Answer Man: Haw Creek 'strip mining'? Brevard Road 'battered and beaten'?

Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:

Question: Is the city strip mining the Blue Ridge? Of course not, but the city started a project at the base of these ancient hills months ago but never finished, leaving a gaping wound in the landscape. The project is the construction a small parking lot at Masters Park on Maple Drive in Haw Creek. Masters Park is a serene woodland park featuring a winding path at the base of the hills up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Before the parking lot, cars parked on a very narrow road near the trailhead. Trees were removed, the ground excavated, and new trees were delivered but not planted. And now the project seems to have been abandoned. Does the city plan to finish this project and if so when?

My answer: Honestly, how many "serene woodland parks" can one city stand?

Real answer: You can't blame the city on this one.

"The parking lot at Masters Park was initiated by the Haw Creek Community Association," city of Asheville spokesperson Kim Miller said via email. "They are overseeing construction and completion of the project."

The project has the required permits.

Previously: Answer Man: Why is the French Broad River so muddy lately?

Answer Man: 'Jesus Saves' signs left up, waaaay up? E.W. Grove Park location?

"The city, community association and their contractor  are in communication about meeting building standards to complete the project," Miller said.

I reached out the neighborhood association, and Bernard Arghiere, community liaison for the parking lot construction project, got back to me via email on Aug. 8.

"The contractor for the parking lot is awaiting an order for some concrete blocks, that are in short supply now, to construct an erosion control wall on the upper (east) side of the nine-space parking lot — required to meet the city slope erosion code," Arghiere said. "The hope is that the parking lot work will commence again by the end of August when those concrete blocks are available."

I got an update Aug. 24, and Arghiere said the association is still "waiting on some retaining wall block that is on backorder before construction will resume. We are hopeful that the block will be available by Sept. 1."

Question: I've lived in West Asheville off Brevard Road for nine years. In this time, I have watched the stretch between the I-240 interchange and Haywood Road become more and more battered and beaten. I feel like I'm riding my bike on a dirt road in the country, and there are literally trees growing out of the side where the road hits the curb. It was already ravaged with potholes, bumps, and weird patches before they came through and replaced the stormwater system and some other plumbing the last few years. I thought they would take that opportunity to repave the whole section. They did not. They left all their weird patches and scars to further destroy the road. However, they recently repaved a couple hundred yard stretch right around Morris Road, where the stormwater project was focused. It is so beautiful and smooth! But then they stopped. It's been a week or two and I see no sign of anything else happening. Answer Man, please tell me, are they going to finish the job? Or let this heavily-used stretch of roadway get smashed and battered for another 10 years?

My answer: On a positive note, those trees growing out of the curbs will help out with the tree canopy issue in Asheville. I'm starting a group now called, "Save the Brevard Road Gutter Trees!" Maybe I need to work on that name...     

Real answer: The Asheville office of the North Carolina Department of Transportation had some good news for this reader.

Read this: Answer Man: Big clearing in Candler? No trucks in left lane on I-26 not enforced?

"This section of Brevard Road (N.C. 191) is included in the 2022 Buncombe County Resurfacing Contract," Scott Killough, assistant maintenance engineer for the NCDOT, said via email. "Pre-paving improvements have been completed for some of the items included in the contract, such as updating the wheelchair ramps to ADA standards. The paving contractor should complete the project in the coming months."

ADA stands for Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, by the way.

This is the opinion of John Boyle. To submit a question, contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Answer Man: Haw Creek 'strip mining'? Brevard Road repaving in sight?