Infrastructure Progress Report: Sidewalks – The City of Asheville

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 is all about sidewalks! Sidewalks are one way to promote pedestrian safety, encourage walking and create more connected, accessible spaces for everyone. Read on to find out about sidewalk projects across the city that are recently completed, in progress or coming up soon. 

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

Completed Recently

• Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center: The installation of new sidewalk, 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. Much needed stormwater utility work was completed in conjunction with 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 the Fairview Road 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 Patton Avenue 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 the construction of approximately 1 mile of new six-foot-wide sidewalk, including accessible ramps, crosswalks and drainage, along Johnston Boulevard from Patton Avenue to Johnston Elementary School.
• New Haw Creek Road: This project includes the construction of approximately 0.8 miles of new six-foot-wide sidewalk, including 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 of funding for the projects in this article 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, these are complex endeavors bringing forth challenges that can cause significant setbacks, such as narrow rights-of-way, easement acquisition, utility relocations, weather and complicated funding mechanisms. Changes to project timelines can be frustrating for both our project teams and for the community. We are appreciative of the community’s patience and collaboration as we continue to improve Asheville’s public infrastructure. 

Project Selection

Sidewalk projects, like any infrastructure project, involve several moving parts. The City must consider funding and capacity wisely, meaning we can pursue only so many sidewalk projects at once. Oftentimes sidewalk projects are combined with street resurfacing or utility projects as a way to streamline work and minimize disruption. Thoughtful planning, including community engagement, is an important step in prioritization of projects. Significant documentation of pedestrian improvement planning for the City of Asheville was conducted as part of the GAP Plan, which includes a specifically-tailored scoring methodology that considers destination, equity, safety, connectivity and public input when prioritizing ADA and pedestrian improvement projects. Additionally, as mentioned above, the City’s Capital Improvement Plan, is a mechanism for financial commitment to individual projects. To learn more about this process or to inquire about a potential project, contact neighborhoods@ashevillenc.gov.