The City of Asheville is planning to improve Livingston Street and a portion of Depot Street with an approach called Complete Streets Improvements. The goal of the project is to make the street safe and comfortable for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users.
Asheville residents are invited to an open house from 5:30-7 p.m. September 3 at the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center to hear more about the project and give input.
“Livingston Street serves two purposes,” said Barb Mee, City transportation planner. “It’s a neighborhood street that people use to get to Green’s Mini Mart, the Grant and Reid centers. At the same time it’s a street that some people travel on and they never stop. These are people going to A-B Tech and Mission Hospital, primarily.”
The essence of the project is to complete the sidewalks, reduce the travel lane width to slow down the traffic and make it easier to cross. Possible scenarios also include the addition of bike lanes and potentially a roundabout where Livingston joins Depot Street.
“We are looking to balance the needs of all users, people walking, people riding their bikes, taking the bus and riding in their cars,” said Mee.
In March 2014, the City completed the East of the Riverway Connections transportation network plan, which considered capital improvements in a portion of the city identified as the East of the Riverway area. The Connections plan identified Livingston Street for future improvements as a Complete Street, and recommended improvements to the street. This Connections plan was performed with a portion of a Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant (TIGER). These grants fund capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure.
At the open house, there will be some possible scenarios for Livingston Street to spark conversation. “They are drafts,” said Mee. “We haven’t decided on a design, we have a concept. That’s why we are consulting with the community. We need to make sure we understand what’s important.”
Please join us at the open house to learn more about the project. Your input and feedback are needed as this project takes shape. There will be no formal presentation, so please drop in at any time.
For more information, please contact Tara Irby ([email protected]), Barb Mee ([email protected]) or Sasha Vrtunski ([email protected]).