My coverage of the regional bike plan encouraged me to reflect on one of my highlights of 2011: my solo bike ride across the state. Earlier this year I posted an account of my ride. Check out that previous post from August. Below is a slide show I pieced together. Mostly to pat myself on the back – but it was a good memory. North Carolina is a really excellent place to cycle – could it use some help? Sure.
Enjoy the video.
Ride Across North Carolina July ’11 from HOMAGETOAPPALACHIA on Vimeo.
Last November a meeting at Haywood Community College kicked off a two-year bike planning process that covers seven counties: Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, Transylvania, Swain, and Jackson. I’ll be covering the process for Carolina Public Press – at least, that is, I’ll have one upcoming story on their website. I’ll post a link when it comes up.
In the meantime, check out the Land of Sky Regional Council website for more information. Land of Sky was awarded a quarter million dollar grant to coordinate the plan. Look for the survey and a link to their Facebook page. All meetings are open to the public. I believe the next meeting has yet to be scheduled.
Typically, cycling and pedestrian planning is coordinated at the city or county level (if anything at all). This plan is the third regional plan in the state of North Carolina. A Lake Norman plan has been completed and another regional plan in the NC High Country is underway.
One interesting fact: the NC Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation has a $6 million budget. That’s a really small slice of the overall NC Department of Transportation budget which is just shy of $4 billion. Takes a bunch to keep the roads working – doesn’t it?
I think wind power will be one of the big environmental/conservation stories in the southern Appalachians in coming years. Obviously, it will require the use of ridge lines – that’ll be a big fight.
On the way to Chicago for the holidays I had a look at the first large scale wind farm I’ve ever seen – we typically fly north, so seldom do we see what’s in between. It’s Fowler Ridge Wind Farm in Benton County, Indiana – 90 miles northwest of Indianapolis. Jointly owned by BP and Dominion Resources. There are several hundred turbines – in which Duke Energy is one of the primary buyers of the energy produced.
Here’s a short video I took from a gas station (BP in case you’re wondering). I’ll admit that the wind farm was breathtaking in a strange way. There are hundreds of turbines spread out in every direction – the slow revolution of their blades seem like a handful of jacks rolling in slow motion. I can’t say the scene will look as nice on high ridges of North Carolina or West Virginia.
Indiana wind farm from HOMAGETOAPPALACHIA on Vimeo.
Since I’ve been reporting on the Chattooga River management plan I’ve spent lots of time wading through epic government documents. However, I’ve been meaning to pay closer attention to the BRP’s general management plan since the public commenting period is closing December 16.
Among the topics addressed (or not addressed) that interest me are motorcycle noise and cycling. I’ve heard that advocates for each may not be happy with the BRP preferred alternative “B”.
This an architectural rendering of a proposed hotel with an ornate, gabled roof that would stand alongside a more modern residential high-rise of 21 floors overlooking Haywood Avenue in Asheville, NC. The building was shot down by the city in 2008, I believe, due to its height. I suppose if the city didn’t chop it down then the sub-prime crisis would’ve.
That’s got me thinking about the development of urban centers in the southern Appalachian region.
A really interesting book that I’m keen to read by Harvard economist Edward Glaeser titled Triumph of the City. His name has been popping up anywhere there is a discussion of rapidly growing cities – which is to say, everywhere. Here’s a clip summarizing one of his ideas in the December, ’11 issue of National Geographic in the article “The City Solution” by Robert Kunzig.
India’s future is not in its villages, it’s in Bangalore. Images of Dharavi, Mumbai’s large slum, and of Rio’s favelas flashed by; to Glaeser, they were examples of urban vitality, not blight. Poor people flick to cities because that’s where the money is, he said, and cities produce more because “the absence of space between people” reduces the cost of transporting goods, people, and ideas.
Below is also an entertaining interview with Glaeser from the Daily Show. Check it out. I’m really interested in Glaeser’s ideas in the context of southern Appalachian cities like Asheville, Roanoke, Greenville, Knoxville, etc…. From my observation in Asheville there is a reluctance to build tall buildings, yet the alternative seems to be sprawl. I’d much rather have a 50 story building on Pack Square than a three story house slammed on top of a ridge. I think the reluctance to zone is troubling in the southern mountains. I think smart growth needs a sensible element of planning mixed in.
Ever wondered what it’s like to ride a unicycle on trail? You say no. Well, here’s my attempt to demonstrate anyway (I confess – I was a bit bored and stuffed over thanksgiving). Here’s a clip of my favorite ride on Little Walker Mountain, VA.
Morgan Simmons of the Knoxville News-Sentinel reported the following:
A self-employed drug counselor and avid backpacker from Knoxville, Tenn., the 45-year-old [John] Quillen is vehemently opposed to the proposal, and he is convinced most people who have a stake in the matter are, too.
To prove his point, Quillen recently filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the National Park Service to obtain copies of the 1,000-plus comments received last summer during the public comment period. The Park Service said it would comply with his request but would charge a $1,200 copying and searching charge.
In response, Quillen has retained an attorney. An appeal of the fee is under way.
“I’d bet the farm that the comments were overwhelmingly negative,” Quillen said. “The park doesn’t want to release that information, in my opinion.”
According to Quillen, it sounds like I’m in the minority in support of the fee. I don’t have an opinion of how the funds generated should be used, however, it seems like a sensible way to generate a bit of extra cash for the park. That said, I support the fee because I think it’s an efficient way to allocate park spaces. I for one really value the experience in the backcountry and I’m willing to pay for it. First come first served is seldom, in my opinion, an efficient way to allocate much of anything, let alone campsites.
I must admit, I’m looking forward to seeing those public comments too.
Homage to Appalachia 