City, county leaders lauded for their multimodal approach

While there often will be much to criticize about Asheville and Buncombe County projects, we feel some praise is in order for the current leaders of the two localities, especially when it comes to foresight regarding transportation plans.

In the latest example, city Mayor Esther Manheimer and county commissioners’ Chairman David Gantt emphasized that the 3-c plan — favored by the city and county — for the proposed I-26 connector project will, of course, include a multimodal component, namely a greenway connection to downtown.

Manheimer stressed that the multimodal component “was very important to us.” Gantt nodded in agreement.

Their comments were addressed to an April 23 meeting of Leadership Asheville Forum at the Country Club of Asheville.

We think the city and county are being appropriately visionary with the multimodal aproach, inasmuch as providing several transportation alternatives to get from Point A to Point B, gives people much-needed flexibility.

It also keeps people moving if one of the options becomes unavailable —for instance, if astronomical gasoline prices make using automobiles unaffordable. 

It is comforting to know that one could choose from the options of driving a car along a road, or pedaling a bicycle or walking on a greenway system, to reach one’s destination — not to mention the potential health benefits of the alternatives.