Letter to the Editor (Sylva Herald 12/20/07)

Southern Loop should not be built

To the Editor:

I saw the notice of the public information meeting on Jan. 10. Sadly, I will be unable to attend but am sending my views to all parties.

I am against the construction of the Southern Loop as planned by the N.C. Department of Transportation. As a property owner in Webster I will be directly affected by construction of the loop as planned. I joined the previous effort of the Smart Roads group to stop construction of the loop and was hopeful that Jackson County officials would pursue other alternatives to deal with the traffic problems on N.C. 107. No other alternatives have been pursued that I can detect. If the changes discussed to make 107 more pedestrian and bike friendly, slow down traffic but keep it moving through traffic circles or lights that are actually timed, and extend or widen present alternate routes had occurred, we might not be revisiting the Southern Loop construction.

A sidewalk was recently built to connect the Webster sidewalk to the corner of 107 at Ingle’s. It is getting use already, and I plan to use it myself. The traffic circle at the entrance to Western Carolina University works beautifully to keep long lines of traffic moving in and out of campus smoothly at peak hours. There is a growing national movement to build streets that allow pedestrians, bicycles, public transit, and cars to safely share roads. More information on such trends is available online at www.completestreets.org.

As gas prices rise, having this type of access to roads makes communities safer and more desirable as places to live for citizens of all ages.

The Southern Loop caters to big money, big trucks, and ever more cars. I also note it seems to intersect NC 107 where there have been rumors for years of some type of big box store – Super Wal-Mart? Super Ingle’s? Home Depot? A strip mall with Applebee’s or other businesses catering more to WCU students? Who stands to gain the most financially from the construction of this road? Certainly not any of the property owners listed in (the advertisement) in last week’s paper.

NCDOT seems determined to destroy our property, property values, and the rural landscape here. I ask that NCDOT pursue reasonable alternatives to another four-lane. I ask that they respond to citizens rather than ignore us.

Phyllis Jarvinen
Webster