Press release here:
In a rare occurrence, Asheville City Council will hold a formal city council meeting outside City Hall chambers. On August 31st, council will meet in East Asheville to address citizen concerns about pedestrian safety and lack of sidewalks. The meeting will begin at 6:30pm in Asbury Hall of Groce United Methodist Church, 954 Tunnel Rd.
At the request of East Asheville leaders, Mayor Terry Bellamy agreed to move the meeting to East Asheville to allow for more citizen participation. The purpose of the meeting is to allow residents to voice their concerns and for city staff and council members to respond.
The East Asheville Sidewalk Initiative (EASI), a collaboration of eight neighborhood associations and veterans housed at the ABCCM-sponsored Veterans Quarters in Oteen, will make a presentation highlighting dangerous routes in East Asheville. “Many of our veterans must walk the ‘goat trails’ on Tunnel Rd in order to access services at the VA Hospital,” reports Stan Vincent, staff member at the Vets Quarters. “We believe they and all residents need sidewalks on Tunnel Rd, a five-lane state highway on which drivers routinely exceed 50 mph.”
“We appreciate council’s willingness to meet with residents here,” said EASI Member and Haw Creek resident Susan Bicknell. “We feel this is a vital next step in our ‘Sidewalks for Safety’ campaign.” Earlier this year EASI organized the April 19th East Asheville Sidewalk Summit, attended by more than 100 residents. This was followed by the May 22nd Sidewalks for Safety’ walk in which about 250 residents walked two miles on Tunnel Rd between Groce Church and the Vets Quarters in Oteen.
The East Asheville Sidewalk Initiative includes representatives from Beverly Hills, Bull Mountain, The Cloisters, Chunns Cove, Haw Creek, Parkway Forest, Redwood Forest, ViewPointe and the Vets Quarters in Oteen. EASI Meets the first Tuesday of every month at 7:00pm in the East Asheville Community Center.
2 Comments
Sidewalks now!!!! Enough with wasting our money on rust art and other usless crap.
I'm guessing the Squeaky wheel in east asheville gets some fix for sidewalks . . Mean while the Generously quiet north Asheville neighborhood shares it's private park and lake, but can't get a side walk down a highly used lake shore route. . .
go figure,
not that East Asheville doesn't need sidewalks, but the council really should have a priority list and not just oil the squeaky wheel. And the person they place in charge of the sidewalk list should not be the person who got side walks on beaverdam – cause that sidewalk is NEVER used and it was at a cost of some 400,000
http://stimuluswatch.org/index.php/project/by_state/NC