Lifetime Sylva residents Mary Jane Dillard
and her brother Orville Coward examine a map of the proposed
Southern Loop corridors as Smart Roads Alliance members Gwen
Messer, left, and Suzanne Fullar talk in front of an enlargement
of the proposed route during Tuesday night's Smart Roads Alliance
meeting at the Justice Center. More than 125 concerned citizens
turned out to voice opposition to a four-lane highway that would
connect U.S. 441 south of Dillsboro to U.S. 23-74 near Blantons
Branch. - Herald photo by Nick Breedlove
By Lynn Hotaling
It was standing room only Tuesday (July 15) as more than 125
people packed the large courtroom at the Justice Center to voice
opposition to the proposed Southern Loop.
Most speakers questioned the need for a new four-lane road through
the Tuckaseigee River valley and wondered why N.C. Department
of Transportation officials did not include information on traffic
management on existing roads in a recent feasibility study.
Hosted by the Smart Roads Alliance, a grassroots organization
formed last fall to promote "smart roads," which moderator
Lydia Aydlett described as "roads that serve the human
community and take care of the environment," Tuesday's
session included both informational presentations and feedback
from those in attendance.
Smart Roads members have asked DOT officials for a feasibility
study of access management of N.C. 107 as an alternative to
construction of a new road.
Members Jeannette Evans and Suzanne Fullar gave a brief overview
of events that led to the DOT proposal to build a Southern Loop
to connect U.S. 441 south of Dillsboro with U.S. 23-74 near
Blantons Branch to alleviate congestion on busy N.C.107.
A new highway is not in keeping with the results of the county's
2000-01 Smart Growth initiative, Fullar said.
"The vision for Smart Growth did not include a major highway
right through the middle of our county," she said.
Such a road would also compromise Jackson County's plan for
greenways along the Tuckaseigee River, she said.
Fullar told the group that DOT officials are charged with considering
all forms of transportation, including mass transit, bicycle
and pedestrian, not just cars.
During the discussion phase of the meeting, speakers expressed
their displeasure with DOT officials' unwillingness to consider
alternatives to a new highway and their concerns about the damaging
effects of such a road.
One speaker said outright that the genesis of the Southern Loop
is not in traffic congestion but in politics.
"The issue is not traffic," Patrick Holleman said.
"The issue is politics. Several firms would benefit from
a road construction project. Traffic is to divert us from the
real issue, which is political payback."
Another speaker brought up the potential damage to trout fishing
in the Tuckaseigee, which he said has been rated the third-best
trout stream in the country by Field & Stream magazine.
"Who wants to fish next to a freeway?" he asked.
Malcolm MacNeill said DOT officials have been given a number
of suggestions on ways to relieve traffic congestion but only
one - construction of a new freeway - was considered. Those
suggestions came from a professional traffic engineer who did
a who studied N.C. 107 traffic in 2002, MacNeill said.
"Ideas like innovative intersections or improved smaller
roads were never even discussed," he said. "This is
a bureaucracy that wants to build roads - they don't even repair
the roads they have."
DOT representatives were invited to Tuesday's meeting but had
other commitments, Aydlett said.
Several present suggested that one way to reduce morning and
afternoon congestion is to "put kids back on the school
bus," and it was also suggested that Western Carolina University
and Southwestern Community College could provide convenient
shuttles into town for their students.
Others proposed moving Smoky Mountain High School, saying that
it would be much cheaper to build a new school than the projected
cost of constructing the Southern Loop.
Mark Jamison, who heads Jackson County's Smart Growth Task Force,
pointed out that some $10 million has gone toward renovations
at SMHS and a planned new entrance should help reduce the volume
of cars through the current N.C. 107/N.C. 116 (Webster Road)
intersection.
Jamison said DOT officials should have considered proposed traffic
changes at SMHS when doing the Southern Loop feasibility study.
Another speaker said school traffic causes problems in every
area.
"School is a fact of life every morning and every afternoon
everywhere I've lived. This bypass will help nothing,"
she said.
Several speakers said they didn't understand what congestion
a new road would relieve, saying that most of the vehicles on
107 are local. It was suggested that DOT officials should analyze
the traffic stream before going any further with plans for a
new highway.
Restaurant owner Lee Ewart of Sylva said he watched from Smoky
Mountain Drive-in in Lovesfield as N.C. 107 traffic moved at
70 miles per hour early Tuesday morning and at about 50 mph
around 5 p.m.
"What's the big deal?" he asked.
"To cut 30 minutes off a trucker's time from Waynesville
to Franklin," an audience member responded.
Two potential routes have been identified for the proposed Sylva-Dillsboro
Southern Loop.
The northern alternate would run from roughly Mockingbird Lane
on U.S. 23-441 south of Dillsboro, cross N.C. 107 just south
of Cope Creek Road and intersect U.S. 23-74 east of Sylva near
Blanton Branch.
Estimated cost for construction and right-of-way acquisition
on the 6.3-mile segment is $193,800,000.
The southern alternate would leave U.S. 23-441 near Cagle Branch
Road, cross N.C. 107 near South River Road and intersect with
U.S. 23-74 near Blanton Branch.
Estimated construction and right-of-way cost for the 8.7-mile
road is $227,400,000. Both alternates are proposed as four-lane
routes.
The Smart Roads Alliance will hold its next meeting at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, July 29, at the Community Service Center in Sylva.
The topic of that session will be "Walkable Communities."
