Volume XI. Number 3
Proudly serying the UNCA community since 19B2
September 17. 1987^
Broadway project
temporarily halted
By Fat Foyles
Staff Writer
StafT Photo—Melanie Floyd
UNCA student Michelle Sands seems to take giving blood in
stride as she donates her share Monday during the Red Cross
blood drive.
SGA prepares for
freshman elections
% Julie Ball
The long-awaited widening of
Broadway Avenue has been put on
hold while the Department of Trans
portation considers a new design.
A request by an area DOT member
to redesign the widening of Broad
way Avenue project concerns univ
ersity and Asheville officials and
may set the project back.
TTie original design has become
inappropriate, accor^ng to Frank
Sutton, DOT board member and an
attorney in Candler. The expense of
the original design is his major con
cern, he said. The original
Broadway project design would have
widened Broadway to multi-lanes
from U.S. Hwy. 19 & 23 to 1-40 at
Merrimon Avenue at an estimated
cost of $6 million. The typical sec
tion would be foxir lanes with a
median.
Extra widening along the outside
curb lanes would have provided for
an on-street bikeway. Plans also
include landscaping for a parkway
appearance along Broadway.
The construction would have re
quired the relocation of 14 families,
11 businesses and a church. Const
ruction on the original project was
set to begin in 1991.
The proposal by Sutton is a four-
lane highway with divided median
from U.S. 19 & 23 to UNCA, and
creating a new secondary road off
Broadway Avenue from the univer
sity into the business district of
Asheville.
Dr. David G. Brown, chancellor of
UNCA, said he is deeply concerned
about the economic development that
revolves around the Broadway issue.
The widening of Broadway as a con
nector of UNCA to Asheville would
bring vitality and a quality of en
richment to the life of the city, he
said.
"If the road between Asheville and
the campus becomes clogged with
traffic at certain times of the day,
the state will feel incentive to build
duplicate facilities downtown to
serve the people," said Brown. He
said he feels that the widening of
Broadway would ease the problem
and expense.
"I don’t like the redesigning of
the Broadway project," said Asheville
Mayor Lewis Bissett. 'This corridor
is so important to Asheville and
UNCA....This is important for eco
nomic development in the county as
well as the city."
He said he feels that priority for
roads should not be based on traffic
count alone. Merrimon Avenue is
very congested between UNCA and
the city, he said.
"The Broadway project is only 1.6
miles," added Bissett, "The university
and the city will contribute land
that they own in the area for the
right of way. This is a state high
way and the law will only allow the
city of Asheville to contribute 15
percent of the cost, which we are
willing to do."
In reference to the other projects
needed in the district Bissett said
he "did not like the idea of playing
one project against another." He
said the district should ask the Gen
eral Assembly for enough money to
take care of all immediate needs,
said Bissett.
The target date for work on the
project may be moved up a year
with a new design, according to '
Sutton.
"The amount of money spent on
Please see BROADWAY page 12
Editor .
The Student Government Associa
tion is gearing up for lots of
changes this semester, according to
Monica Bonikowski, SGA president.
"People are excited and enthuaed
about this year," said Bonikowski.
Oie a^Mct of diese chains is an
increased interest in SGA. There are
more candidates for the freshman
Please see SGA page 12