According to Rob Robinson, 57% of buildable surface area in the Central Business District, not including parks or streets, is surface-level parking lots. That doesn’t include parking garages or on-street parking.
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According to Rob Robinson, 57% of buildable surface area in the Central Business District, not including parks or streets, is surface-level parking lots. That doesn’t include parking garages or on-street parking.
“We need to protect visitors’ experiences with more police patrols, a continuous downtown shuttle originating from a satellite parking lot, better sidewalks, turning the pit of doom into a busking zone, etc.”
“Yet what of that distinguished legacy is reflected in our current and utterly unremarkable boom?”
“Since much of this effort revolves around cleaning up downtown to make it more desirable for tourists, demand that the funds come from the tourism bureau and their grossly overfunded budget.”
“In order to amortize the extensive repairs and updating required by modern codes, we arranged a long-term lease of the building, which is still owned by an heir of the auto parts business.”
Among those who are skeptical, the point of contention is whether a business improvement district overburdens downtown taxpayers for basic services that should be provided by the City of Asheville and Buncombe County.
“Asheville lost one of its greatest when Connie Bostic died last month. Connie was a creator, and Asheville was her beneficiary.”
Xpress readers engaged with a wide range of local issues in 2023 — from concerns about downtown Asheville to infrastructure priorities, a possible single-use plastic bag ban, education issues and more.
“It would be great to have a train system around Asheville — to and from the Asheville, Charlotte and Greenville airports going to destinations in and around Asheville — including some of the small towns nearby.”
“Put your money where it’s needed: Give it to local organizations that do not have your resources that are already helping the desperate to get on their feet and off the streets; reduce the unhoused and underserved population; make a difference in the world; make Asheville a better place to visit; and your tourists will come.”
“The bike lanes are not only ‘not used’ but take up too much width. A narrower scale might’ve made more sense to accommodate everyone.”
“I would give more weight to people who have invested sweat, money and time into enterprises that, should they fail, would mean disaster to them, their families and their employees.”
The new amenity, which will be located at the intersection of Rankin Avenue and College Street, aims to offer residents, visitors and the unhoused a safe, clean place to go when nature calls.
“I agree with Ms. Antanette Mosley. Let’s use that money to repair damage done to our Black neighbors and businesses downtown.”
“My dad used to say that whether a pitcher hits a rock or a rock hits the pitcher, it’s gonna be bad news for the pitcher. That’s the same with cars and bikes.”
“Creating bike lanes would bring more people downtown. It’s not like traffic would be slowed any further.”
“I believe the same effect could be done in Asheville, and fees to ride the wheel would provide new jobs and funds for other civic improvements.”
“Change the laws/zoning/codes so that new hotels cannot have bars or restaurants.”
“If the Tourism Development Authority feels strongly enough about taking steps to reduce common street crime and other headline-grabbing crimes, perhaps using a portion of tourism revenue to subsidize the cost of local housing for officers would help.”
“The drop in tourism should not alarm anyone.”
“Many local Ashevilleans complain about tourists because they don’t understand that the revenue they bring affects their daily lives in a positive way.”