As you may know, January 8th kicked off an important ten-day period of focus group and public input to the planning process that will influence open space, greenways, parks, public arts, festivals, and other facilities and operations overseen by the Asheville Parks and Recreation Department for decades to come.

The meetings are part of the master plan revision that is being conducted his year by the Asheville Parks and Recreation Department. For more information on that process, please contact Debbie Ivester at (828) 259-5804, or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Asheville Greenway Commission provides the attached position statement, which outlines its considered view and formal comments to the process, for release to the press. We on the Commission clearly regard this as a critical moment for open space planning for the City of Asheville and indeed the broader region, and we invite exposure from the news media.

Position Statement and Formal Comments

2008 Asheville Parks and Recreation Planning Process, January 7, 2008

Whereas,

Expansion of Asheville’s greenway system represents the best available opportunity to assure that open space and green space are available and accessible to citizens and visitors, and;

The development of an expansive and well-designed greenway system will be a source of strong community pride, and;

An expanded and well-planned greenway system will result in improved quality of life for the community as a result of its aesthetic, recreation, and health benefits, and;

A completed and connected greenway system will be an important component of neighborhood revitalization and community redevelopment, and;

Expansion of the greenway system of Asheville will yield strong economic benefits in the form of increased tourism and from greater attraction/retention of businesses, and;

Greenways represent a meaningful and cost-effective form of alternative transportation needed by the Asheville community, and:

Greenways represent an important means to connect neighborhoods with each other, with downtown, with schools, and with other areas of the community, and;

Such neighborhood connectivity is especially important in the interest of affordable housing and social diversity, and;

Sidewalks and bike lanes are important components along with greenways in a comprehensive approach to healthful recreation, alternative transportation, and neighborhood connectivity, and;

Greenways serve to protect water quality, and support other aspects of environmental protection and land conservation, and;

Open space protection is important to all citizens of the community and the region; and
Many other comparable communities have outpaced our community in the advancement of open space and greenways, and;

The citizens, business leaders, and political leaders of Asheville have vocally advocated for expansion of the greenway system in recent years, and;

Despite the creation in 1999 of a Greenways Master Plan, the Asheville Greenways Commission, and the Asheville Parks and Greenways Foundation, the City’s greenways initiative has resulted in less progress than desired by the citizens of the community,

Therefore, the Asheville Greenway Commission urges adoption of the following policies:

The City of Asheville will establish the goal of developing fifteen miles of greenways in the next five years, and thirty miles of greenways over the next ten years;

The City of Asheville will develop and publicly articulate a sufficient and reliable multi-year funding strategy to assure the implementation of the greenways system, and that funding strategy will assure optimum leverage of city taxpayer funding through collaboration with private and public sector funding partners;

The City of Asheville will adopt documented design and construction standards that establish a level of quality befitting the community’s needs and interests, with the design standards also assuring environmental protection, especially in water quality and stormwater runoff;

The City of Asheville will actively collaborate with nonprofit partners such as the Asheville Parks and Greenways Foundation, RiverLink, and The Trust for Public Land so as to more effectively raise funds and develop projects;

The City of Asheville will collaborate with Buncombe County government and with other nearby municipalities so as to promote a broader regional open space and greenways initiative;

The City of Asheville will establish a clear and firm protocol for greenway project conceptualization and approval that assures consistency with master plan priorities, cost efficiency, and adherence to design and construction standards;

In order to serve the broad community interest, the City of Asheville will opportunistically incorporate affordable housing and community redevelopment initiatives into planning, acquisition, and design of greenways segments and other open space initiatives;

The City of Asheville will advance policies, where appropriate, that encourage and/or enforce outcomes whereby new development and subdivisions incorporate inclusion of greenway and/or open space development;

Similar to the advancement of greenways planning and implementation, the City of Asheville will advance its system of sidewalks and bike lanes as part of the initiative for alternative transportation and neighborhood connectivity.

To support the above policy goals, the Master Plan for Greenways should be updated to accomplish the following:

Indicate a rough chronological order for development of greenway segments and extension of existing segments based on priorities outlined above, and with emphasis on early establishment of a connected “core” of the system near the French Broad River and downtown Asheville;

Gather public input and identify any new segments that should be included in the Greenways Master Plan;

Develop cost estimates for acquisition and construction of greenways segments most likely to be developed over the next five years;

Advance the use of GIS technology at the parcel level/scale to develop data and map greenway routes that would be targeted for development over the next five years, clearly indicating specific (within 10 feet) geospatial alignment; beginning and end points; proximity to roads; and proximity to streams, stormwater, floodplain, and floodway boundaries;

Highlight opportunities to integrate connectivity between the greenway system and key community areas such as neighborhoods, schools, downtown, public parks and recreation centers;

Indicate opportunities for connections between greenway routes and existing or prospective sidewalks and bike lanes;

Develop an outline for design standards for development and construction of greenways;

Highlight opportunities for the incorporation of public art into greenway plans and designs; and
Highlight ways that development of the Asheville greenway system can enhance and encourage broader regional open space initiatives.