ASHEVILLE - A city known for a pedestrian-friendly downtown wants to make changes along a major road built for the car

City officials have backed a $175,000 plan to study how to make Tunnel Road less of a car-oriented thoroughfare, and to improve how motor vehicles flow there.

"It’s looking at lots of things. It’s looking at how we can improve safety for all users," said city planner Vaidila Satvika.

The study got the go-ahead from the from City Council Tuesday. Asheville will contribute $26,000 with $157,000 coming from the federal government.

A local and state government transportation partnership, the French Broad Metropolitan Planning Organization will oversee the study but will hire a private firm to do it. That should take 12-18 months.

The focus will be 1.7 miles along Tunnel Road, starting with the Beaucatcher Tunnel and then following South Tunnel Road as far as south as Swannanoa River Road. A main highway, U.S. 70, follows the Tunnel Road section.

That eastern part of the city, divided from downtown by Beaucatcher Mountain, boomed in the era of the automobile with motor lodges, drive-in restaurants and malls.

In the last two decades that strip-mall style development lost favor to walkable downtown where a hotel boom is bringing about $200 million in estimated construction.

But now large projects on Tunnel Road are drawing back the attention of city officials. Hoteliers want to a build a five-story lodging facility with a green roof in a parking lot near Innsbruck Mall. At the Asheville Mall, New York developers plan to spend $45 million on a mixed used project with a movie theater, restaurants and 204 housing units.

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The study gained funding through a federal congestion management program. The idea is to move away from development with large parking lots and few options besides driving, city planner Satvika said in a report to the council.

"If left unchecked, this cycle continues to lead to more automobile dependency and sprawl," he said.

Changes would focus on safety for walkers, bicyclists and bus riders. That could mean reducing curb cuts that break up sidewalks and pushing for connections between private lots so cars could drive between them without having to enter Tunnel Road.

A representative for nearby residents said the growth pattern shift makes sense, but they also want to have a voice in the plan.

Kenilworth Forest Neighborhood Association President Rick Freeman said his area supports the idea of denser growth such as with Asheville Mall redevelopment. But residents are concerned the proposed 10-story building there will be out of scale with the area and that traffic could overwhelm their neighborhood.

"We can’t be left behind because of how all this was established 60-70 years ago," Freeman said.