Council sends joint letter to NCDOT and community presses alternatives to I‑26 Patton Avenue flyover

The Asheville City Council on May 27 reviewed and transmitted a joint letter to the North Carolina Department of Transportation asking DOT to reconsider portions of the planned I‑26 connector design, including a proposed flyover of Patton Avenue.

Mayor Esther Manheimer described the letter as thanking DOT for long‑term engagement while asking for renewed review of elements that community members say increase neighborhood impacts. The letter attaches prior council resolutions and asks DOT to work with an existing city aesthetics committee, to convene an alternative‑design task force and to brief the French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization on project decisions and changes. The city emphasized it was not asking DOT to stop the overall project, but asked DOT to minimize impacts to Asheville neighborhoods and the character of Patton Avenue.

Community groups and residents told council they remain concerned about the project footprint, potential property takings and neighborhood disconnection. Members of the I‑26 Citizens Coalition and design practitioners presented alternatives at a public design charrette and asked DOT to consider sending I‑26 under Patton Avenue, narrowing lane widths and removing selected ramps at Haywood Road to preserve neighborhood access and reduce costs. Speakers outlined a package of design alternatives that, they said, would reduce property takings, improve pedestrian safety and allow multiuse path connections through neighborhoods.

Design team members and neighborhood advocates also highlighted specific concerns in other project corridors — Hill Street/Hillcrest and downtown 240 alignments — and asked DOT to consider retaining the 2020 profile in some areas, limiting through lanes where traffic counts do not justify additional width, and to study alternatives for tower relocations and other utility impacts.

Mayor Manheimer and speakers said DOT has agreed to attend metropolitan planning meetings and that the agency has contracting authority to make design changes through construction; the city asked DOT to maintain a clear public process and collaborative design forum. An NCDOT date for a design‑review session was not finalized in the transcript. Councilors and community members said they plan continued outreach and follow‑ups to ensure DOT hears the alternatives and explanations community members requested.