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By Carey King
and Rose Hooper
The town boards of Webster, Dillsboro and Sylva have all gone
on record in opposition to the proposed Southern Loop.
Sylva Partners In Renewal was expected to take similar action
Wednesday, Sept. 10, according to President Lisa Duff.
A round of applause broke out Sept. 4 when Sylva officials took
an official stand against the proposed Southern Loop.
Applause was also heard during the meeting, as resident after
resident voiced opposition to the highway proposed by the N.C.
Department of Transportation.
"Why are we working so hard to bypass what we have worked
so long to restore? So many of my customers say they just ‘happened
upon' Sylva. What kind of future lies with the bypass, when those
customers ‘happen past' us?" asked Kim Anthony, co-owner
of Lulu's on Main.
The choice for Sylva, said Smart Roads member Malcolm MacNeill,
is deciding whether to be a "destination town" or a
"bypass town."
"With the bypass, people can live further out, and chains
will spread," he said.
And there is no guarantee that the bypass will improve the traffic
on N.C. 107, according to MacNeill.
"Say the bypass doesn't remove traffic – or what if
the traffic is reduced but then gets bad again?" he asked.
Such an effect "would be tragic for the landscape and natural
beauty of Jackson County, and tragic for the town of Sylva,"
said Susan Leveille, chairman of Webster's planning board and
a member of the Smart Roads Alliance, the grassroots organization
that asked Sylva town board members to oppose the proposed road.
A petition against the proposed highway has already gathered more
than 3,000 signatures, Leveille said.
"I want to know where the town board stands on this issue,"
said downtown business owner Dottie Hoche. "I want the commissioners
to make their opinion stellarly clear."
In a joint presentation to the board on behalf of Smart Roads,
Leveille, MacNeill and Roger Turner asked Sylva board members
to approve the same resolution opposing the Southern Loop that
the town board of Webster approved two weeks ago.
The resolution requests that DOT "remove the Southern Loop
Bypass from its long-range plan" and instead develop strategies
for "improving existing roads as alternatives to the Bypass."
It also asks that DOT hear the concerns of Jackson Country residents
by taking part in a community-based forum.
The document also states that a study of "smart growth"
traffic improvement alternatives in Sylva should begin as soon
as possible.
The board passed the resolution 3 to 1. Board member Eldridge
Painter was absent, and board member Maurice Moody voted "no"
to the resolution, saying that he felt it was premature to vote
before town officials meet with DOT representatives Sept. 8 to
hear other opinions. (See related story page 1A.)
Mayor Brenda Oliver said the town of Sylva has not been vocal
thus far in the issue because they've been "working in-house,
looking at alternative ways to come up with solutions."
In response to the large turnout for the meeting, Oliver said
she was encouraged by seeing people working together with government.
"I want to keep this positive," she said.
In taking action Tuesday, Sept. 9, Dillsboro Mayor Jean Hartbarger
also emphasized working together and keeping a positive approach.
Dillsboro board members unanimously approved the same resolution,
although members Jim Cochran and Mary Bumgarner were not present
at the 6 p.m. meeting.
Webster Town Board members, who last year went on record in opposition
to the Southern Loop, passed the same resolution at their Aug.
21 meeting.
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