Asheville City Councilman Gordon Smith at the closed pedestrian bridge over Interstate 240 near the downtown side of the Smoky Park Bridge.
There’s no need for the pedestrian bridge spanning Interstate 240 near the Smoky Park Bridge to be gated and locked. Especially not when people are dying.
I took a look around the bridge with Asheville City Councilman Gordon Smith and activist Bill Rhodes on Friday, two days after a 25-year-old man was struck by a car and killed while trying to cross the interstate in the same area where the pedestrian bridge spans the highway. It’s an eye-opening tour.
We started beneath the downtown side of the Smoky Park Bridge. We walked up a steep, rocky trail worn by walkers beside the concrete bridge on the Hillcrest Apartments side of the interstate. Once we got to the level of the road, we climbed stairs to the pedestrian bridge. We were greeted by a black-and-white “Bridge Closed” sign.
We retraced our steps back down the side of the Smoky Park Bridge and beneath it to the other side, where we found a decent concrete stairway up to the road level. There, we found a sidewalk alongside the highway. It led to downtown, but it was so covered with underbrush that it was hard to maneuver. We turned and walked up to the other side of the pedestrian bridge and again found bars.
Smith has said his first instinct is to encourage Asheville City Council to ask the state Department of Transportation to reopen the walkway. I have to agree. City Council asked DOT to close the bridge 16 years ago, citing Hillcrest residents’ concerns about the need to close off an escape route for criminals working the public housing complex. The discussion came to a head after people were killed while trying to cross the interstate.
There’s no need to keep Hillcrest cut off from the rest of the world any more than it already is. Surrounded by a tangle of interstate highway, there’s only one way to drive in and out of the complex, and if police want to go after somebody there, they can just station a couple of officers at the back, where the pedestrian bridge connects.
If folks don’t want the pedestrian bridge re-opened, then maintain the stairway and sidewalk that’s in place, and build a stairway along the side of the Smoky Park Bridge closest to Hillcrest so that people on foot can walk under.
If you, or someone you know, has been in an accident or killed while trying to cross the interstate, or any road. Then it’s important that you seek legal counsel at your earliest possible convenience. If you, or a loved one, have been injured through no fault of your own, then you may be entitled to compensation. Legal experts such as this Pedestrian Accident Law Firm GJEL, will be able to advise you based on your unique situation and circumstances.
There’s no need for people to die trying to cross the interstate.
18 Comments
I know this is a bit late, but I just found this article because I live off of S. French Broad and need to get to Eblen Charities, which serves impoverished people like myself. However, Eblen Charities is located on Regent Park Blvd. According to my map, the only way to get there is directly from Patton, just west of the I-240/I-26 interchange.
So this organization that serves poor people is in a location that is only accessible by motorized vehicle. I can't afford the bus but I do have a bike and two feet. Why is it that the powers that be have made life so incredibly difficult for those of us living in poverty.
whether or not Gordos’ wife knows he’s in the closet is a separate "issue"…
To Speckled Hen: Those signs were purchased by the CVB, not the City of Asheville. Whether or not they spent too much is a separate issue.
Feces of trA$hville…
http://ashevillezlink.wordpress.com
that’s great news Cecil… Ash, any chance to get this some press?
since I am an "activist" and all now
Asheville Z-Link will clear the sidewalk to Patton on Saturday, June 26. (Or, clear as much as volunteers are able to achieve.) 8:30 a.m.start time. Come on out and volunteer an hour or so of your weekend to reopen that pedestrian link.
Check out the Z-Link Web site for more info.
Look, why can’t a man wear something on his head besides the same "approved" boring ball cap that every other shmoe has on without being subject to ridicule? There’s a wide array of headgear out there, but, just like every other facet of socially acceptable male paradigms, we’re limited to the same narrow choices in everything from business suits to swimming suits, thanks NOT to some oppressive matriarchy, but rather our OWN collective pool of narrow-minded fellow males who try to keep their own kind stifled due to some illusory macho bullshit rules they collectively pull out of their um, hats.
OR SHOULD THAT BE A$$ville? Pretentious $hitheads Galore!
"Not as great as the Councilman’s hat," – it’s sooo Asheville….
I agree that this is about people being able to access Hillcrest safely, but it also has to do with other adjacent neighborhoods and businesses. The River District and the residential area between it and Patton Ave / 240 are much different places from what they were 16 years ago. So is Westgate for that matter. Besides, I want to be able to access the walkway on the Smokey Park Bridge when I’m out running. Those views have to be great. Not as great as the Councilman’s hat, but pretty good.
My humblest apology Sean. I overlooked that.
Actually Russa, if you reread my post, I suggested that the residents of Hillcrest be asked their opinion on the matter.
@Sean,
So the people of Hillcrest requested that it be closed 16 years ago, and what about the people that live there now? Perhaps people would not like to risk death to get downtown anymore because of past deaths. Perhaps the people who live there should be asked what THEY think?
I do agree with you that very low income people should have a free bus pass around town. Maybe that would alleviate some of the problems that I too witness with people having to risk their lives to get to their houses. To be honest it’s kind of messed up that in a "progressive" city like ours that this problem would exist in the first place.
But I digress…
He does look rather fetching and Apollo like in his stance, does he not?
love the hat
Too bad the money spent on new directional signs around town wasn’t utilized to help those that most need it.
it does not dump you on Roberts, there is a sidewalk all the way to Patton Ave on the south side of 240… you would never know it because the DOT does not maintain it
and this is not just a "hillcrest" issue, there is no good way to walk from West Asheville to downtown either
I admire your emotional plea, Ash, but I have one question. What will the next answer be when another pedestrian is hit while trying to cross I-240 after this bridge is reopened?
The fact of the matter is that the closed bridge dumps you out on Roberts Street, which is hardly "closer" to downtown than the available one on Hill Street. People will continue to risk their safety crossing the interstate because it is a shortcut, and, let’s face it, people are lazy. I recall people crossing the interstate in that exact same place before the bridge was closed in the mid 90’s. Also, I think it is a little irresponsible of you to place all of the blame for the closing on "APD drug busts", when the bridge was closed after pleas from residents of HIllcrest and the Asheville Housing Authority were received by city council. Should those directly affected not have a say in the matter?
The City offers free bus passes to the homeless, so why can’t we do the same for those that cannot afford one and lives in Hillcrest? As I said before, I admire your emotion and genuine wish to help, but why don’t we focus our resources on something that will actually be utlilized?