Our community thrives on the ability to support a vibrant and welcoming downtown for residents, businesses, and visitors. The City of Asheville has embraced a proactive approach by exploring, testing, and refining strategies for ongoing and improved service delivery. We are working across departments and the community to ensure that downtown Asheville reflects the very best of our city. Your input and involvement are critical to a safer, cleaner, and more enjoyable downtown. Join us in supporting community safety efforts and offering ideas on how we can make our downtown even better.
Latest News:
Solid Waste Master Plan Contract Funding Approved
At City Council’s May 28, 2024 meeting, funding was approved in the amount of $350,000 in the FY 2023-2024 budget for a Solid Waste Master Plan. The purpose of the plan is to evaluate the City’s existing solid waste management system and provide short- and long-term recommendations to improve and enhance the efficiency and quality of the system and increase waste reduction and diversion. Included in the Solid Waste Master Plan will be a downtown-specific Waste and Storage Collection Plan. Community input will be an important part of the project; stay tuned for more details and opportunities to engage.
Connecting Through Chess – APD Community Engagement Initiative
For the past three months, APD’s Community Engagement officers have been fostering connections with community members through a unique initiative: Chess Wednesdays!
Every Wednesday at Pritchard Park from 1 to 3 p.m., members of the community gather with our officers for friendly chess matches. It’s an opportunity to bond over strategy and camaraderie, breaking down barriers and building bridges between law enforcement and the community.
In case of inclement weather, the games move indoors to Pack Library, ensuring the fun continues rain or shine. And the best part? Anyone can join in, regardless of skill level.
Chess Wednesdays are more than just games; they’re a testament to the power of community engagement and the importance of forging strong relationships between police and the people they serve.
Environment and Safety Committee Updates
City Council’s Environment and Safety Committee meets monthly. They review policy updates and make policy recommendations that ensure:
- The contributions of natural resources to human well-being are explicitly recognized and valued and that maintaining their health is a primary objective;
- Public health needs are recognized and addressed through provisions for healthy foods, physical activity, access to recreation, healthcare, environmental justice, and safe neighborhoods;
- Building and maintenance resilience to climate change; and
- The provision of public safety, including Police, Fire, and Emergency Management Services, as well as, intergovernmental relations and cooperation with law enforcement.
At the Committee’s next meeting on June 25, 2024, they will hear updates on the City’s recently updated Solicitation Ordinance. You can find all agendas and meeting materials for the Environment and Safety Committee on this page.
Downtown Capital Project Updates
At City Council’s May 28, 2024 meeting, Capital Projects Director Jade Dundas provided updates on various capital improvement projects happening across the City, including downtown, along with communications improvements being implemented. A new position in the City is now dedicated to supporting communications needs for capital projects. View the slide deck here and a recording of the presentation here.
An additional notable project update is that the City’s parking garage improvement project is entering a new phase. With immediate priority repairs complete, accessibility improvements will start this summer.
The upcoming improvements will address accessible parking and accessible travel within the parking garages, including resizing of ADA spaces, new striping, relocation of select ADA parking spaces, cane detection, and signage. There will be periodic, minimal space closures during this work which will be communicated to the public a
nd business owners accordingly, avoiding peak times. Immediate priority repairs included structural repairs that started in the fall of 2023 at the Wall Street, Rankin Avenue and Harrah’s Cherokee Center parking garages. Find more information on the Parking Garage Improvements project page here.
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The most recent monthly newsletter was sent on June 6, 2024.
See additional updates including monthly reports provided to the Downtown Commission at www.ashevillenc.gov/downtown.
We are all in this together. Please visit the above “Take Action” tab to view previous updates and see how you can contribute to a safe and welcoming downtown.