Hey, Hey, Busy, Busy

Here’s a quick note to mention the City Council meeting in East Asheville tomorrow night and also my imminent departure for parts unknown.

Tomorrow night (Tuesday, 8/31) at 6:30pm, the Asheville City Council will convene at Groce United Methodist Church in east Asheville for a special meeting. You’re invited. I talked about taking Council “on the road” during my campaign, so I’m thrilled to have been one of the advocates for this event. Chris Pelly is an east Asheville neighborhood leader and has been instrumental in getting this meeting scheduled.

East Asheville residents are making it abundantly clear that they want more multimodal infrastructure, particularly sidewalks. A study showed that E. AVL has only 9% of the city’s sidewalks. This is due largely to post-war construction and the love affair with the automobile, but it’s time these neighborhoods got retrofitted for better and safer pedestrian mobility. We know that all of Council is very interested in seeing more sidewalks across the city, so I’m hoping east Asheville residents will show up with their ideas about how we ought to pay for them.

A comprehensive multimodal transportation system is vital to Asheville’s health and economic development. Sidewalks, bike lanes, transit, greenways, and roadways must work together to offer maximum safety, convenience, and choice.

On another note – I’m going away for a week to celebrate my 40th birthday (it’s on September 5th). I’ll be cruising out of town on Wednesday morning and returning a week later. Thank goodness for good friends willing to house-sit and look after our two big hounds while we’re away.

More upon my return. Consider this a week-long open thread for your amusement.