Asheville Reporter

In the new Progress Report series, the City of Asheville will provide project updates on a different infrastructure topic each quarter.

This quarter’s progress report focuses on sidewalks. Sidewalks promote pedestrian safety, encourage walking, and create more connected, accessible spaces for everyone. The report details sidewalk projects across the city that are recently completed, in progress, or coming up soon.

To stay informed, residents can review project pages and subscribe for updates to individual projects where possible.

**Completed Recently**

Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center: The installation of new sidewalks, accessible ramps, and crosswalks enhances pedestrian safety along Brooklyn Road and Hampton Street and connects the Community Center to the Shiloh Community Garden.

New Leicester Highway: Pedestrians can now enjoy 2.3 miles of seamless connection on New Leicester Highway from Patton Avenue to Old County Home Road.

Onteora Boulevard: Starting at Raleigh Road and ending at Lincoln Avenue, this new 0.4-mile sidewalk provides connectivity to the existing sidewalk that leads to Oakley Elementary School and Fairview Road. Stormwater utility work was completed alongside the sidewalk construction, as well as resurfacing of the street in the project area.

Vermont Avenue: Existing dilapidated sidewalks on both sides of the street were replaced with a focus on meeting ADA standards, preserving existing street trees where possible, and replanting new trees in grass buffer strips.

**In Progress (all to be completed in 2024)**

Fairview Road: Upgrades are being made to 35 pedestrian ramps on Fairview Road's sidewalk to increase user accessibility. Stormwater utility work and street resurfacing on Fairview Road are also included in this project.

Patton Avenue: This project includes sidewalk replacements downtown between Asheland Avenue and Coxe Avenue, making important improvements to pedestrian safety and accessibility under ADA guidelines. Further west on Patton Avenue additional sidewalk is being replaced as part of the Carter-Ann-Patton Stormwater project.

Southside and South French Broad area: Pedestrian ramps are being replaced and crosswalks painted at 13 intersections, improving accessibility and pedestrian mobility throughout the neighborhood.

**Construction Starting Soon**

Johnston Boulevard: This project includes constructing approximately one mile of new six-foot-wide sidewalk with accessible ramps, crosswalks, and drainage along Johnston Boulevard from Patton Avenue to Johnston Elementary School.

New Haw Creek Road: This project includes constructing approximately 0.8 miles of new six-foot-wide sidewalk with accessible ramps, crosswalks, and drainage along New Haw Creek Road from Beverly Road to Bell Road.

**Background on Sidewalk Infrastructure Projects**

Funding

It typically takes multiple sources of funding to finance a sidewalk project. Sources for these projects include the 2016 voter-approved General Obligation Bond; federal and state grants; local and regional partners; and the City of Asheville’s Capital Improvement Plan (as part of the annual budget).

Timelines

While infrastructure projects like sidewalks are critical for improving quality of life, they bring challenges that can cause significant setbacks such as narrow rights-of-way, easement acquisition, utility relocations, weather conditions, and complicated funding mechanisms. Changes to project timelines can be frustrating for both our project teams and for the community. The City appreciates the community’s patience as it continues improving Asheville’s public infrastructure.

Project Selection

Sidewalk projects involve several moving parts. The City must consider funding capacity wisely; hence only a limited number of projects can be pursued simultaneously. Often sidewalk projects are combined with street resurfacing or utility projects to streamline work and minimize disruption. Thoughtful planning including community engagement is crucial in prioritizing projects. Significant documentation of pedestrian improvement planning was conducted as part of the GAP Plan which includes a scoring methodology considering destination equity safety connectivity public input when prioritizing ADA pedestrian improvement projects Additionally as mentioned above Capital Improvement Plan mechanism financial commitment individual learn more about process inquire potential contact neighborhoods@ashevillenc.gov

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