Asheville whitewater park takes step forward

ASHEVILLE – The dream of urban kayaking is a step closer to reality as city officials now weigh the feasibility of a whitewater park on the French Broad River.

City Council heard from advocates of the $1.8 million park during a regular Tuesday council meeting attended by more than a dozen park advocates, several wearing personal flotation devices commonly used by kayakers. Council members took no formal vote, but gave the nod for municipal staff to look at whether plans to create rapids and other man-made features would fit with the massive makeover of the riverfront already underway.

The move was a positive but cautious step forward for a facility that advocates say would be funded with private money.

"I hope that council would agree there is so much potential here it's worth taking the next step," said Vice Mayor Marc Hunt, a boating advocate who once owned a raft guide company.

But a few council members who supported the move also said they wanted assurances city taxpayers wouldn't get stuck with the cost.

A whitewater park is basically an altered river or a completely man-made river that presents obstacles, waves and other challenges for boaters. The French Broad through Asheville is relatively tame, offering little in the way of those kinds of thrills.

The likely site for the park is under the Jeff Bowen Bridge, which now towers over the River Arts District near the future site of the New Belgium Brewery. Two other possibilities are Jean Webb Park, also in the RAD under RiverLink Bridge and farther north at a site near Pearson Bridge Road.

The park would have different levels of challenges for novices and more advanced paddlers as well as an easy float-through route for casual boaters or people on inner tubes.

Mechanical gates would be used to control flooding and allow for migration of fish and other aquatic life.

Park advocate Wilson Sims made the presentation to the council and noted that around the country there are more than 20 "in-stream" parks — those built into existing rivers — including one on the Nantahala River.

Sims said the idea of a park is part of the 1994 Wilma Dykeman Waterway Plan that has served as a guide and inspiration for a publicly funded $50 million makeover of the riverfront now underway.

"It will reinforce Asheville's reputation as the outdoor adventure and recreation mecca," he said of the park.

City staff are looking at problems including how access to the park and a spectator area — as well as flood control overseen by the federal government — would play into current riverfront plans.

The facility would become a city park, though construction would be funded by private entities, including the nonprofit Asheville Parks and Greenways Foundation, Sims said.

Several council members stressed that the money would truly need to come from the community because of current budget challenges. Councilmen Jan Davis and Gordon Smith both cited Pack Square Park, a now highly popular facility in front of City Hall. It too was to be funded privately, but the group spearheading the effort fell short.

"It's lovely, but it ended up costing a ton of money from taxpayers," Smith said. "We got so far down the road that when they didn't come up with the money, we were stuck."