The City of Asheville has announced two meetings to collect input on proposed greenways. Saith the press release:
Greenways are beneficial to community members because they provide safe and fun ways for everyone to get around town.
Such an apparently false underlying assumption is bound to lead to a mismatch between hypotheticals and actuals. In fact, a former transportation director confided he hated public information sessions because people always paint themselves greener than they turn out to be, and so systems are built to serve demand that doesn’t materialize.
As I’ve said before, I frequently use the greenways to walk the Evo, and I seldom see commuters. Lots of folks drive to the greenways for exercise; and real commuters have to use the roads much of the year because the greenways are closed when it’s dark – or maybe not and I’m missing them if they only have one 29-hour job.
