Our View: Boon or bust, the future is ours to decide
With growth comes growing pains, and Boone has been no stranger to either during the past decade. A 27 percent U.S. Census Bureau-reported growth rate since 2000 and recent top mentions in both Forbes and U.S. News & World Report attest to that.
The charm of any mountain community is the mountains — but this is also a High Country community's limiting factor when it comes to population increases. Land prices soar, infrastructure is taxed, public facilities face increasing demand and natural resources must stretch further.
But as far as municipal problems, these are encouraging problems to have. Worse would be devalued land and a dearth of resources resulting from a lack of a sustainable economic base.
The challenge now is to groom Boone's growth with an eye on tomorrow. The census report revealed that prior population projections were woefully inadequate to assess current needs. And while the town's push for water conservation has proved fortunate, even that was wrought more out of necessity than planning.
From a 20-minute midday wait to make a left turn from Meadowview Drive onto Blowing Rock Road, soccer fields that could almost force predawn play during peak season and a downtown arena that is straining to accommodate not only a university student growth rate of almost 25 percent since 2000, but throngs of visitors clamoring for mountain air, now is the time for our city leaders to assess municipal needs and act on them.
The end result of growing pain will always be growth, but whether that growth will result in the majesty of a Grandfather Mountain or the congested failure of a city that appeals only to well-heeled visitors here for a brief stay is for us to decide. Those decisions must come in the context of master plans such as Boone's 2030 land use or the more global NCDOT 2040 plan.
Boone has always had room for both local charm and expansion. That is the prize to keep in sight as we welcome newcomers and visitors to our home.
The charm of any mountain community is the mountains — but this is also a High Country community's limiting factor when it comes to population increases. Land prices soar, infrastructure is taxed, public facilities face increasing demand and natural resources must stretch further.
But as far as municipal problems, these are encouraging problems to have. Worse would be devalued land and a dearth of resources resulting from a lack of a sustainable economic base.
The challenge now is to groom Boone's growth with an eye on tomorrow. The census report revealed that prior population projections were woefully inadequate to assess current needs. And while the town's push for water conservation has proved fortunate, even that was wrought more out of necessity than planning.
From a 20-minute midday wait to make a left turn from Meadowview Drive onto Blowing Rock Road, soccer fields that could almost force predawn play during peak season and a downtown arena that is straining to accommodate not only a university student growth rate of almost 25 percent since 2000, but throngs of visitors clamoring for mountain air, now is the time for our city leaders to assess municipal needs and act on them.
The end result of growing pain will always be growth, but whether that growth will result in the majesty of a Grandfather Mountain or the congested failure of a city that appeals only to well-heeled visitors here for a brief stay is for us to decide. Those decisions must come in the context of master plans such as Boone's 2030 land use or the more global NCDOT 2040 plan.
Boone has always had room for both local charm and expansion. That is the prize to keep in sight as we welcome newcomers and visitors to our home.