Great News for Asheville’s Cyclists

February 27, 2008 on 3:37 pm | In Lifestyle |

Where do we go from here? The “Bike Petition” has an ambitious goal of putting people back to the center of urban planning decisions. The recent Bike Plan speaks to many of the concerns addressed in city councils recent show of support for ‘people-centered planning’. Thanks to everybody that helped get this petition into the right hands. Here is the video of it being turned in at the City Council Meeting on 2/26/08.

Below is the final list of signatures by zip code. These are your servers, your doctors, your painters, your accountants, your attorneys, your babysitters, your teachers, your stockbrokers, your carpenters, your nurses & your neighbors. Here is the Finalized Asheville Bike Petition representing as many as 7300 people. (Originals are on file at Asheville City Hall.)

Considering that some of our leaders may never actually see all the hand signatures, or fully grasp it’s vision, here is a reminder of our mutual realization, as set forth by the “Asheville Bike Petition”

“To: NC D.O.T., The City Of Asheville and NC Public Officials: We, the undersigned, ask that all available city, state and federal transportation funds be attained and used for projects that will address the following issues in Asheville, NC and Western North Carolina:

1. We recognize that fossil-fuel related travel negatively impacts all cities in the USA.
2. We recognize that increased bicycle travel, as well as safe wheelchair and foot-travel, will beneficially impact the growing transportation, health, and quality of life concerns plaguing all of Asheville, Buncombe County, Western North Carolina and entirety of the United States.
3. We demand the creation, and continued maintenance, of a far-sighted Multimodal Transportation System that includes trails, non-motorized lanes, pedestrian malls, and light-rail projects that help connect outlying areas and ensure sustainable economic development. This mandate addresses incomplete, as well as all future urban, suburban and rural transportation planning projects.
4. By making bicycles part of our daily lives, and encouraging our peers to do the same, we will make Asheville an example of smart-growth & livability.
5. As an important contribution to our transportation history, bicycles and pedestrians preserve the soul of our community-life.

Therefore, we deem it necessary to enhance bicycle and pedestrian use and safety for all people within the city of Asheville, North Carolina. We hereby demand that our public officials, government agencies, businesses and individuals who participate in decision making on transportation projects look towards other vibrant and forward-thinking cities such as Madison, WI., Boulder, CO., Davis & Berkeley, CA., Portland & Corvallis, OR. and Chapel Hill, NC.”