A long time ago, the NCDOT determined Asheville needed some highway improvements with I-26 extending into Tennessee. Environmentalists disagreed and effectively stopped progress. The portion of I-26 that was completed includes tunnels for animals to cross from one side to the other safely. Dr. Dolittle was likely contracted for consulting on how to communicate to the animals that they needed to cross via the underpasses.
For about twenty years and numerous funding cycles, Asheville has been unable to enjoy improvements the NCDOT wanted to make. A couple years ago, the Asheville Design Center was formed to solicit input from the public on the highway connector. Their design included double-decker bridges over the French Broad River and the conversion of Patton Avenue into a walkable New Urbanist gateway. The only problem was, the ADC hadn’t performed any kind of engineering analysis.
Needless to say, the NCDOT did not like a lot of the plan for immediately obvious safety issues like dangerously tight turning radii and a hairpin railroad crossing. City council, nonetheless, voted to fund an engineering study and put progress on the highway on further hold. Now that the DOT has returned with a plan modified to meet its safety standards, ADC architects are not impressed.
Remember, New Urbanism is supposed to create congestion to force people out of their cars.
