Jul
08
All Ears #24
ByIn an effort to create ease of access to government, I’m opening this thread for all of your Asheville concerns. Thoughts about height limits, design guidelines, or the historical context of neighborhood density? Leave them here. Got a problem with your trash pickup or your brush collection? Tell me about it. Want to laud the incredible work of a city employee? Now’s your chance.
17 Comments
July 8th, 2010 at 11:49 am
The Kenilworth playground basketball courts need new nets.
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July 8th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
While I know that sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression are neither federally nor state protected categories, I was wondering if any council members had considered or suggested amending the City’s Employment Non-Discrimination Policy to include these categories.
I just downloaded a city job application (to see what the current policy is) and it reads: “The City of Asheville prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, age or disability.”
All of the above is very well and good, but I wondered if the City had considered amending the policy to include a few more non-discrimination categories, especially in light of the recent vote to offer benefits to same-sex domestic partners of city employees.
I know that UNCA includes sexual orientation as part of its Non-Discrimination/Equal Opportunity Clause, though I personally would encourage City Council to include both gender identity and expression in addition to sexual orientation.
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July 9th, 2010 at 9:02 am
Brush collection? What’s that?
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July 9th, 2010 at 9:12 am
Brush = Yard waste/debris
I think the collection schedule for yard waste has been scaled back recently in the city.
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July 12th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
Silly public, after the vote on July 27th we will finally get to build whatever we want, wherever we want without the silly public input. We all know that Asheville will only be great when we can build more and much larger structures so we can be like Atlanta and New York. Good thing this City Council knows that bigger is better and only by building to overshadow all this stupid existing architecture and neighborhood infrastructure will we survive. Hooray for City Council passing the “right to build bigger” act or whatever it is called on July 27th. It will go in place fast since no one else really knows what it is or that it is coming. Build it big enough to tip the earth, screw this “neighborhood character” defense. Build them 100 stories or more, ANYWHERE and screw the NIMBY’s! Put workforce housing on EVERY block and make this city really great, they cannot stop this! We will develope every square inch of this city and make it affordable for EVERYONE !
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July 13th, 2010 at 12:05 am
The Planning and Zoning Committee will meet on July 22nd at 4pm at City Hall to consider alteration in the UDO to allow for increased density on corridors and in neighborhoods.
Please attend and offer your input!
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July 13th, 2010 at 2:16 am
The walk button that allows somebody to ‘safely’ walk safely from the Indigo Hotel across the I 240 exit/entrance lanes toward the Balisica was hit by some vehicle a year or more ago and not replaced. Makes me detour to the Grove Arcade… Is this a secret anarchist conspiracy?
I like the new signs around town (even though a few are peeling).
In my opinion, the Indigo Hotel is an example of appropriate maximum size and scale for new development in Asheville. It’s as well-done as I can expect for new infill development.
Best events in Asheville:
1. The Drum Circle make downtown Asheville come alive on Friday nights… I don’t push the stroller from lower Montford just for the drum circle, but instead for the lively busking that comes out for the drum circle crowd — particularly the puppeteer buskers that my daughter loves so much and other performance artists.
2. LAAFF is what I wish Belle Chere would become… all local. (Kitty Love deserves a key to the city. Thank you, Ms. Kitty, for being so awesome and inspiring something better in the rest of us.)
If the Asheville Film Festival stands aside as other Film Festivals step forward, then it has done it’s job as a proof of concept.
My 2 cents.
All the best,
Pepi
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July 18th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Gordon – thanks for offering this forum!
My biggest concern with the low income housing in North Asheville behind the Post Office is the increased traffic on Merrimon and subsequently the increase in traffic volume on Kimberly, which North Ashevillians wish to remain a residential road as much as humanly possible. I am guilty of choosing Kimberly as a thoroughfare to avoid the nightmare on Merrimon around lunchtime and 5pm-6pm. Understanding the constraints around widening Merrimon to include a turn lane, has the city considered installing left-turn light signals similar to the one on Charlotte Street at the intersection with Chestnut? The road remains a 4 lane road, but those awaiting to turn left have a chance at the end or start of a light cycle, where the left-turn signal allows those “stuck” to legally make their turn without trying to roar through yellow lights or getting “stuck” for another cycle, increasing the frustration of all other vehicles “stuck” behind. An additional hazard of this scenario is all the cars behind that “stuck” car moving into the right lane to get around, possibly as a car from the opposite direction is turning left during the opening. I’ve seen about 3 near misses in the last week alone with that specific scenario, both at the intersection with Merrimon and Hillside (Claxton) and Merrimon and the CVS.
I’m sure I’m not the first or only person to wonder about this option, which seems to fit within the reality of the constraints of Merrimon Avenue and the reality of growth in North Asheville. Please advise!
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July 18th, 2010 at 10:49 am
Good idea about the left-turn arrows. They might be a (relatively) cheap and quick way to smooth things out at Edgewood and Merrimon. Really backs up at lunch and rush hour.
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July 19th, 2010 at 8:02 am
I wrote this same question to Esther and Cecil (I didn’t happen to have Gordon’s email address handy) and got a good response from Esther. Here is an excerpt: “Merrimon is tricky because it’s actually a highway and therefore controlled by the state department of transportation rather than the city. Charlotte street, for example, College, Weaver, etc. are all controlled by the city and so great ideas like round-abouts can be installed. That’s not to say Merrimon is a lost cause. In fact, a round-about is being installed north of the lake on Merrimon.” She copied a couple folks and asked them the status of Merrimon and how to approach the state about the idea of the turn lights.
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July 19th, 2010 at 8:23 am
Julie,
Esther is exactly right (though that roundabout isn’t a done deal just yet). The Planning and Economic Development Committee, which consists of me, Esther, and Jan Davis, will be examining Merrimon corridor issues at our August meeting, and I hope to have some substantive ideas for you in the near future.
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July 19th, 2010 at 10:44 am
Here’s my suggestions, wildest dreams, etc.
Add a trolley line (one of the free ones, like other cities have.)
DASH
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston_Area_Regional_Transportation_Authority
The Downtown Area Shuttle (or DASH) service connects visitors to many key destinations throughout the downtown Charleston area. CARTA’s DASH service operates trolley-replica buses on four main routes to get passengers around downtown.
* Route 210 – Aquarium/College of Charleston
* Route 211 – Meeting/King
* Route 212 – Market/Waterfront
* Route 213 – Lockwood/Calhoun
Passengers on the DASH service take “cable car-style” trolleys throughout downtown Charleston.
A trolley ride on any DASH route is $2.00 per trip. A full day pass can be purchased for $4 and three day passes is $9. Passes can be purchased at the Visitor’s Center or on any CARTA DASH trolley. Click the specific route above for more information on stops and times.
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July 19th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Dixiegirlz,
I love this suggestion. I’ll pass the link along.
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July 19th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
I second Dixie’s suggestion. The Charleston shuttle service is inexpensive, covers the most important and frequented areas, and perhaps most important is the attractive appearance of the vehicles and the fact that ALL kinds of people use the service (working folks, tourists, town residents who don’t want to hassle with parking,etc.).
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July 19th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
Oh, lord, I just now saw the post about the North Merrimon “round about.” I don’t know how most people feel about these little, tight round-abouts that Asheville insists on putting in but I find them inconvenient and annoying. I truly hope that the idea of putting one in at the Newbridge traffic light (Reese’s tires) gets voted down. The traffic light is there, it works, it controls traffic, it does not interfere with the businesses at that intersection. What more could you want?
While I’m complaining – if the speed limit on Merrimon Ave. was observed and enforced, driving Merrimon would be less anxiety-inducing.
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July 19th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
A shuttle would address a few ongoing problems. No need for additional parking lots, less use of fuel…..less traffic going to and fro on all the major thoroughfares that I’d envision a shuttle route (Merrimon, Broadway, Montford, Biltmore Ave, Patton, and Tunnel Rd.)
I don’t know why, but I never consider taking the bus into town…but a frequently running shuttle, that I can get on and off of would be very appealing. I live off Merrimon and it’s not a bad walk to that major thoroughfare….it’s even be healthy for me. I’d like to be able to go from Whole Food, up to Fresh Market and back without too long a wait at either stop.
When I lived in New Orleans I used the St. Charles streetcar for years, and got around the whole area from Riverbend/ Carrollton, to the CBD into the French Quarter very easily and efficiently (without a car). The streetcar ran very frequently and is a well loved fixture. While we in Asheville no longer have the tracks, a period looking open air (when the weathers is moderate) would be used by the cross section Big Ivy mentioned.
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July 20th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Here’s an idea: Lets close Merrimon Ave. from one end to the other and build it full of skyscrapers. We could make these buildings all affordable housing and give them to wealthy developers by raffle. Now City Council could hire a consulting firm from New York or London to conduct the “raffles” while they vacation in Hawaii or have important meetings in the Carribean. They can just raise the property taxes triple or so to pay for the consultants. They could hire other consultants to study the best way for rich developers to hold this for profit/non profit bonanza in limited liability corporations (probably some federal grants and tax credits to pay for that). Solves all sorts of problems like cheap housing, traffic, etc. all at once. Of course the easiest thing for Ester would be to vote for it, but we know how she thinks things through.
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