200+ conversations you want to have this year in Asheville

Since our readers are what drive us here at AVLtoday, at the beginning of January we asked you what you wanted to talk about this year. We’ll be using your questions + conversation topics to create our content in 2019, helping you be more entertained, informed + engaged.

We were blown away when we heard from so many of you, who gave us 200+ ideas.

Protip: We’ll be adding links to articles we put together in the coming year to answer your questions. Bookmark this link + look for a green checkmark ✅ to see the answers as we tackle them here with you.

Here are 5️⃣ of our favorites

• “Highlighted employers in WNC – it would be nice to see what companies are hiring, startup companies, innovative companies, etc. what’s happening in the job sector.”

• “Asheville is getting a lot of retirees that are young (not old) What new for them that is fun and interesting? They support a lot of the local restaurants and bars and venues. Seek out more events and places for the young retirees to enjoy.”

• “African-American contributions to the building of the tourism industry – both during slavery and immediately after.”

• “There are some well known celebrities who have primary or second homes in the WNC area. Do you know who and why did they choose this area?”

• “Would like to see a rundown of all the changes in store on Haywood Road in West Asheville.”

Here is what our fellow Ashevillians are curious about (verbatim). Want to add to the list? Add in the comments below. ⬇️

What do you want us to talk about this year?

• The increasing development of Asheville. It seems like new homes are being packed in like sardines in our neighborhoods (West Asheville and Oakley come to mind) taxing the infrastructure (water, sewer lines, drainage, roads etc). What steps are being put into place (if any) to control the growth?
• Growth, particularly how local governments are approving so much building construction without any apparent focus on roads to accommodate our growth.
• Proposed Merrimon expansions
• Public transportation and how to increase availability for everyone
• Highlighted employers in WNC, it would be nice to see what companies are hiring, startup companies, innovative companies, etc. what’s happening in the job sector.
• I’m starting a small business this spring in Asheville and would like to know more about the ins and outs of what’s required to do so in AVL and surrounding cities. I see signs saying a local County is for entrepreneurs–what does that mean?
• Road repair: Lakeshore Dr
• Why can’t the business’s down downtown spend a small amount of money and put Christmas lights up in their windows? I drive for Uber and the tourist think we have a cute great town, but are let down about how we don’t really decorate for Christmas. I agree. We have some lights on trees but it would look and feel so much nicer to really go all out and decorate downtown more.
• Ways to volunteer and give back
• The garbage that is all over our city roads; interstate, main streets and side streets.
• UNCA...all the things they to do and offer to enhance life in Asheville
• diversity in Asheville
• Social activities in Asheville for older, yet vibrant seniors.
• Protecting our mountain home: environmental issues.
• Traffic - I26, Hendersonville Road, Sweeten Creek
• Climate Change and renewable energy
• More updates on local business. Not just challenges but success in our local market from small business owners.
• Plastic
• More sidewalks; sidewalks connect communities and promote health for people to walk or children ride bikes.
• The art scene. Art events. Craft fairs.
• Events happening in Asheville (adults and kid friendly)
• Gentrification (Development and “progress” for all). Transportation, affordable housing (keep the conversation going). Healthful behaviors and habits and ways to engage with them in Avl.
• Events and things to do each weekend
• At what point do we decide Asheville is full up, and that the current infrastructure cannot accommodate more hotels and cars. I moved here 17 years ago.
• I’d be interested in prioritizing what it is that needs preservation?
• A better, more comprehensive “events” calendar for Asheville and the surrounding area.
• When will there be affordable housing in this area? When will they end the building of so many hotels? Find ways to slow down traffic on Haywood rd in west Asheville or gee on many of the main streets in Asheville. More free parking instead of every lot around now is paid parking.
• Current events, history of the area
• Government Shutdown
• Legalization of Medical Marijuana
• Tourism and its impact on downtown Asheville. New developments in renewable energy.
• Best gyms (with pools)
• More about restaurants and Art Galleries and Artists
• Asheville is getting a lot of retirees that are young (not old) What new for them that is fun and interesting? They support a lot of the local restaurants and bars and venues. Seek out more events and places for the young retirees to enjoy.
• The condition of our roads...especially surface streets in West Asheville. State Street is a disaster and filling the potholes is embarrassing. Virginia Ave is also in very poor shape. This is one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the city and the roads are a disgrace. This just scratches the surface of how neglected the roads are in this town. It is maddening that our city officials cannot find a solution to this problem.
• How serious is the city concerning making more sidewalks? Why are the roads here so darn bad?
• Area music scene
• Potholes and streets that need resurfacing. Why does Kimberly Ave get their potholes fixed pronto and Chestnut still looks like craters on the moon???
• entertainment in advance, new stores that are opening up, city government
• Greenways
• Entertainment, local history
• Best trails to take your dog (with ratings on ease of trails, too)
• the roots of racial disparities in our community and how these roots perpetuate disparities that are so extreme today.
  
  • african american contributions to the building of the tourism industry - both during slavery and immediately after.
  • cultural appropriation - music and art and food that directly comes from the black community that white people profit on.
  • the significant/essential african american and native american contributions to old time music and dance (as outlines many places, including the book hoedowns, reels, and frolics by phil jameson of warren wilson college).
  • the african americans in wnc conference at unca

• Coxe avenue. Why painted road in middle of street. How much did it cost . It’s coming up now. Just like those blue street signs that I don’t see anymore.
• Restaurants and breweries
• Keeping the city clean of trash, debris and all sorts of litter - especially on Biltmore Ave. south of The Range Peel and Hilliard .
• Healthcare access
• Public Transportation, Pedestrian and Bike Friendly Zones, Better Cooperation and Strategic Thinking around issues like affordable housing and the homeless, Embracing Diversity
• What problems are being caused by AVL’s rapid growth, and what can we do to help address them?
• Hiking, parks
• Would love to know more about nature conservation in the area
• The I-26 connector and the Jeff Bowen Bridge. Ever since I moved here 13 years ago, I’ve heard about the I-26 connector. How frustrating that in this length of time, the project still is nowhere near done. So with all of the growth Asheville has experienced in this time and the incredible future this city has, my number one suggestion is to make the Jeff Bowen Bridge a gateway bridge. Make it something amazing. Something beautiful and architecturally significant, like Charleston, Savannah, or like the St. Louis Arch, so when you see it, there is no mistaking that it is Asheville. It has to be redone anyway, so why would we spend the money to just make it another concrete blah bridge? This is a once in a generation opportunity to make a statement and it is perfectly poised to be awesome with Asheville in the background. I have no hopes that this will come to fruition, and that is a shame. Any other dreamers out there?
• Environmental issues - climate change, clean-ups, bans on plastics
• Dating in your 30s and 40s

What can we help find out for you?

• Where to find single men and where are good places to partner dance beside contra dancing and dance in general.
• Best breakfast sandwich in the city!
• How to best influence city planners
• Networking events, where to connect with other job seekers, business owners, etc. there are a lot of “remote” workers in Asheville, how do we keep our talent local and employed locally.
• What are the plans with the sale of the Flat Iron Building? Will SkyBar still remain?
• Who needs help, items needed for different groups, different environmental action, soup kitchens etc.
• How to get involved with leadership in Asheville
• female and minority owned businesses
• I am a single woman who likes to hike. I have a hard time finding hiking trails that are not too difficult or isolated so that I can feel safe by myself. Can you print some hiking guides for local trails that you don’t have to drive so far to get to?
• Biking & walking in town. Areas with paths to do so safely so I can stay in shape.
• Please: when can we expect Costco in Asheville? Can we start a movement/petition?
• There are some well known celebrities who have primary or second homes in the WNC area. Do you know who and why did they choose this area?
• Are the empty shopping centers in Fletcher (former Carolina Furniture Concepts/ Pizza Hut/Diamond Brand and the empty former grocery store plaza across the road from these) going to be sold or occupied?
• Whats happening in the government in regards to climate change and legislation.
• What happens to the recycling materials in Buncombe County?
• food, nooks and crannies, interesting small business that make unique stuff
• where to dispose of things like computers, extension cords, old cell phones, paint etc.
• Best places to meet professional singles/best apps
• How can the city of Asheville overcome the constraints set by Raleigh to ban certain plastics in our city?
• Greenway at the River Arts, what is the completion date? Would that connect to Greenway at French Broad River Park? Runners need more areas to run!
• Happenings around Asheville
• What is the per capita police ratio, and how has it grown as the city has grown? Are resources being allocated to allow them to do their job and be trained to deal with an increasingly diverse population?
• Sweeten creek road construction
• How to get the city to review traffic patterns and pedestrian crossings. (Accident waiting to happen)
• Updated parkway closures, good hikes for winter, cold, windy and muddy/rainy days
• Will a Tesla charging stations be built in Asheville?
• Who offers half priced bottles of wine on what days?
• Status of new Fine Arts Building to replace Thomas Wolfe auditorium.
• Best gyms with pools!
• What art shows are opening and who is in them
• Why the roads are so bad? This is a tourism town. We should have incredible roads. Go to Florida and get a lesson on how to build good roads...or anywhere, really.
• Has there ever been any attempt for the citizens of Kenilworth/Biltmore Village to stop train noise? Why do they need to honk in the middle of the night if there are gates?
• what do people do with their kids on the weekends
• Would like to know where public golf courses are located in a 50 mile radius and the green fees charged.
• Why does city council think that bikeshares or medians would actually work in Asheville? Did they do a survey to see that there is a very large percentage of bikers in Asheville, enough to completely rearrange a narrow 4 lane road like Charlotte or Merrimon. Name or show ALL the surveys and research they did to think that is even viable?? If this is a city that entices retirees to come and live why would the council consider that?? Did they decide to widen Sweeten Creek Rd?
  
  • See the results from AVLtoday’s bike share survey here.
• Best day trips from Asheville
• the history of public housing
• Best buffalo chicken in town
• What are the specific plans for all historic houses and real estate on Biltmore Ave . North of Wild Wings up to The Orange Peel .
• More about the implications about the possible (probable?) purchase of Mission
• Places and ways to give back, get involved in the community.
• We moved here from Cincinnati 1 1/2 years ago - there we could get our Christmas tree at Corsi Tree Farm https://www.corsitreefarm.com/ - and could roam their 100+ acres with a handsaw and a tarp (with which to drag our tree back to be bound for the trip home). So far, all we’ve found in this area are “choose your own” places that allow us to point to a tree or mark one for someone else to come cut down. It’s just not the same! Are there farms here that have a setup similar to Corsi? I’ve been searching on the web and have come up short. Thanks!
• New restaurants
• Nature Conservation: events, volunteer programs, what is happening, where are we going!
• What organizations are addressing environmental issues, how to get involved
• Where to recycle light bulbs and and NON-rechargeable batteries. HELP!
• Best apartments for seniors in downtown

Want to know how something works?

• There are a lot of seats on government committees, let’s figure out how to teach more citizens how to get involved in those communities so our government is steered by its citizens, not just elected officials
• How does the UNCA Health Program help citizens
• how does public art happen and who gets commissioned
• I am intrigued by dulcimers and would like to know more about how they are made and how to play them.
• city and county services - good and bad
• New gas-powered power plant; new Proterra electric buses the City is buying
• The local recycling plant
• permitting of developments. Why are areas zoned for so many hotels but not apartments.
• Recycling. How it’s divided and sorted, should I clean my containers before discarding them?
• Real Estate
• Water structure, and distribution throughout city and county. How does renewable energy produced by homes and business tie in with the grid? What percentage of power comes from renewables?
• Recycling in Asheville
• Where our tax money goes
• I would like to know how decisions about accessibility are made and how ADA is enforced.
• Parking

What can we help you understand?

• Maybe how other cities have adjusted to their growth in recent years and decades. I’ve heard there are plans to add another Candler exit off I-40, which could help with traffic there. Is this true and is there a timetable for construction to begin?
• The merrimon expansion
• The importance and value UNCA brings to the citizens of Asheville
• the meaning of life? Also, how arts and culture are supported by the city
• Why the traffic on 240 and 26 backs up so badly almost everyday, even when there is no apparent accident causing the back up.
  
  • See our piece on the I-26 connector project here.
• E-scooter share systems: where they have been working in the Southeast
• how our tax money is spent - investigative
• What happens to our recycled plastics in Asheville?
• The meaning of life :)
• How so many breweries are sustained here
• Home gardening
• If the rapid growing of Asheville is good in anyway
• Home Rule here in North Carolina and its impact on our state.
• Hemp
• An even simpler I-26 connector explanation. Even the last map was hard to grasp the changes that are in store.
• demographics of who is profiting on the beer industry here
• Why our taxes are so high
• How city/county governments work and don’t work. What works well and why?
• Why is the affordability gap (the distance between median household income and median housing costs) so great in AVL?
• Is there a map of the way creeks and streams feed into rivers in the area?
• Recommendations for the best reference books on local trees, wildflowers, wildlife, etc.
• Swimming options in town
• What is the city doing about keeping Asheville walkable and expanding/connecting that to other areas
• How do we get Asheville to consider a ban on plastic bags
• Cost of living in city

What about upcoming developments or construction you’ve seen around town?

• Infrastructure. Downtown sidewalks are in horrible condition. Any plans for those to be fixed?
• What’s going in at the merrimon exit of 240 (where the old abandoned gas station across from Sunoco was)?
• It’s nice to know what is being build new, but let’s highlight existing businesses, not just retail and tourism. What manufacturers are building things, what software companies are developing new apps, what outdoor manufacturing companies are creating cool toys and products.
• What are the plans for the remodeling of the building on the corner in Pack Square? The one attached to French Broad Chocolate Lounge building?
• Townhouses off Rt 191, houses on Avery creek Rd, and apartments on Long Shoals and the traffic impact
• let’s hear more about bike infrastructure!
• It would be nice to know when road construction is going to happen so that we can try to avoid that area. Is there an app for that?
• SOLAR!
• Yes, please keep us posted on what’s being built and by whom.
• Yes. South Asheville
• Yes! Specifically on the fringes of downtown.
• Why do we keep approving more hotels?
• Road maintenance on secondary roads...some of them are horrendous/dangerous.
• Updated status on I 26 connector.
• Airport Road is getting Crazy Constructions...what is it ALL?
• All of them!! Tell us what is coming and what is going.
• The hotel on Meadow Rd next to Habitat Restore. A traffic nightmare is about to happen.
• i’m nervous that busking would be taken away
• Did they decide to widen Sweeten Creek Rd??
• Restaurant openings
• Would like to see a rundown of all the changes in store on Haywood Road in West Asheville. Like will anything ever replace Mama’s Fast Food? And will the car wash ever be replaced by a good grocery store?
• latino worker perspective
• What is the traffic flow plan for downtown after the Arras building opens?
• Anything happening with the “Cliffs” development on Old Fort Rd. that’s been abandoned for several years?
• Buildings downtown
• Would love to know that the local shops will continue to thrive and have a say in what happens around town

What don’t you know that you’d like us to investigate?

• How to have roads renovated in my neighborhood. What is the process?
• How to educate people about living in the mountains and living with bears
• How is shutdown actually affecting national parks from perspective of park rangers
• Why is there not a crosswalk on the corner at the light below The Orange Peel? ( corner of Biltmore Ave. and Hilliard). Lots of folks crossing the street there, especially after OP concerts.
  
  • Why don’t we have flashing lights on the one way sign and the stop sign on Battery Park Ave.? In an hours time, I’ve watched four cars being driven the wrong way down that street. Sometimes the driver realizes their error half way down the street and hits reverse and backs up the street (backing thru the cross walk). It’s dangerous.

• How DOT determines when traffic lights are needed and how to get them installed.
• how does Asheville plan on growing innovation and a thriving economy
• How Asheville can be so liberal in such a red state and how we as liberals can make a difference for the better when those who represent us are not?
• solar!
• Why can’t TDA visitor taxes pay for better sidewalks downtown?
• If The City is aware of the global plastic crisis, and if they have any realistic plans to combat it.
• Why Asheville and surrounding communities have multiple layers of government, county and city or town
• Best deals on Mimosas
• Dog park laws.
  
  • Why are renters and companies so lame about big dogs and breeds? Is there any way to get around it?
  • What’s up with the needle exchange?
• Why are sidewalks such a mess in BILTMORE Village and why is infrastructure not be attended to throughout Asheville?
• Why the housing market is so crazy. Why does it make more financial sense to rent versus buy??
• Who owns what restaurants and bars in Asheville and what are they doing special
• Would like to know more about you folks producing this newsletter, what your interests are, personal history etc.
• Fraud in local and state government.
• Why can’t a foodie paradise like Asheville make an authentic French baguette that tastes like a real one. One that isn’t so hard on top that you get a headache trying to chew it?
• what’s going on corner of merrimon and 240?
• Why is the Ingles in West Asheville sooooo bad when so many other Ingles are nice grocery stores? West Asheville’s already jumped the shark. You would think the folks at Ingles would find it in their best interest to upgrade their store so we don’t have to continually shop elsewhere.
• who at the city made the decision to tear down stephens lee and what was their justification
• What does the APD really do downtown? What do they actually enforce? Please follow the approved hiring of 15 new officers and how they are utilized.
• Are there any long range Buncombe Co. solutions to bears in garbage? Like, bear-proof containers? Hard to believe we’re all leaving our trash in plastic bags by the roadside - seems like this is only going to get worse.
• Why can’t I find a shared woodworking shop/space in the area?
• How has the Asheville population grown over the last 10 years; How much has the number of tourists grown in the last 10 years; What is our saturation point?

Have a question you didn’t submit? Comment here. We’ll add it to the list. And keep checking back to see what we’ve answered so we can continue this conversation.

Now, we’re off to start finding out answers for you. Have a great Monday, Asheville.

– the AVLtoday team