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By Lynn Hotaling
"Let's get together and get started. We're on the same side,"
Commissioner Joe Cowan told members of the Smart Roads Alliance
Tuesday (Nov. 18) prior to county officials unanimous approval
of a resolution calling for a comprehensive traffic study and
plan for the N.C. 107 corridor from Dillsboro to Cullowhee.
For the third time in as many meetings of the Jackson County Board
of Commissioners, members of the Alliance packed the room awaiting
officials' decision on the resolution.
Former Commissioner Jay Coward initially questioned language that
described the makeup of a task force that would be established
to provide community input into the traffic study and asked that
the Smart Roads Alliance have a "larger role" on the
committee.
After Cowan indicated commissioners' intent to give the Alliance
an equal vote on the task force, Coward indicated he could support
it.
Members of the planned task force, as listed in the resolution,
will be a representative of the N.C. Department of Transportation's
Statewide Planning Unit; the Southwestern Commission planner;
the Jackson County Transportation Board (Howard Allman, Dean Coward,
Roberta Crawford, Ron Stephens and Wade Wilson); the Jackson County
Smart Growth Task Force (Gary Buchanan, Rob Shelton, Richard Wilson,
Mickey Henson, Jay Spiro and Jim Dukes); and representatives from
Western Carolina University, Southwestern Community College, Smart
Roads Alliance, and the towns of Sylva, Dillsboro, Webster and
Forest Hills.
Harold Messer of Webster, who spoke in opposition to a DOT proposal
to build a four-lane Southern Loop bypass that would connect U.S.
74 at Blantons Branch with N.C. 107 at either Cope Creek or Locust
Creek and continue to U.S. 441, joining that highway in the vicinity
of Cagle Branch, said the community would be better served if
money was spent fixing N.C. 107 now rather than constructing a
new road.
Messer also said he was "offended" by the third paragraph
in the proposed resolution.
"Whereas, heretofore, ideas, concepts, or even studies of
potential solutions or improvements to the identified issues involving
the N.C. 107 Corridor have been sidetracked or terminated prematurely
due to opposition from various sources, leaving the problem unresolved
and the community and community leaders with insufficient data
and information from which to make future decisions," the
paragraph states.
"I take offense at paragraph three. This is America where
we voice our opinions," Messer said.
Addressing Messer's concern, Commissioners' Chairman Stacy Buchanan
said the language wasn't meant to offend but to let DOT know there
was some opposition.
"DOT was going through a process and was going to include
studying a Southern Loop but also look at improvements to N.C.
107. They said they'd like a resolution re-directing their efforts,"
Buchanan said.
Commissioner Cowan concurred.
"We're not calling names, but something always comes up,"
he said, "We have to do something about the traffic."
Alliance members asked commissioners Oct. 14 to amend the resolution
to include specific language opposing a Southern Loop, and such
a statement was added to the resolution the board considered Oct.
21, but action was postponed for a month.
The resolution passed Tuesday night does not include language
specifically opposing a bypass road.
Cowan said he had requested that statement be removed because
"it's foolish to ask DOT to stop doing something they're
not doing."
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