Public outcry forces NCDOT to rethink Merrimon Avenue plan

Mark Barrett | The Citizen-Times

Show Caption Hide Caption What's your least favorite drive in Asheville? Boyle offers a few candidates. Columnist John Boyle takes a look at some of the trickier drives in town, and by that, we mean "annoying."

ASHEVILLE – Four out of five area residents who responded to a state request for feedback on plans to widen part of Merrimon Avenue in North Asheville gave the idea a thumbs down — way down.

Merrimon "is in no way a high-speed road. And it does not need to be," wrote North Asheville resident Jenny Mercer. "This plan seems to only want to move more cars, faster, on more pavement."

North Carolina Department of Transportation in January rolled out a proposal to add a fifth lane to a stretch of Merrimon from W.T. Weaver Boulevard to Edgewood Road. About 80 percent of the 418 people who responded to its request for comments opposed the plan.

Most said they would prefer facilities to make it easier to walk or ride a bicycle in the corridor instead of changes to move vehicular traffic.

We hear you, a DOT engineer said Friday.

RELATED: Residents differ on Merrimon widening plan

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DOT is working on a revised plan engineers hope will better balance the needs of people driving through the area with those who want to walk or pedal, said Steven Cannon, division project development engineer for DOT's Asheville-based Division 13.

Engineers hope to have a revised proposal to present to the public sometime during the last three months of the year, he said. The proposed construction date has been moved from 2019 to 2020, Cannon said.

People have complained for years about traffic on Merrimon, the busiest street in North Asheville and home to most of its businesses.

The plan proposed in January began when DOT studied the possibility of adding left-turn lanes at the Edgewood and Weaver intersections. The spots are close enough to add a middle turn lane from south of Weaver to north of Edgewood, a DOT engineer said in January.

Many North Asheville residents and several people who drive the road said that didn't make sense to them.

DOT invited people early this year to comment in a public meeting or by writing the agency. The Citizen Times obtained their comments through a public records request.

Comments by Murdock Avenue resident Andrew Goldberg were typical.

"We walk, drive and bike these streets every single day. ... I believe that the proposed widening is a terrible idea for our neighborhood. In my opinion Merrimon needs to be managed as an urban corridor and not a suburban highway like some horrible road in the 'nowheresville' outskirts of Atlanta."

He and others suggested people using Merrimon to commute or get to destinations outside North Asheville could instead drive parallel roads built for speed, like Broadway or U.S. 19-23.

"If people want to drive fast through our neighborhood, they can take the highway," Goldberg said.

Previous coverage: NCDOT proposes widening part of Merrimon Avenue in North Asheville

Merrimon Avenue widening plan too much for some, can't come soon enough for others

Some people endorsed DOT's original plans, saying something should be done to make it easier to drive Merrimon.

"I think these are highly desirable changes and carefully calibrated to solve current problems," wrote John Chapman.

"The need for improved automobile traffic flow on Merrimon Avenue is glaring and long overdue," said Gregory McCoy.

Much more common were comments urging DOT to instead look for ways to make Merrimon more of a neighborhood street. People said the Merrimon already sees a fair number of pedestrians and bicyclists and would see far more if it were designed for their needs.

"Merrimon is a local road with a great deal of commercial/retail space and widening it will create another Hendersonville Road where speeds are consistently over 50 and accidents happen daily," wrote Jerad Crave. "Please put people first, not cars."

"As a handicapped person, Merrimon Avenue could serve as a great access to many things this part of town offers. But, the cars go so fast and willy nilly I am afraid to walk on the sidewalk next to the street," said Maggie Everett.

Students at nearby UNC Asheville "often walk or bike to Merrimon shops and don't want to risk their lives ... just to see a movie or have coffee," said Ann Batchelder.

Some suggested narrowing the the street to three lanes. Others said pedestrian refuge islands should be installed at some intersections, or that sidewalks could be wider or set back from the curb.

DOT's original plan would add a sidewalk on the west side of Merrimon. It also proposed two feet of space in each direction for bicyclists.

People welcomed additional sidewalks but ridiculed the idea of such narrow bike lanes.

"Having only 2 feet for cyclists is kind of ludicrous," wrote Jay Dore. "On a bike, my shoulder width is over 2 feet."

Critics also took DOT to task for, they said, not working with city government on the project and ignoring the agency's "complete streets" policy that calls for helping walkers and bikers as well as motorists.

Ken Putnam, head of the city Transportation Department, said last week Asheville was aware DOT was looking at changes at the two intersections, but was surprised by the scope of what DOT ended up proposing.

Cannon joined Division 13 earlier this year, after the January proposal was drawn up. He said engineers are working closely with the city on DOT's next plan.

The two feet of space for bicycles was an attempt to offer some sort of facility for riders, but would not conform to DOT's complete streets policy, he said. A bike lane would need to be be four feet wide, he said.

However, he said the presence of buildings close by either side of the street and a historic district that takes in the Norwood Park neighborhood and abuts Merrimon for a short distance limit engineers' options.

Cannon said DOT is also looking at the idea of a three-lane Merrimon but has made no decision on whether that is feasible.

Several people who commented agreed that there are safety issues on the street today.

Hillside Street resident Betty Lawrence recounted a series of accidents on Merrimon in the past three decades involving people on foot or a scooter. A pedestrian died in two of them.

"Anything that lets cars go faster on any portion of this road greatly increases the risk to pedestrians and bicyclists of death or serious injury, and would be irresponsible in the extreme," she wrote.

DOT statistics say the accident rate on the 0.7-mile stretch of Merrimon being studied for changes is about two and a half times the average for similar streets across the state.

People who commented differed on whether Merrimon should be considered a thoroughfare serving traffic from north of North Asheville or a neighborhood street.

Cannon said traffic statistics suggest the street plays both roles -- and that DOT's counts show the number of vehicles using Merrimon as relatively static over the years.

"Merrimon is a retail corridor utilizing cars. Let's improve it for the people who actually use it and not for social engineers," said Maggie Swanson in support of DOT's original proposal.

Adam Rosen saw it differently, writing, "This road should be treated first and foremost as a gateway to local businesses and residences, not a throughway. If someone needs to go north or south quickly, that's what I-26 and Broadway are for."

As it is today, he said, Merrimon "is an angry, fast, chaotic mess."