Others in the audience came to speak out against a proposal to convert South Ridgeway Avenue into a one-way street, urging officials to consider installing sidewalks, speed humps or both to mitigate speeding. A discussion on that topic between the mayor and planning director Michelle Kennedy, who began her position with the town last April, devolved into a testy exchange. 

Kennedy, one of several planning department employees to host a Sept. 3, community meeting regarding the traffic pattern, listed multiple concerns expressed by residents and business owners on the street.      

“There were a lot of conversations about sidewalks,” she said. “The last sidewalk that was put in by the town was in 2022.”

Kennedy’s presentation followed a series of public comments opposing the plan, while some questioned the Town’s response to the public. 

Sheila Nuccilli, owner of the property leased by the Bush Farmhouse, recounted how her attempts to contact Town staff about the issues in the area received no responses. 

“I’ve reached out on many occasions to discuss both the RailYard and the railroad property along Sutton, but it has all fallen on deaf ears…” she said. “For several years, I tried to get information about who was responsible for maintaining that property along the railroad, and I never could get that information.”

Nuccilli and her tenant, Bush owner and operator Mark Henegan, purchased materials to fill holes along the Norfolk Southern right-of-way, north of the tracks. 

“A town employee showed up while we were installing the gravel and shut the work down,” Nuccilli said. “He contacted the railroad and said a meeting would be held two days later. Four employees of the Town managed to show up for this meeting.”

Staff was “determined to block off that section,” she added. 

“They told us that even if we tried to lease directly from the railroad, it would not be possible to park there,” Nuccilli said.    

The property owner asked town council to consider leasing the section of right-of-way from the railroad to provide parking in the area. 

Longtime Black Mountain resident and business owner Joe Tyson expressed sympathy for residents and merchants along South Ridgeway and Sutton Avenues, adding he was “totally opposed” to the one-way proposal.

“I think it’s another example of a knee-jerk short-term reaction by the Town to serious long-term problems,” he said. “The solution to pedestrian safety is sidewalks and crosswalks.”

The community’s request for those safety measures are appropriate, he added. 

“What you’re doing now is punishing the businesses on that street,” Tyson said. “You’re also creating more congestion on Richardson Boulevard and Broadway, which in the summer time are always packed with people.”

The Town, he added, is gaining a reputation for “not doing anything.”

“Golf course, streets, parking, you name it,” Tyson said. “The Town’s getting a bad reputation, but it’s up to this board to decide. Put a sidewalk on Ridgeway and Sutton, negotiate with the railroad and get some parking, but don’t penalize good businesses.”

Kennedy remained steadfast in her recommendation to change the traffic pattern, following an analysis conducted by Traffic Planning and Design, Inc. That study, commissioned in 2022 by the town and paid for in partnership with business owners, asked the firm to examine if a one-way traffic pattern was viable for the downtown street. 

“There’s always a consideration of the benefits and detriments of any projects, and obviously turning a road into a one-way road will cause concerns, and there will be people who don’t like it,” she said. “For us, in this case, it really comes down to a safety issue.”

Councilmember Doug Hay inquired about the feasibility of installing speed bumps or humps to slow down motorists on the roadway. 

“From a planning perspective, speed bumps would not be at the top of anybody’s list, in terms of best practice,” Kennedy said. 

Hay asked the planning director to elaborate on her response. 

“Broadly, it’s a low-cost option to slow traffic flow, for sure, but it’s not considered a progressive move as a way to manage traffic issues,” she said. “It’s a band aid, and ultimately you’re going to end up having to do something else.”