Smart Roads Alliance


The Jackson County Smart Roads Alliance was formed in 2002 in response to a proposal by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to build a new $132 million* highway through the middle of our most precious and beautiful rural county. Our goal since 2002 has been to work together as a community and create smart solutions to our traffic and transportation issues. (* $132 million construction cost source: NCDOT 2008)

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North Carolina Department of Transportation


NCDOT is planning to build the $132 million Southern Loop Bypass (NC 107 Connector) from US 23-74 in Balsam to NC 107 between Sylva and Cullowhee - NCDOT project STIP R-4745 is funded and construction will begin in 2016 unless the public demands other solutions.

The Resolutions

The Resolutions, unanimously signed in 2003 by the representative leaders from all four of Jackson County's incorporated towns (Sylva, Dillsboro, Webster, Forest Hills) requested that NCDOT "remove the Southern Loop Bypass from its long-range plan" and instead develop strategies for "improving existing roads as alternatives to the Bypass". A copy of the resolution and a petitions with thousands of Jackson County citizen's signatures were turned in to NCDOT at their annual State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) meetings to stop this proposed new highway. Despite public opposition, NCDOT is moving forward with this massive new highway project.

Other important articles with background information:
2009 - Smart Roads Alliance Position: Jackson County Comprehensive Transportation Plan
2008 - Construction on 23-74/107 connector could begin in 2015
2008 - Smart Roads Files Compaint Over Southern Loop
2008 - Smart Roads Event Discusses Alternatives to Southern Loop
2007 - Leaders, citizens demand input as road plan progresses
2007 - Southern Loop Opposition Mounts
2007 - Burrell, Setzer Plug Plan for Southern Loop (ignoring public outcry and towns' wishes)
2007 - Southern Loop On Priority List, Transportation Advisory Committee Disagrees
2007 - STIP Includes Funding For Portion of Southern Loop
2003 - "Who will decide the future growth of Jackson County?"
2003 - Sylva, Dillsboro Join Official Opposition to Southern Loop (The Resolutions)
2002 - Smart Roads Alliance Formed
2001 - NCDOT Division 14 Engineer Ron Watson updates EDC on 'southern loop' status
2001 - Southern Loop Feasibility Study Approved


The original proposed new highway project would have cost over $230* million to construct ($26 million per mile) and continued to US 23-441 through Webster. The Jackson County Smart Roads Alliance was instrumental in getting the Webster portion of the bypass removed from the R-4745 plan. (* NCDOT 2001 estimate)

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Sunday, November 14, 2010

OPINION: Joint planning group needed for highway efforts

OPINION: Joint planning group needed for highway efforts

by Mark Jamison on November 14, 2010

WEBSTER – I’m told a recent comment I attached to a story on Tuckreader.com garnered some attention.

My comment, focused on the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s recent workshop concerning the NC 107 corridor, discussed the need for a community-based planning process rather than a process driven by service institutions like NCDOT.

I recognize that on the statewide level this can be a complicated idea, but the general premise is that state agencies like NCDOT shouldn’t dictate solutions to local communities, but should assist communities in realizing their aspirations by providing appropriate infrastructure and assistance.

This week I also had a letter to the editor in the Sylva Herald that addressed some of the planning challenges facing Webster, the town where I live and serve on the governing board. Webster administers a large extra-territorial jurisdiction and has, over the years annexed areas in the NC 116-NC 107 corridor, primarily as a means of controlling growth. The fit has not been good, mainly because Webster has neither the governmental resources not planning infrastructure to administer some of these areas. The town has taken in uses it specifically wishes to avoid and cannot properly administer as a means of protecting its vision and identity.

There is a central premise connecting the two pieces, that planning is essential for communities in order for them to both define themselves and realize their aspirations. Further, the planning process must be driven by the proper institutions. Local governing boards, informed by the residents of the community, ought to be the primary drivers of the process that defines how a community will look, what it will be. That is why counties municipalities have planning boards.

These boards, working with technical assistance, ought to bring forth plans, ideas and proposals that will guide development. Service agencies like NCDOT need to participate in this process to provide technical expertise, information and guidance on what can be practically achieved.

The vicinity of the intersection of NC 116 and NC 107 is populated by an important and interesting mix of entities. There is a tremendous amount of government infrastructure there in the presence of Southwestern Community College, the Jackson County Services Park, the Jackson County Schools and NCDOT facilities. The area is also home to Smoky Mountain Mental Health, Reedwood Manor, the Southwest Regional Commission and various residential properties. If one expands out from the intersection along NC 107 there is an area in Sylva that is home to commercial and retail development backed by residential. In the other direction there are the residential communities of Fairview and Ashe Loop and Rivercrest. There is also a significant amount of industrial and commercial land in this area that is ripe for development.

Presently the only entity exercising any kind of development standards on the area is Webster – and that presence is minimal. This is an area with important and valuable community services and governmental infrastructure, it is an area surrounded by sensitive residential communities, and it is an area that can expect to see significant additional high impact development that will only exacerbate traffic and density problems. And yet we have no planning efforts specific to this area.

I have, for at least a couple of years, suggested that this area would be ideal for a joint planning task force including municipal, county and institutional entities as well as representatives from adjoining residential communities. The state of North Carolina provides for such an entity and also provides for the creation of a Community Based District where development standards can be applied. The Cashiers Development District was constructed under the latter statutes. Such a district need be 640 acres or more and have at least ten distinct property owners.

A Community District is not a taxing body, it levies no taxes. It is administered through a special planning board made of members of the district with the assistance of county staff. It appears that municipalities may contribute territory to such a district. That territory would be subject to the development standards of the district but would remain within the boundaries of the municipalities for the purposes of taxation and provision of services.

I think it would be hugely beneficial for the county and adjoining municipalities to look at forming a joint planning agency with a goal of developing a specific vision for this critical area and creating an appropriate administrative regimen for the district. One of the goals of such a planning agency ought to be to work with NCDOT and other supporting agencies and institutions to develop appropriate plans for infrastructure improvement and development in a specific community or area.

I would challenge the state of North Carolina to adjust its hierarchical arrangements with respect to the way NCDOT interfaces with the community to allow local DOT representatives to sit on and assist this planning group in developing adjustments to our current roads that would be responsive to the community’s vision. Perhaps our state legislators need to be a part of this process rather than sitting on the sideline letting the bureaucracy idle along.

Our current approach to road infrastructure pays no attention to future growth patterns or to the fact that planning vehicles and structures exist or can be created that could help focus growth in a way that leads to less costly infrastructure and infrastructure that enhances rather than impacts.

The NC 116–NC 107 corridor impacts a significant number of people, business and institutions. It is a gateway area and currently it is an area that lacks a coherent vision and direction. The result is that it is an area that is subject to increasing congestion, costly infrastructure development and increasingly negative impacts on area. A joint planning group charged with developing a vision and a plan for an area is desperately needed and well within our power to create.

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"We are for the preservation of our communities.
We are not against growth and development,
nor a reasonable expansion of existing roads.
"

- Lydia Aydlett, Smart Roads Alliance

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."


- Margaret Mead