The City of Asheville is pleased to announce that City Council Vice Mayor Gwen Wisler will serve as the City’s dignitary at a ribbon cutting, 6 p.m. Thursday (April 28), for the recently installed bike corral on Haywood Road.
What is a bike corral? It’s is a series of onstreet bicycle racks that can provide parking for 15 or more bicycles. The bike corral is located on Haywood Road, opposite of Vermont Avenue.
It’s fitting that Wisler cut the ribbon as she is a bike commuter herself, and has been active in Asheville’s cycling advocacy.
In 2014, Mike Sule of Asheville on Bikes, and Barb Mee, the City’s pedestrian and bicycle coordinator, presented the concept of a bike corral to West Asheville Business Assocation, since Haywood Road has some of the highest bicycle counts in city.
Bringing this project to creation was a partnership between the City of Asheville, North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), West Asheville Business Association (WABA), and Asheville on Bikes (AoB).
Once WABA had endorsed the corral, the City had to secure an encroachment agreement from NCDOT because Haywood Road is an NCDOT maintained highway.
“NCDOT was pleased to have worked collaboratively with the community on the bike corral project, we understand that this is a project of local importance. We were pleased to provide the encroachment agreement,” said Kristina Solberg, NCDOT Division 13 Planning Engineer.
“NCDOT, Asheville’s transportation department and the business community were incredible to work with,” said Sule. “Each agency understood the value and worked diligently to respond to the need. The bike corral is a clear example that Asheville is a community that knows how to work well together. I appreciate the spirit of cooperation and inclusion throughout this project. I’m also ready to celebrate.”