Council approves more time for Reparations Commission

Mayor Esther Manheimer said a vote was not required, but the Asheville City Council unanimously approved six more months of support for the Community Reparations Commission (CRC). The extension, recommended by city staff last week, gives the CRC more time and resources to develop recommendations for repairing damage caused by public and private systemic racism. City Council member Sheneika Smith was absent.

CRC Chair Dewana Little, Vice Chair Bobbette Mays and Sala Menaya-Merritt, Asheville’s equity and inclusion director, presented goals the commission planned to achieve before the February stop date. These include a final report to City Council; organizing a Black Chamber of Commerce; forming an independent accountability council to oversee implementation of CRC recommendations; and launching a reconciliation task force that would continue to develop reparation actions.

“I continue to be in awe of the task that y’all signed up for, the enormity of what it means,” said Council member Sage Turner.

Mays suggested that a marker be erected to commemorate the historic work undertaken by the CRC.

“I think there should be a movie, too. These folks have done such enormous historic work. The story needs to be told,” said Asheville resident David Greenson after the presentation.

Road diet update

The road diet on Merrimon Avenue, which converted four lanes to three from W.T. Weaver Boulevard to Midland Road and added a bike lane in each direction beginning in October 2022, achieved many of its goals, according to a presentation to the City Council by Carrie Simpson, a safety evaluation engineer for N.C. Department of Transportation.

Initial safety data showed a 23% reduction in total crashes and a 30% reduction in injury crashes between October 2022 and February 2024. Car speeds slowed by 3-5 mph along the mile-and-a-half stretch between UNC Asheville and Beaver Lake. Average travel times rose 14 seconds when traveling northbound at 5 p.m. between fall 2021 and fall 2023, Simpson said.

Bicycle volume increased in 11 of 12 data collection points, with the northern end of the treatment section seeing a 269% jump in use.

“I have some questions about the pedestrian crossing time. We’re working with close to the minimum of what pedestrian crossing times are allowed,” said Council member Kim Roney.

“We’ve instituted leading pedestrian intervals so that pedestrians get a head start to get out into the crosswalks to be visible, and those have been very positive so far,” said DOT Division Engineer Tim Anderson.

Manheimer asked about future improvements to Merrimon.

“I travel this route every day. I still see people getting confused by bike lanes,” said Manheimer, adding that bike lane widths vary along the corridor. She suggested marking the bike lane in green. Anderson replied that North Carolina hasn’t adopted green bike lanes.

In other news

• City Council adopted, 6-0, the 10-year park plan, Recreate Asheville: Shaping Our City’s Parks. The plan, presented by Parks & Recreation Director D. Tyrell McGirt, sets priorities for which recreation spaces need the most work, which projects will be most beneficial, and strategies to maintain city parks.
• In a public hearing, Council voted 6-0 to close an unused right-of-way at 34 Hiawassee St. The closure paves the way for a land exchange between Duke Energy and the city.  In the exchange, Duke gets the land needed to rebuild the downtown Vanderbilt substation on Rankin Street, while the city gets land for possible expansion of the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium and Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville.
• In a related public hearing, Council unanimously approved a conditional zoning amendment at 252 Patton Ave. The plan, presented by Justin Brown from Duke Energy, allows for a temporary substation while work is done to the Vanderbilt Substation on Rankin Street behind Harrah’s Cherokee Center. 
• A public hearing to consider amending a previously approved conditional zoning at 179 and 144 Riverside Drive was tabled by the mayor. Suggesting more incentives for green energy and a higher percentage of affordable housing, Council asked the developer to bring the project back to the Council’s next meeting Tuesday, Sept. 10.