The second set of public meetings sharing results of neighbor surveys on the upcoming Business 40 reconstruction proceeds this week. Please attend one of these sessions if you can and show your support for the project and the design possibilities it affords our city. Here's a report on the Business 40 Improvements Neighborhood Meeting held February 19, 2008 at Reynolds High Cafeteria for the West Highlands and Buena Vista neighborhoods.
The first impression one had was of forty smiling people decked out in orange welcoming you to the event: at four check-in stations, at easel displays around the room with color graphics of survey results in each neighborhood, and at a delicious buffet spread, the latter (for this event provided by the Arts Council of W-S/FC) included chicken pie, cake and salad, as well as beverages. I felt like I was a guest at a restaurant or an art gallery rather than an attendee at a public meeting. As first impressions of hospitality go, this one was impressive.
The room was organized for a PowerPoint presentation by DOT and survey group officials, with two microphones for use by the public in a Q&A session, a court reporter transcribing the session, and a gentleman summarizing points made by the audience on a flip chart. The first 15 minutes of the presentation by Jumetta Posey were about process steps, including a review of the household survey and various stages for public input thereafter (neighborhood meetings being the first public meetings). Then DOT's David Spainhour reviewed the engineering challenge of the project. First, to bring Business 40 up to today's standards for pavement and bridges. It was built in 1955 before interstate standards were set as a crosstown parkway (like Silas Creek and Peters Creek would later be) and was never meant to be an interstate. In fact the eleven bridges that have to come down (eight overpasses, three underpasses, not all overpasses may be rebuilt) were built by different contractors and represent eleven different bridge designs!
The second goal of the project is to improve safety and roadway conditions, primarily through improvement of ramps and shoulders. Interestingly, DOT does not have room to expand the highway much beyond its current width, and so at the end it will not look like Bypass 40 interstate - but just a newer narrow Business 40. Were it not for the extra prestige (and some highway dollars) that some attach to the business interstate designation, Spainhour said it would be a better road as a limited access parkway as initially designed. [Ed. Perhaps here's an opportunity to call the thing the "Wachovia Parkway" (whether we keep the Business 40 designation or just leave it as US421), reclaiming the Wachovia name which publicly left town displays with the bank, and bringing it back as the land identifier for here that it once was.]
Ms. Posey reviewed the results of neighbor surveys as posted around the room. The showcase statistic was that most people favored closing the road completely for two years rather than leaving it partially opened for six. But that statistic was shown somewhat hollow in the Q&A period. Neighbors wanted to know which roads would be alternate routes, and the one helpful survey question on this point (which other routes would you use were 40 closed) was not summarized and graphed. Ms. Posey said they would try to have that up at future meetings. Neighbors expressed concern about a complete shutdown of Business 40 absent details which of their traveled streets might be impacted. DOT's Spainhour said the normal construction time for a bridge reconstruction project like this would be 4 years, so 2 years would already be an ambitious cycle, requiring 24 hr construction schedules [Ed. No survey questions asked how neighbors would feel about construction noise in the middle of the night for two years.]
Before any shutdown happened, several years worth of improvements to alternate routes would be done first - including possible extension of MLK across 8th/NW Blvd to hookup with Reynolda as an alternate around downtown route. Several people expressed their disappointment that the public meeting was not a chance to hear more details from DOT on alternate routes and actual inconvenience costs of the project. Posey and Spainhour said those details would be forthcoming after all neighborhood review meetings were held, and there would be a chance after that time for more public meetings on specific issues: bridge design, alternates, etc.
Several people spoke up requesting that DOT include considerations, in addition to the safety and standards upgrades, about the design and aesthetics of the roadway project. First brought up by Eric Elliott of the Arts Council's Public Art and Design Committee, Katie Gunter at Salem College said she is doing a senior project on possible bridge designs as part of her Arts Management degree. Another Salem Arts Management student, Sandy Romanac, spoke of her excitement about the potentials for the area. Neighbor David Wallace mentioned the ARTS Council email he received about the meeting and asked DOT to please consider the aesthetic and design opportunities. Afterwards, Cuban artist Raul Montero was introduced to Eric Elliott by Que Pasa Carolina's Adolfo Briceño, and seemed excited about the community building aspect of the project.
The meeting was unique in its hospitality, daunting in its challenges for the city, but optimistic in that folks seem ready to pull together for a project that can help our town tremendously. - Eric Elliott, West End Association Past President, Arts Council Public Art and Design Committee member. Photos courtesy of www.business40nc.com
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