Council gives thumb's up to safety
by Scott Nicholson
The Boone Town Council gave a thumb's up to safer streets Thursday night, approving a resolution in support of safe pedestrian and bicycling habits while hearing an update on community appearance.
Adrian Tait, chairman of the Community Appearance Commission, gave a committee report to the council.
Tait said the committee had reviewed the last few years of commercial development to measure how appearance standards had functioned, which he said had achieved some successes but also had some weaknesses.
Tait said the committee had been gathering ideas on commercial appearance standards for the downtown area and that information from other communities had been collected.
"What we're hoping to accomplish is a unified look to the downtown," he said, aligning standards with the town's 2030 Master Plan.
Tait said the committee expected to give a full update in March, with the goal of rolling the recommendations into a larger appearance plan.
Council member Rennie Brantz said the appearance commission had worked well with the Historic Preservation Committee.
The Boone Area Cyclists presented a "High Country Safe Streets Pledge" that gave right-of-way priority on sidewalks to pedestrians first, followed by bicyclists and then automobiles. Pedestrians are asked to follow rules, be visible and predictable and promote general safety; bicyclists should follow state rules and wear helmets; and motorists should share the road and respect the rights of all road users.
A resolution presented in support of bicycling noted the success of major rides and races such as Blood, Sweat and Gears, as well as the 1,000 hours of volunteer labor contributed to mountain biking trails at Rocky Knob Park.
The resolution said, "Creating bicycle friendly communities has been shown to improve citizens' health, well-being and quality of life, to boost community spirit, to improve traffic safety and to reduce pollution and congestion."
The council unanimously approved the resolution.
Emily Wright of the Sigma Kappa sorority presented a proposal to hold a fundraising Alzheimer's Memory Walk in downtown Boone. The walk will take place on April 16 along Rivers Street.
The council appointed Harvard Ayers as ETJ representative on the Boone Board of Adjustment, Beth Carrin to the Jones House Advisory Board, Andrew Miller and Margie Mansure to the Pedestrian Plan Steering Committee, Tommy Brown to the Boone Area Planning Commission and Timothy Hefflinger to the Sustainable Development Task Force.
Adrian Tait, chairman of the Community Appearance Commission, gave a committee report to the council.
Tait said the committee had reviewed the last few years of commercial development to measure how appearance standards had functioned, which he said had achieved some successes but also had some weaknesses.
Tait said the committee had been gathering ideas on commercial appearance standards for the downtown area and that information from other communities had been collected.
"What we're hoping to accomplish is a unified look to the downtown," he said, aligning standards with the town's 2030 Master Plan.
Tait said the committee expected to give a full update in March, with the goal of rolling the recommendations into a larger appearance plan.
Council member Rennie Brantz said the appearance commission had worked well with the Historic Preservation Committee.
The Boone Area Cyclists presented a "High Country Safe Streets Pledge" that gave right-of-way priority on sidewalks to pedestrians first, followed by bicyclists and then automobiles. Pedestrians are asked to follow rules, be visible and predictable and promote general safety; bicyclists should follow state rules and wear helmets; and motorists should share the road and respect the rights of all road users.
A resolution presented in support of bicycling noted the success of major rides and races such as Blood, Sweat and Gears, as well as the 1,000 hours of volunteer labor contributed to mountain biking trails at Rocky Knob Park.
The resolution said, "Creating bicycle friendly communities has been shown to improve citizens' health, well-being and quality of life, to boost community spirit, to improve traffic safety and to reduce pollution and congestion."
The council unanimously approved the resolution.
Emily Wright of the Sigma Kappa sorority presented a proposal to hold a fundraising Alzheimer's Memory Walk in downtown Boone. The walk will take place on April 16 along Rivers Street.
The council appointed Harvard Ayers as ETJ representative on the Boone Board of Adjustment, Beth Carrin to the Jones House Advisory Board, Andrew Miller and Margie Mansure to the Pedestrian Plan Steering Committee, Tommy Brown to the Boone Area Planning Commission and Timothy Hefflinger to the Sustainable Development Task Force.