A big congratulations to the Town of Maggie Valley on their recent TDA grant award! This grant will help fund a much-needed parking lot near their Festival Grounds.
JMTE was tasked with designing the new parking lot with the target goal of parking the maximum number of vehicles within the property boundaries while maintaining a strong element of safety. Since the new lot is located on the opposite side of a five-lane roadway (US 19) from the Festival Grounds, pedestrian movements and efficient operational design were driving factors for this project.
In addition to the parking layout and design, JMTE worked with NCDOT to ensure that the vehicular and pedestrian traffic created by the new parking lot would work safely with a newly planned actuated crossing and high-visibility crosswalk planned on US 19 to connect the lot to the Festival grounds.
The final design includes safe and effective vehicular and pedestrian features that met the Town’s Land Development Standards for parking and landscaping and all MUTCD and NCDOT requirements for regulatory signage, pavement markings, and driveway design.
Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Discretionary Grant (transportation.gov) Applications must be submitted by 5:00 PM on Thursday, September 15, 2022
The purpose of SS4A grants is to improve roadway safety by significantly reducing or eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries through safety action plan development and implementation focused on all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transportation users, motorists, personal conveyance and micromobility users, and commercial vehicle operators. The program provides funding to develop the tools to help strengthen a community’s approach to roadway safety and save lives and is designed to meet the needs of diverse local, Tribal, and regional communities that differ dramatically in size, location, and experience administering Federal funding.
Wow! Game changer! Coupled with the under-design Ecusta Trail, this will be HUGE!
Nonprofits Seek to Buy Saluda Grade for Rail Trail – July 20th 2022
A coalition of nonprofits in North Carolina and South Carolina are working together to purchase the inactive Saluda Grade railroad corridor for a new approximately 31-mile rail trail. Similar to the popular Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail or Virginia Creeper Trail, this rail trail would spur economic growth while providing new opportunities for outdoor recreation.
The three nonprofits working to purchase the rail corridor are Conserving Carolina, PAL: Play, Advocate, Live Well (PAL) and Upstate Forever. These nonprofit partners have made an offer to Norfolk Southern, which owns the rail corridor. Negotiations are ongoing.
Throughout North Carolina, there are numerous work zones on interstates and other four-lane highways. In addition, N.C. Department of Transportation employees and contractors set up smaller work zones for maintenance repairs, drainage improvements, utility easements and roadside work such as mowing.
When traveling through a work zone you should slow down, be alert and obey all signs, including any for reduced speed limits. Your life, or someone else’s, could depend on it.
Speeding and distracted driving contribute to more than half of all work zone crashes.
The NCDOT’s Work Zone Safety Program seeks to reduce the number of work zone injuries and fatalities by:
- Educating drivers and trucking professionals with resources, including driving tips and FAQ.
- Promoting initiatives to raise awareness of work zone safety. Campaigns include PSA videos, social media outreach and media events.
- Conducting and publishing research and safety data that includes county-by-county crash statistics, fatalities and other figures.