Here - Friends of Connect Buncombe

Fall 2015
The Connector
SURGEON GENERAL SAYS “TAKE A HIKE” (or BIKE)
With half of Americans suffering from chronic disease, and two thirds overweight, Surgeon
General Vivek Murthy is “asking communities across America to reclaim the culture of physical
activity that we once had” as he released a call to action. Here are some of the things that
Friends of Connect Buncombe has been doing to help support the concept of making our
community more walkable (and bike-able).
Brewing for Greenways
Brewing for Greenways is an ongoing, multi-brewery effort to raise money
and awareness for the planned public
greenway and trail network that will
connect Buncombe County. Proceeds
from the collaborations will benefit Friends
of Connect Buncombe and go back into
the community to help “make greenways
happen”.
Highland Brewing Co. and New
Belgium Brewing, working collaboratively,
kicked off this fundraising initiative on June
8. Highland Brewing hosted the first
Brewing for Greenways event and
inaugural tapping of a connector beer,
Footpath Belgian Session Ale.
“We envision a day when we can
walk or bike to great areas of Asheville,
giving residents and guests access to
healthy lifestyles and safe passage to jobs
and local businesses. It’s a long process
but we can start it in this special way”, said
Leah Wong Ashburn, Highland president.
From individuals to non-profits to
government to businesses, we all play a
role in making our community a place
where we can safely live, work, and brew,"
said Susanne Hackett, New Belgium's
Community Relations Specialist.
Wicked Weed and Riverbend Malt House
followed with their collaborative release,
New Direction, on August 14.
The next release is planned for
October 2. Burial Beer is teaming up with
the Wedge and will tap the keg at 5:00.
The address for Burial Beer is 40 Collier
Ave. in downtown Asheville
GRILLING ON GREENWAYS
Friends of Connect Buncombe
participated in the City’s “Grilling on
Greenways” on June 27 at the Carrier
Park Pavilion.
The public drop-in meeting (hotdogs
and lemonade provided) showcased the
five city greenway projects that are
currently being designed and prepared
for construction: The Clingman Forest
Greenway, The Townbranch Greenway,
the Beaucatcher Greenway, the French
Broad River Westbank’s Greenway (2
segments) and the French Broad River
Eastbank Greenway.
Construction of these projects will take
place from 2016-2019. When
completed, the greenway system of the River Arts District will have 11 miles of continuous
greenways. The completion of Beaucatcher Greenway will provide another 1.5 miles. The
combined greenway network, the “River to Ridge”, will connect the River Arts District to the
South Slope neighborhood, downtown and Beaucatcher Mountain.
Board Positions Available
We currently have three vacant positions
available on our board. If you are interested in
applying, applications are due by October 15th.
Please send to [email protected] or
mail to P.O. Box 16100, Asheville, NC 28816 .
We are a working board and are looking for
colleagues to join our active board. For more
information and an application click on the
following link Board Application.
FEASIBILITY STUDY (PHASE I) COMPLETED
With the 20% local match provided by
Friends of Connect Buncombe, the
County was able to secure funding to
study and analyze segments of
greenway alternatives for portions of the
Bent Creek corridor and the Lake Julian
corridor, going from I-26 on the northern
end of Brevard Rd. to Lake Julian Park,
just off of Long Shoals Rd. The results
of the feasibility study and a map of the
preferred alignment can be found on the
Buncombe County Parks and Recreation
website:
http://www.buncombecounty.org/
common/parks/Bent-Creek-Lake-JulianFeasability-Study.pdf
The study team considered cost,
constructability, safety, environmental
and social impacts in addition to taking
public comments regarding the optimal
route. The estimated cost came in at
$9,532,795 or $1,316,700 per mile. At
this time, there is no plan to fund final
design or construction of this greenway.
However, Friends of Connect Buncombe
will continue to challenge elected
officials to explore feasible mechanisms
for greenway funding.
The County will soon hire a consultant to
do a feasibility study on the second
Phase of the Brevard Rd. corridor. This
section will begin at I-26 and run north to
the WNC Farmers Market. From that
point, 2 alignments will be explored: the
first goes from the Farmers Market down
the hill behind it, crossing Hominy Creek
and connecting to the Wilma Dykeman
Greenway at Hominy Creek Park. The
second possibility will run from the
Farmers Market to Hominy Creek
Greenway via Brevard Rd. and the old
bridge over Hominy Creek. The study
should take 4 to 6 months to complete.
CONNECT ENKA RECEIVES GRANT FOR
FEASIBILITY STUDY
Connect Enka is proud to announce
that New Belgium Brewing Company
has awarded a $3,000 grant to fund a
feasibility study at the intersection of Jacob
Holm Way and Sand Hill Road to make sure it
safely accommodates people walking, biking
and driving in cars. This will allow access from
that intersection to the new baseball/softball
park, the new Intermediate School, all the
businesses including the New Belgium
Distribution Center, and later, after a bike
pedestrian bridge is added, the Buncombe
Sports Park.
Friends of Connect Buncombe serves
as a fiscal agent for Connect Enka and
collaborated with them on this grant
application. Building Safe Routes to School
and making sports parks and other businesses
more accessible has been a true community
effort for Enka/Candler.
Kari Fletcher and Susanne Hackett at
New Belgium Brewing Company were key to
the success of this application.
CRAGGY MOUNTAIN RAILROAD RIDE
On September 16, our board rode the
Craggy Mountain Line from the Woodfin depot
out to the French Broad River and down to the
site of the new, proposed park on the river.
Woodfin Mayor Jerry Vehaun gave us an
overview of his vision for parks and
greenways in Woodfin and the possibility
of a bond referendum to fund the
construction. Part of the Hwy. 251
greenway corridor (see feasibility study on
County website) will be included in those
plans.
If you have not ridden the Craggy
Mountain Line, check it out at
www.craggymountainline.com. Rocky
Hollifield will lead you on an interesting and
scenic ride.
From Our President
Crowd funding for the local match paid
off!
Buncombe County got the grant for a
feasibility study and and the work for Phase I
Brevard Rd. greenway corridor has been
completed. Please check it out at:
www.buncombecounty.org/common/parks/
Bent-Creek-Lake-Julian-Feasibility-Study.pdf
The alignment for this section will go from
Asheville Outlets to Lake Julian, connecting to
the NC Arboretum along the way. The county
is now asking for proposals to do a feasibility
study for the section from Hominy Creek Park
(end of the Wilma Dykeman greenway) and
the Hominy Creek Greenway (Waller tract) up
to the WNC Farmers Market, continuing to
I-26. Friends of Connect Buncombe has
provided the 20% local match for both
studies. Thank you greenway supporters!
convince our elected officials that these and
other greenway projects should be funded for
construction!
We have been busy on another project too.
Friends of Connect Buncombe hired a
marketing and branding company, Arnett &
Muldrow, to gather input on how to best
present our vision of a county-wide connected
system of greenways to the citizens and
leaders of our county. We held 13 focus
group sessions over a period of 2 months to
gather regional input as well as thematic
(wellness, tourism, economic development,
transportation, etc.) The results have been
presented to selected staff of the county and
municipalities and has been well received so
far. We will release the brand and marketing
ideas to the public in early November. It is
going to be a very dynamic and meaningful
brand!
The County will also soon be hiring a
consultant to provide a Design and
Engineering Study for a portion of Hwy. 251
along the French Broad River, from the
intersection of Broadway up to the
intersection of Elk Mountain Rd. at the MSD
plant. This alignment will (eventually) connect
Woodfin to the downtown Asheville riverfront.
We are now soliciting applications for our
Board of Directors, which will begin the new
term in January, 2016. If you have ideas,
passion, energy and the time to serve, please
check out the application on our website. The
slate of officers and board nominees will be
presented and voted on at our annual
meeting on November 18.
All of this is let you know that PLANNING
progress is being made. Now we must
Happy Trails!
Ann Babcock
Annual Meeting Wednesday, November 18th
The annual meeting of Friends of Connect Buncombe will be on Wednesday, November
18th at the Comfort Inn and Suites on Brevard Road. Kate Dixon, Executive Director of
Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail, will be our featured speaker.