Black Mountain council weighs South Ridgeway one-way plan amid business, safety and enforcement disputes

Black Mountain Town Council discussed a staff proposal to convert part of South Ridgeway Avenue and Southern Avenue to one-way traffic and create a pedestrian path, drawing more than an hour of public comment from residents and business owners who alternately urged immediate safety measures and warned the change would shift traffic and harm local businesses.

The proposal, presented as a short-term response to what staff described as “a life health safety issue,” prompted repeated calls for sidewalks, crosswalks and less intrusive fixes. Mayor Michael Sogel read public comment and council members and staff repeatedly emphasized that sidewalks remained the long-term goal while the one-way proposal was intended as an interim solution.

The debate focused on competing priorities: immediate pedestrian safety versus longer-term infrastructure and business impacts. Sydney Joyner, who lives at 120 South Ridgeway Avenue, told the council South Ridgeway is “incredibly unsafe for pedestrians” and urged “action as opposed to inaction.” Several residents and business owners, including Anna Stewart and owners connected to the Bush Farmhouse, said the town’s recent erection of a fence along the pedestrian path made walking more dangerous and harmed local commerce. Stewart said town staff erected a “6 foot tall chain link” fence without notice and without a court order authorizing entry onto private property, and asked the council to reconsider enforcement practices and meet with property owners.

Many commenters recommended alternatives to making the street one-way: moving the fence back to expand the pedestrian corridor, installing temporary speed cushions or bumps, and pursuing a prioritized sidewalk program. Former town planning and public-works speakers and longtime residents urged an impact study before changing traffic patterns that could push additional congestion onto Richardson Boulevard and Broadway and affect school-bus routing.

Town staff said the one-way proposal derives from an earlier traffic study and from an immediate safety assessment. Staff acknowledged the measure would not be the “end game” and said sidewalks and additional improvements would be evaluated once funding and right-of-way issues were resolved. Staff also reported they had initiated contacts with the railroad about right-of-way questions related to potential sidewalk connections.

After extended public comment and council discussion about alternatives — including targeted speed cushions and relocating the fence — a motion was made to decline the resolution to convert South Ridgeway and the relevant segment of Southern Avenue to one-way traffic. The motion to decline was put to a vote and approved by the council.

Councilmembers and members of the public emphasized next steps: staff follow-up on less intrusive measures (moving the fence back where feasible, temporary traffic calming), continued dialogue with affected property owners and businesses, and a prioritized sidewalk plan for future capital funding. Several speakers asked the council to seek input from the railroad and to include a consistent policy for accepting private roads into the town’s maintained network when evaluating long-term sidewalk commitments.

Council members stressed the distinction between emergency or interim safety fixes and capital projects that require funding and right-of-way acquisition. The council did not adopt a final street-design plan; instead it directed staff to return with additional information on alternatives and potential funding pathways.

The fence and enforcement actions that triggered much of the public comment were tabled for separate review; an item about an enforcement action (agenda item 9d) was removed from the evening’s agenda so staff could confer with counsel.

The council’s discussion leaves the immediate pedestrian-safety problem unresolved but sets a path for further study and for low-cost, short-term mitigation while delaying a one-way conversion.