French Broad MPO Long Range Transportation Plan - time for review and comments!

The French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization, which does regional transportation planning, is developing their long-range transportation plan.  The plan guides the spending of federal transportation funding in Buncombe, Haywood and Henderson Counties.  Your input to the plan is important.  The plan is available on line at www.fbrmpo.org, or available in the public libraries. The MPO will be happy to work with you if viewing a plan on line or on paper doesn't work for you.  Call them at 251-6622 to make arrangements. The deadline to submit comments or complete the online survey is Wednesday September 22nd.

1) Please complete a survey at http://www.fbrmpo.org/ by clicking on "LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN UPDATE" survey.

2) There will be an open house about the proposed plan this Wednesday, September 15th at the Buncombe County Training Room, 199 College St, Asheville, from 2-8 p.m.

Bike Lanes 

The city has recently installed or is in the process of installing bike lanes on the east side of Kimberly Ave. between Evelyn Place and Gracelyn Ave./Griffing Blvd.; on both sides of the length of Coxe Ave., Asheland Ave., Hilliard St., and Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.; and on Clingman Ave from Hilliard St. to past the Riverlink Bridge.  Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information   

Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force

Did you know that Asheville has a bicycle and pedestrian task force?  It meets the fourth Thursday of the month, January through October, and on the first Thursday in December, at 5:30 p.m. in the Buncombe County Training Room, 199 College Street.  The room is in the BC TV offices, adjacent to the College Street roundabout.  Please consider attending the task force meetings and getting on the mailing list.  The task force's vision is to have Asheville be a community of connected pathways that is healthy, safe and accessible for people of all ages.  Their mission is to educate the public about bicycle and pedestrian transportation, to advocate for the development and maintenance of safe, convenient and inter-connected facilities, and to promote the benefits of walking and biking of individual and community health.  Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information

Growth and Development Forum, September 22d. 

You are invited to attend a public presentation and discussion around growth and development in WNC.  RENCI will present findings from its recently completed study of past and potential future growth and development and lead a discussion on the issues and challenges raised by the findings.  There will be maps and related information on display from the RENCI study and from Land of Sky Regional Council's Green Infrastructure study.  The session is called "Exploring Growth and Development in the Land of Sky:  A Public Forum on Western North Carolina's Growth and Future Development Strategies" and it will be Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 2:30-5:00 p.m., at the Land-of-Sky Regional Council, 339 New Leicester Highway, Suite 140, Asheville.  Contact Bridget O'Hara at UNC Asheville's National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center at (878) 250-3882 for more information about this event.  For more about the WNC study, go to http://renci.uncc.edu/.

Winning Campaigns Training comes to Asheville 5-7 November. 

The Alliance for Biking and Walking's signature Winning Campaigns Training is focused on the following components: Issue Definition, Campaign Goals, Resources Assessment, Strategy, Communication, Tactics/Timelines, and Resource Management.  Bicycle and Pedestrian advocates will learn how to choose the right issue; set realistic but visionary goals, choose the best strategies and tactics, and stick to timelines; map out the power structure in your community, support and leverage allies, neutralize and convert enemies; communicate effectively, reaching the right audience with the right message through the right media; ...and raise money, to strengthen your organization for the next bigger victory!  You will leave the training with a detailed campaign blueprint and the support of the Alliance staff, ensuring a victorious campaign and setting your organization up for greater victories in the future.  Go to www.peoplepoweredmovement.org for more information. 

Early registration (by October 05) is $75 for Alliance Members; $125 for Non-Members; regular Registration is $100 for Alliance Members; $150 for Non-Members.  Limited scholarships are available - contact Claudia Nix ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) now if you are interested in attending, but need a scholarship.