Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:

Question: Several hundred people live near the intersection of Haywood Road and Patton Avenue in West Asheville. Can you answer why there isn’t a crosswalk? The city told me the state owns the road and plans on building a crosswalk. The state just repaved the intersection but didn’t build a crosswalk. Until recently, people crossed with the light. During repaving, the state switched the light from timed to pressure activated, making it unpredictable to cross. People will get hurt here, especially if they get caught out on Patton at night. Asheville is known for being dangerous for pedestrians, and the state just made it worse.

My answer: "Unpredictable to cross" could apply to oh, maybe 95 percent of Asheville's intersections?

Real answer: The North Carolina Department of Transportation says the intersection should be back to the way it was, and improvements are coming.

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"Prior to the repaving of Patton Avenue, pavement sensors provided information to the Haywood Road/Patton Avenue traffic signal to optimize traffic flow," said Anna G. Henderson, traffic engineer for N.C. DOT's Asheville office. "During paving operations, the signal operated using pre-set timing until pavement sensors could be reinstalled. Now that construction is complete, new pavement sensors are in place and the traffic signal is operating as it was prior to the repaving."

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Henderson added that the state agency is well aware that this is a high-use intersection for pedestrians, so improvements are coming.

"N.C. DOT and the city of Asheville recognize that this intersection is utilized by many pedestrians and have identified this intersection for pedestrian enhancements," Henderson said. "A project is in development to add pedestrian signalization and crosswalks at this intersection."

Question: 525,600 minutes in a year. Double that for two years. Skyview Road was closed in October 2017 by a mudslide which undercut the roadbed. That mudslide fell onto Sunset Drive which was also closed. This isn’t the first slide in this area of Sunset/Skyview. What’s interesting is the length of time it has taken to open Skyview, which is still closed, this time. I use a calendar to measure the time Skyview has been closed. Mother Nature has her own way of counting. As you can see from the attached pictures she is “taking over” the Road Work Ahead sign on Sunset Drive. Kudzu is a prodigious grower and it might consume everything around, including small children and animals, before Skyview is open for traffic and construction is completed on Sunset. When will the city fix this? What’s the delay?

My answer: Thank you for making me double check how many minutes are in a year. I did not have to fact check the kudzu allegations because we all know that's true.

Real answer: Asheville Streets Division Manager Chad Bandy noted that the retaining wall construction and slope in the area of Sunset and Skyview "did in fact slide in the fall of 2017."

"As soon as possible, the Asheville Streets Division started the process of hiring a design team for the repair," Bandy said in a July 25 email. "The replacement of the retaining wall has been in progress this past year. Fast forward to now and the retaining wall itself is complete."

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Some work is ongoing.

"Asheville Public Works staff are in the process of installing the last portions of storm water infrastructure on Skyview above the wall," Bandy said. "The storm water infrastructure will keep excess water from storm runoff away from the slope. Along with the completion of this project, we also plan to coordinate vegetation cleanup of the surrounding area prior to opening of the road. I anticipate all of this work to be completed within about a month."

That's about 44,640 minutes from now.

This is the opinion of John Boyle. To submit a question, contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com