Press release from the City of Asheville:
The City of Asheville will host two meetings on February 19 for the community to learn about improvements planned for North Charlotte Street including the road diet and zoning evaluation for the corridor. The meetings will be held at the Jewish Community Center, 236 Charlotte St. A morning session will be held from 8:30 to 10 a.m., with an evening session set for 5:30 to 7 p.m.
These are drop-in style public meetings to officially kick-off the public engagement for Charlotte Street Road Diet and Charlotte Street Zoning Evaluation. The scope of the road diet project and zoning analysis have been directed by City Council.
Road Diet and Spot Safety Improvements
The Capital Improvement Project will include milling and repaving Charlotte Street from Chestnut Street to Edwin Place as well as a 4-to-3 lane conversion and from approximately Chestnut Street to Edwin Place. Other components of the project include minor stormwater improvements, bike access improvements and spot safety improvements. This project does not include sidewalk, place making or utility improvements. Council has allocated $1.25 million for the design and construction of this project.
Zoning Overlay Evaluation
This meeting will also kick off the Charlotte Street zoning evaluation process. With the community’s input, staff is evaluating the current zoning and the Charlotte Street Overlay. This project is anticipated to take 6 to 9 months to complete. There will be additional public meetings where staff will bring concepts back for community review.
Important parking notice
While the meetings are being held at the Jewish Community Center, people are asked not to park in their parking lot as it will be used for their normal programming. Parking for the morning session will be available at Allegra Asheville, 191 Charlotte St. Parking for the evening session will be available at Allegra Asheville, 191 Charlotte St., and Envision Eyecare, 181 Charlotte St. and HomeSource Design, 172 Charlotte St.
For more information, visit this link.
The 2013 study commissioned by the city states that the 3-lane alternative will increase delays and significantly increase backups both on Charlotte and the cross streets.
Quoting from page ii: “The Three-Lane Alternative involves restriping the entire length of Charlotte Street to three lanes. Relative to the existing 4-lane cross-section, in 2015 the 3-Lane Alternative increases delay by 2% to 5% for traffic traveling on Charlotte Street, depending on the time of day. Relative delay increases by as much as 11% (for the PM peak hour) in 2035. Delay increases for cross-street traffic are considerably worse. The most noticeable impact of 3-laning is a lengthening of vehicle queues, both for cross-streets and Charlotte Street. Southbound traffic approaching Chestnut Street during the PM peak experiences the most significant increases, from 188 feet to 782 feet in 2015, and from 220 feet to 1074 feet in 2035 (for 95th-percentile queues). ”
Also Quoting from the City’s 2013 study:
“Most road diet projects are initiated for a combination of two reasons:
• To mitigate specific safety deficiencies, typically involving pedestrians, bicyclists, and/or speeding;
• As part of a comprehensive effort to encourage bicycle, pedestrian, and transit modes, often in conjunction with a complete streets, streetscaping, or renewal project.
In the case of Charlotte Street, neither of these conditions is definitively met. There is no clear problem identified for which proposed lane reduction provides an effective solution, and the proposed project is not part of a comprehensive plan to enhance pedestrian, bicycle, and transit activity. Therefore, it is difficult to identify tangible benefits justifying moving forward with the project as currently defined. “
Source: https://www.ashevillenc.gov/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?blobid=29828&fbclid=IwAR1JP_75dpfvVuOizI3tltX-YLHOxzBAh5YMOZQdIF8yML7oe4QIG83_24A