Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:
Question: Ever since school opened, there are significant backups in both directions, every morning and afternoon, due to turning cars entering and leaving the Franklin School of Innovation. It seems that every car has only a single passenger — I don’t see any evidence of carpooling nor are they any buses, which would mean fewer cars. This situation on Sardis is likely to become worse when the new Buncombe County school, Enka Intermediate, opens. On some mornings there are one or two Asheville police cars parked in a driveway, but they are not doing anything to alleviate the situation. Is the city or county planning on doing anything about this problem? I have called the city but do not get any answers.
My answer: I’m thinking the new tourism logo for Asheville should involve snarled traffic.
Real Answers: First up, Asheville Police Department spokeswoman Christina Hallingse.
“Franklin School of Innovation currently does not have any buses, as it is a charter School,” Hallingse said. “A number of parents do choose to carpool, and there is an incentive for doing this, as carpools have the ability to utilize a faster drop-off/pickup line. Asheville police have been working to alleviate a lot of traffic by requiring parents to make a right turn only as they are returning to Sardis after picking up/dropping off their children. APD assisted with traffic for the first two weeks of school.”
Now, as far as Enka Intermediate, scheduled to open in 2016, I turned that question over to Tim Fierle, director of facilities and planning for Buncombe County Schools.
“We did a traffic study of the area and looked at turn lanes and waiting lanes on Sardis Road,” Fierle said. “We have submitted the design to DOT and are awaiting approval. A new bridge connecting Smoky Park (Highway) with Jacob Holm Way is planned and will offer another option for drivers to access Enka Intermediate School.”
Which led me to Anna Henderson, division traffic engineer for the Asheville office of the North Carolina Department of Transportation. She said the Franklin School, like any school at the beginning of the year, has been working through traffic challenges.
“N.C. DOT, as well as city staff and Asheville police have observed traffic flow at school pickup and drop-off times to assist the school and offer suggestions for traffic flow improvements,” Henderson said. “Additionally, the school is required to install a right turn and left turn lane at the school entrance, and (we) expect the work to be completed later this fall. The school has also implemented a separate faster carpooling drop-off/pickup area as an incentive to encourage parents to carpool. The internal traffic flow improvements and carpooling incentives coupled with the turn lane additions should greatly improve traffic flow on Sardis Road near the school.”
Question: I recently moved to a town home in an apartment complex within the city limits of Asheville. The management is saying the fire marshal will not allow grills on the patio. I did not have this issue at other apartments in Buncombe County. Is this just a city of Asheville regulation, or were the other apartments just lax? Not being able to grill seems un-American.
My answer: It’s a dad-jim outrage! I’m grilling burgers beneath my desk as I write this. My cubicle mates love it.
Real answer: Asheville Fire Department Chief Scott Burnette said the ban on balcony grilling at apartments or condos is a statewide law that is in effect in the city and county. Balconies are covered by ceilings, and they can be easily combustible, potentially leading to quick-spreading fires.
In the city, Burnette’s department enforces the law.
“As much as I love to grill, that is a very sound requirement that is in our statewide fire code,” Burnette said. ” When people live in multi-family homes, there is a combination of risks there that requires a little additional protection. One risk is when you have more people in a dense area, the chance of fire increases, because you not only have to worry about the fire safety of your own occupancy, you have to worry about those beside, above and below you. The other risk is that the exit areas are limited.”
This is the opinion of John Boyle. To submit a question, contact him at 828-232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com
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