Asheville City Council authorizes $300K for downtown Patton Ave. sidewalk replacement

ASHEVILLE - A short stretch of Patton Avenue in downtown Asheville, plagued with warped pavement and heaving tree roots, will see a full sidewalk replacement and accessibility improvements after Asheville City Council approved the use of $300,000 of federal grant funds Oct. 24.

Though the project area extends only a block, on both sides of Patton between Coxe and Asheland avenues, it's a highly-trafficked corridor at the heart of downtown, traversing First Citizens Bank, as well as various bars and restaurants, like Jack of the Wood, Yacht Club and Sonora Cocina Mexicana.

The project is expected to start in November and finish in April 2024.

Included in the scope of the sidewalk project is the replacement of noncompliant curb ramps, plus tree removal and replanting, with a net loss of one tree, Public Works Director Greg Shuler told council.

A walkability study conducted by the Asheville Downtown Association identified 22 defects along this section of sidewalks, from missing tree grates to broken and uneven concrete, which didn't include three additional non-compliant ramps.

Some of the street trees have "outlived their lifespan," Shuler said, buckling the sidewalks and causing some "pretty egregious" Americans with Disabilities Act compliance issues. It will effectively address one piece of the highest priority ADA project named in the City's GAP plan, adopted in October 2022.

Why now?

While it was always planned to happen, Shuler said, that was happening now was somewhat accelerated — spurred by stringent timeliness requirements of available funding, with a deadline of April 2024, which forced the city to turn focus to an internal, city-run project.

The project will be funded using Community Development Block Grant funding, an annual federal grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development used for a variety of projects to help low and moderate-income residents.

These funds come from previous years’ (fiscal year 2018-19 and 2019-20) contracts that have either expired or have unspent balances that have now been returned.

Recent uses of the city's CDBG allocation include housing, shelter and respite projects, plus home repairs and domestic violence intervention.

Use of CDBG funds, rather than general fund dollars, will allow Public Works to redirect operational money to other critical sidewalk maintenance projects, Shuler said.

Asheville City Council adopted the CDBG amendments in a 6-1 vote. Council member Sage Turner was the sole holdout.

Though Turner said she loved the sidewalk replacement project, calling it a "tremendous up-fit," she still had concerns over using the funds for a purpose other than housing projects, as the city finds itself entrenched in a "staggering housing crisis."

Residents weigh in

A public meeting was held for business owners along the corridor Oct. 17 at Jack of the Wood. It was also discussed at numerous public meetings, including two Housing and Community Development Committee meetings, the first in August, CDBG public meetings and the Urban Forestry Commission.

Shuler said they conducted targeted outreach, including door to door visits in early October. But despite engagement efforts, one business owner, Katie Burkhead, co-owner of Sonora, spoke during the Oct. 24 public comment period, fearful of impacts the project will have on needed foot traffic in winter.

Burkhead said a torn up sidewalk in front of her restaurant during the peak holiday season was a dangerous "deterrent," one that stands to impact all the businesses along the block. With tourism already "way down," she said, "we cannot take a hit like during the holiday season.”

She asked if staff would consider holding off on the project or replace the bank side of the street first, and the more restaurant-heavy side of the street during the typically slower month of January and February.

“I just need a fighting chance to make it through the holidays,” Burkhead said.

Shuler said work needed to begin as soon as possible to meet the April deadline, but that for "a lot of reasons" they do plan to phase the work, replacing it in short sections to "minimize disruption." Already, he said, they are working with area business and property owners, and will continue to do so.

City Manager Debra Campbell agreed that outreach would continue.

“We know that this is a very needed project, and we’re going to do our best to coordinate and be the least disruptive as we can,” Campbell said.

Patrick Gilbert, chair of the Urban Forestry Commission, which offers policy and project recommendations to council, also spoke to the project. He said they have asked staff to consider certain species of trees that will hold up well to the "challenging environment" of streetscape, and whose root systems won't threaten the integrity of the sidewalk, and for fewer trees to be planted, giving those there a better chance at a larger, healthier canopy.

Once passed, Gilbert said he hoped staff would return to the commission to continue discussing design changes.

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More project details

• Existing, noncompliant ADA ramps will be brought into compliance.

• The crosswalk on the west side of the Patton/Coxe avenues intersection doesn't connect to a ramp. A new, compliant ramp will be installed.

• Replacement trees will be installed using 4-by-9 grates, rather than 4-by-4. Soil capacity will increase and compaction will decrease, improving the overall health of the trees.

• Mature trees will be removed, but select species more appropriate for the space will be chosen to create a more sustainable canopy.

• When replanted, trees will be installed lower to prevent roots and lower tree trunks from heaving the surrounding sidewalks and grates.

• Of the 18 trees, 17 will be replaced in order to create space and an accessible ramp.

Other amendments approved for the CDBG funds

• Council also voted to allow CDBG funding previously awarded to Helpmate Inc. to additionally be used outside of the jurisdictional limits of the city of Asheville, but within Buncombe County; and to allow a previous award to Homeward Bound of WNC for fiscal year 2021-22 HOME Tenant Based Rental Assistance program to include both Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Rehousing, resulting in expanded use of the funding.

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Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Downtown Asheville Patton Ave. sidewalk will see full replacement