The Mountain Xpress isn’t the only media outlet hyping up a public hearing about the 51 Biltmore Ave. parking garage. Nobody’s really worried about the public-private partnership leaving the taxpayers responsible if the hoteliers drop the ball. The main problem is, automobile drivers are finally getting uncomfortable and agitated about trying to find a place to park downtown. If enough pot stirrers can encourage enough media outlets to yank the chains of enough useful [euphemistic plural noun] to create a huge outcry in the name of a clean, green planet free of climate change; affordable energy will become less accessible, helping the US become a smidgen more third-world. This is, after all, the object of Smart Growth. As an aside, Asheville zoning does not require developers of huge new buildings downtown to accommodate petroleum-consuming vehicles. Bike racks, however, are mandated citywide; you will recall, even a podiatrist had to have them.
Asheville City Council will attack a double-agenda tonight, as their last meeting was canceled due to snow. Most meetings are over in less than 5-1/2 hours. It would therefore be fabulous if more people jumped on the bandwagon and riled up the [euphemistic adjective] masses to see if this meeting can’t be extended beyond eleven hours.
