10 crashes on other similar roads, Merrimon gets 15) (City of Asheville Merrimon Ave Story Map, Crashes)
• Approximately 23% of crashes on Merrimon involve an injury and property damage estimates total more than $7 million.
• Merrimon experiences about 13 crashes every month. The chart below summarizes the corridor’s crash statistics.

(City of Asheville / NCDOT Merrimon Story Map, Crashes)

If the current design results in nearly one crash every other day and produces nearly three injuries / month, how can we allow those conditions to continue for the next 10 to 15 years?  

Advancing public safety means designing for people moving by a variety of modes and prioritizing for our most vulnerable road users. 8.3% of City residents do not own a car; the City has the obligation to provide safe and accessible infrastructure for these residents as well as motorists.  

NCDOT and City of Asheville’s analysis states, 

“a potential 29% crash reduction factor, which, if realized, could lead to approximately 50 fewer crashes and 10 fewer injuries on Merrimon every year. If applied evenly across the board, these crash reductions could reduce property damage by about $300,000 every year.” 

Considering the existing conditions and the potential return on the investment resulting from a road reconfiguration, the Merrimon Ave re-stripping is a low cost, low hanging fruit, high yield investment in public safety. The current configuration isn’t working for anyone so it’s time to apply a new approach and a more complete design. The Merrimon road reconfiguration is an initial intervention which elevates safety and dignity on our streets. 

NCDOT and the MPO are currently studying whether to make similar improvements to Biltmore Ave, McDowell St, Tunnel Rd, and Asheland Ave.  Decisions on those recommendations should be coming to you within a year. These future opportunities to improve safety on our streets will be in jeopardy should you hesitate now to make this commitment on Merrimon Ave.  

There are lessons to be learned from the Charlotte Street road diet that apply to your vote. The Charlotte Street project was kicked around for 20 years before a road diet treatment was finally approved by council over the concerns and objections of some residents who loudly objected. Like Merrimon, sidewalk improvements were outside the scope of the project but the road diet and new bike lanes have increased pedestrian use.  As a result of the success and the calmer conditions, the City of Asheville and  NCDOT are expanding sidewalks on Charlotte Street to I-240. When the City leads, NCDOT follows. We need your leadership now. 

While the road diet is often framed as controversial, the public support is strong and well informed; citizens desire safer streets and more mobility options. Charlotte Street, Wilma Dykeman Greenway, Coxe Avenue all endured moments – often months or years of moments – of controversy before being supported by City Council. Each one of those projects has been a success, and Merrimon will be too.  On behalf of Asheville on Bikes, I urge you to vote in favor of safer streets and approve the Merrimon Ave road reconfiguration. 

Respectfully, 

Mike Sule

Executive Director, Asheville on Bikes 

enc: AoB Research Addendum For City Council

The post AoB Open Letter Urging City Council To Vote In Favor of 4-3 Conversion For Merrimon appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Asheville on Bikes (AoB) is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to cultivate the culture of urban and commuter bicycle riding through advocacy, education, and celebration. More than 25,000 people have participated in our group rides, hundreds of middle school children have learned to ride through our youth cycling program, and our active membership includes more than 800 residents of Buncombe, Haywood, and Henderson counties. Our after school bicycle program at Asheville Middle School is the only bicycle education program in the state of North Carolina that has run continuously for the last 10 years. In 2020, we won a major national award when we were named Bicycle Advocacy Organization of the Year by the League of American Bicyclists.  We are active advocates for multi-modal projects, complete streets, and bicycle or pedestrian infrastructure.

ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF SELECT 4-3 CONVERSION PROJECTS

PLANNING DOCUMENTS THAT SUPPORT THIS PROJECT

Click here to see on one page the 23 planning documents that agree with, call for, or support a 4-3 conversion with bike lanes for Merrimon (pdf).

MYTHS ABOUT THIS PROJECT

LIST OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIED OR BEEN DISABLED IN COLLISIONS ON SIMILAR ROADS IN OUR AREA

These are news stories about a few of the many preventable fatalities and injuries occurring on roads in our region. In the current 4 lane configuration you are 150% more likely to be involved in a collision on Merrimon when compared to the NCDOT database of North Carolina roads of similar size.

• Yvonne Lewis, 67, Struck and Killed on Merrimon, WLOS 2015
• Jared Anthony Leyva in critical condition after hit and run Hendersonville Rd, 2016
• Alexander Bautista-Gomez, 10, and Milena Alejandro-Bautista, 5, Killed Crossing Fairview Rd 2016
• Emmanuel Garcia, 22, struck on Hendersonville Rd 2022
• Edward Jamal Chalk 4 Killed on Hendersonville Rd 2016
• Shannon Chisholm forges new life in wheelchair, Hendersonville Rd, 2015
• Jeremy Johnson killed riding a bike home from work, Tunnel Rd, 2008
• NCDOT studies Hendersonville’s streets, thanks to high share of pedestrian injuries

You might also enjoy reading:

• Our Merrimon 4-3 Reconfiguration Resource Page tracking all things about this project
• Asheville on Bikes authors a separate study of proposed road diet for Merrimon 33 page pdf

Related content:

• Letter to City Council for May 24th vote, which cited this research addendum

The post Merrimon 4-3 Reconfiguration Research Addendum appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

AoB endorses the proposed 4 – 3 conversion and encourages you to take the survey and show your support.

Take the survey:

The Merrimon survey is here. It is open until March 22nd.

Follow AoB’s survey guidance to maximize your support.

The City also has an explanation of the project here: https://publicinput.com/Merrimon-Asheville and a map that allows you to see traffic and collision data for the corridor. That Storymap is here.

If you are looking for our 33 page study of the proposal, that’s here. And our up-to-date resource page tracking the proposal is here.

Question 1:

Answer based on when you use Merrimon:

Question 2: 

Before answering this question, consider how often you cross over Merrimon on your bicycle or by walking. If you primarily bike within Asheville, and cross over Merrimon, then you are one of the primary bicycle users who ride on Merrimon. If you can, use this opportunity to demonstrate that people on bikes and walking do, indeed, use this street.  

Question 3: 

Make sure that “I visit shops, businesses, and / or dining establishments on Merrimon” is included in one of your top three answers. It’s important that decision makers understand Merrimon as a robust commercial zone that connects people to goods and services. One of the main benefits of this conversion is to improve the connections between local residents and businesses on the corridor.

Question 4:

Be sure to rank “Safety,” as the most important consideration and then rank “Other” as the second most important consideration. Often bicycle and pedestrian facilities aren’t included in NCDOT priorities and they have been left off this list entirely, so it’s up to you to make the extra step to include them as “Other.” Put “Speed” in last place as the least important consideration.

Question 5:

Zero bicycle facilities and unpredictable traffic movements make Merrimon an inhospitable place for people on bikes. Slide to “Unsafe.”

Question 6:

Independent of any timing or bus line problems, bus riders are harmed by the lacks of adequate or ADA compliant sidewalks, since all transit users are sidewalk users. Additionally, some of the bus stop locations encourage people to wait inches from traffic or to sprint across the roadway to reach the correct bus stop for the bus they need to take. Slide all the way to “Unsafe.”

Question 7: Cars.

The City of Asheville’s Story Board states, “Over the last 10 years, this 2.5 mile section of Merrimon has seen more than the expected number of roadway crashes. Data shows that there is approximately a 150% higher rate of crashes on Merrimon compared to other similar roadways across the State (for every 10 crashes on other similar roads, Merrimon gets 15)…Approximately 23% of crashes on Merrimon involve an injury and property damage estimates total more than $7 million.” You can listen to a first hand account of one of these collisions here.

Slide it all the way to unsafe.

Question 8. Sidewalks.

The existing sidewalks are incomplete, inadequate, and far from ADA compliant. Although sidewalk improvements are outside the scope of this road reconfiguration project, it’s important to document how dangerous and unreliable the active transportation facilities are. Slide all the way to “Unsafe.”

Question 9. Top three challenges?

The top three challenges to using Merrimon Ave are: 1) Vehicles making left turns block the travel lane, 2) There are no bike lanes, 3) Sidewalks are in poor conditions and/or difficult to use. 

Question 10 & 11. Would you accept greater rush hour travel time?

The following questions are questions of values. This is really the crux of the decision to move forward with a road reconfiguration. NCDOT’s analysis claims that travel times could be increased during peak times, between 1 min to 2 min. Are you willing to spend more time on Merrimon for a 29% decrease in collisions? Essentially, are you for a safer street or a collision prone street?

1 to 2 minutes during peak times is an acceptable trade off for a 29% reduction in collisions. Can you imagine an airline company asking customers, “Do you value a faster plane or a safer plane?” Faster travel times should not be an important design goal on a road as dangerous as Merrimon.

Question 12. Would you change your commute?

It’s easy to forget that there are other North-South connections and that some people can change their commuter times – not all, but some. Also, according to NCDOT’s analysis, traffic volumes on Merrimon haven’t changed significantly for 20 years and stay in a range of about 20,000 cars/day.

Choose “Yes” and indicate which type of change you would consider if you knew that your route was congested.

Use “other” to draw attention to the significant growth in remote work, a change that increasingly looks permanent for a large portion of the U.S. workforce.

Question 13. How likely are you to change modes?

This question is about mode share. This is important because NCDOT’s traffic models do not account well for mode share changes over time. Traffic projections, wait times, and estimates of queuing at lights along Merrimon all assume that people will drive because that’s what we have done in the past. If Merrimon changed to 3 lanes, had a slower, calmer traffic pattern, was easier to cross as a pedestrian, and had a bike lane, what other modes would you consider using?

Question 14. What other transportation improvements?

Generally, AoB discourages copy and paste answers but this time it’s just too important to miss the opportunity to encourage NCDOT to explore and consider signalization changes along the corridor. Oftentimes, simple adjustments in traffic signals maximizes the efficiency of a corridor. We need to remind NCDOT that signalization upgrades are an option. Similarly, if the road diet works north of W.T. Weaver, it is also likely to work north of Chestnut. Ask them to expand the portion of the road included in the 4-3 conversion.

Copy and paste this statement into the survey: 
The 4 to 3 conversion should be expanded and begin at the intersection of Chestnut and Merrimon. Install loop detectors on all lanes at all intersections so motorists don’t wait for unneeded light cycles. Install loop detectors and push button detectors for bicyclists facing bike lanes to optimize traffic flow. Follow AASHTO’s “Guide for the Planning, Design, and Operation of Pedestrian Facilities” which says “Pedestrians must be able to cross streets and highways at regular intervals. Unlike motor vehicles, pedestrians cannot be expected to go a quarter mile or more out of their way to take advantage of a controlled intersection” (30).

Question 15 and 16. Help or hurt businesses?

The research overwhelmingly supports that when active transportation access improves, there is a positive economic impact on the corridor.

This is an excellent opportunity to cite NCDOT’s past work so that our local engineers may be informed by their own agency’s case studies regarding Complete Street treatments and road re-configurations. There are several examples of 4 to 3 conversions throughout NC that improved safety, improved multimodal access, and result in positive economic impacts along the improved corridors.

If you want to point to another 4-3 conversion that works, copy and paste any of the following:

• The West Morehead Streetscape Project in Charlotte, NC is listed as a 3 lane conversion on NCDOT’s Complete Streets website. It states, “Complete Streets features have been key to revitalizing this commercial corridor. Now, after the Streetscape Project, West Morehead serves as a gateway into the City. The project improved the quality of life for pedestrians, and economic development has boomed as well.” – Project Manager Leslie Bing
• East Boulevard Road Diet Project in Charlotte, NC saw crashes decrease and tax revenues increase. “Overall, crashes decreased in both sections, from 2.64 to 1.67 crashes per month in Phase 1 and 1.97 to 1.86 crashes per month in Phase 2. Improvements in safety have gone hand-in-hand with a 47% increase in non-residential property values in the Phase 2 section, which raised annual tax revenues by $530,000.”
• Hillsborough Street in Raliegh, NC installed a 4-3 conversion on a traffic volume of 26,000 cars per day. It worked and private investment in the corridor went up from $150m to $200m after the project. “Revitalizing the community was more important than the street improvements,” he says. “The street just became the focal point of how to get it done.” Collisions decreased by 23% after the install while also revitalizing the community.

If you want to tell your own story, tell a story of how your travel patterns on the future corridor can make existing businesses more money while we all experience the safety benefits of this change. For example:

• I look forward to walking from my house in Norwood Park to Zen Sushi and The Hop.
• I’m tired of white knuckled driving with my head on a swivel every time need to go to the drug store. I know Merrimon is dangerous and I want it to be safer – even for cars.
• I look forward to riding to ACE Hardware on my e-bike to pick up a few screws for my next project
• My daughter wants to ride her bike to the comic book shop but I won’t let her. Maybe I will if this conversion happens.
• I’m tired of running for my life when I park across the street from Vinnie’s Italian. I shouldn’t have to risk my life to eat Italian food.
• I rarely walk to any business on the other side of Merrimon from my neighborhood – it’s like those businesses are missing half their customers now, the ones from the other side!
• I want to take my kids to school at Ira B. Jones on an electric cargo bike (skip the car line!) but I cannot get their safely on any direct route, since I live on the west side of Merrimon.

Question 17: Support the 4-3 conversion?

Question 18: Widen Side Streets?

We don’t think these changes should be planned in advance, without demonstrated need, for each of these intersections. You should select “No.” The issue highlighted here is that if each intersection on Merrimon is cycling through a new left turn cycle, made possible by the new center turn lane, then each intersection would take longer to cycle through all phases than it does today, allowing a longer line of cars to arrive and line up on side streets, facing the intersection. It is important for NCDOT to make sure signalization is tuned after installation of the project and to install loop detectors on all lanes at each intersection for the same reason, to minimize wait times.

The post Merrimon 4-3 Conversion Public Comment Guidance 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.

Hello Kim,

I was unable to attend the public meeting last Monday but do want to comment on this project.  I have a number of concerns about this project.  First, it does not seem to be taking pedestrians and bicyclists into consideration with the proposed changes. There are many people walking this corridor and there are many present challenges for their safety.  There are sections where sidewalk ends and leaves no place for the pedestrian to continue walking, there are locations where trying to cross the street is difficult now and by adding a turn lane will make the roadway wider and increase the time for people to get across the street.  There are sections when turning traffic and pedestrians are moving at the same time and motorists do not yield to them.  Second, although I am a seasoned bicyclist I avoid riding this section of road because there is no room for bicyclists on the roadway and there are so many vehicles that are vying for space and with the preoccupation of cell phones and other things motorists are not looking for bicyclists.  It would be much safer for those on the sidewalks and for those who need to bike to locations on this roadway if a turn lane was put in by reducing the number of motor vehicle lanes and adding bike lanes on each direction.  This would give a buffer to the pedestrians and a place for the bicyclists to travel.  Fourth, I travel this road many times in my motor vehicle and I understand the issue with motorists having difficult traveling along this road, however I feel that congestion is not always a negative factor.  There are times when this roadway is free moving and I fear that adding additional lanes will increase the speed that motorists travel.  On Hendersonville Road, which I travel daily we find motorists traveling 50-60 mph.  This is a deadly travel speed if a motorists hits a pedestrian.  Merrimon Avenue maybe a numbered state roadway but it is also a local collector street; increasing the speed of motor vehicles does not need to be achieved.  Continual flow is more important than increasing speed.  Completing the sidewalk connections is the most important need of this roadway and I applaud the willingness to do this.  Fifth, there is a very important crossing of a local greenway at WT Weaver Blvd.  This is a difficult crossing for pedestrians and bicyclists because the crossing light is green for them at the same time the left turn light is green for motorists turning from Weaver onto Merrimon.  This intersection needs correction.  Also, the side walk is very narrow and there is a 3″ drop-off on the far side (the Luella’s side).  This can be difficult for bicyclists to negotiate when trying to continue on the greenway.  Widening the side walk would help with this problem.

I believe these suggestions are very important to make our community bicycle and pedestrian friendly.  The city has been recognized as a bronze level bicycle friendly community and silver level as a pedestrian friendly community.  We are trying to improve these classifications and I feel these suggestions would help us with these efforts.  The NCDOT proposed changes would hinder these efforts.  I hope you will take this information all into consideration and incorporate them into the DOT plan rather than continue as is.

I appreciate the opportunity to comment on this project.

Sincerely,

Claudia Nix

Co-owner Liberty Bicycles, Inc.

The post Claudia: Although I am a seasoned bicyclist I avoid riding this section of road because there is no room for bicyclists on the roadway appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

The post Mary: I support instead, a three lane, two lanes plus turning lane, design appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Hello. I was unable to attend the meeting about the potential widening to five lanes parts of Merrimon Ave. This has come up just as I AM THINKING WE SHOULD LOWER THE SPEED LIMIT on this stretch. We moved to North Asheville from South Asheville to avoid that big city feel – all the pavement and higher traffic speeds. I am sure that You know that turning a road into FIVE lanes, with NO MEDIAN, is going to add speed. Why do we need speed – I travel this way almost daily and have never once experienced a backup like happens all the time on Hendersonville Rd. Nobody has to travel that short 1-2 miles any faster than they already do.

Plenty of drivers already feel unsafe with the speed on Merrimon Ave.. The drivers who switch lanes and try to get ahead that way frequently do not. They just make the road more unsafe for all of us. I suggest you make one lane in each direction with a turning lane and wider sidewalks (with green space between them and the road would be best)….. It is a very short stretch of road with numerous parking lots with vehicles pulling out – cars going faster would certainly create a monster of a situation. If drivers don’t like the speed of Merrimon Ave, let them go over to 19-23.

I purchased a battery assist bike with two big bike bags several years ago when living in Biltmore Forest. There is almost NOWHERE to bike safely in the city. There is just NO excuse for this. There are so many Asheville residents who are just raring to bike but street safety stands in our way. Spend the money on making biking, like in other countries, a safe way to travel downtown. Wouldn’t it be nice to see families biking downtown – safely!??! I would absolutely LOVE for that to happen. We can do it, with the right direction!

Many years back, I heard a DOT representative speak to a concerned crowd about the widening of Long Shoals Road. He was actually trying to educate residents and businesses about how much safer it would be to add a green median to Long Shoals Road instead of a turn lane that would make the road five lane. But, outspoken businesses said it would hurt them and the one biker was looking pretty lonely up there… I wish I would have spoken up…….. Many folks now wish they would have spoken up to agree to a green median. We MUST work harder to keep the Asheville feeling and character alive. Please!

Thanks. Mary Johnson

The post Mary: We moved to North Asheville from South Asheville to avoid that big city feel – all the pavement and higher traffic speeds appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

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The post Bruce: The proposed widening of Merrimon Avenue will be very disruptive, and would not improve conditions for all users of the corridor appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.