By David Rogers. January 30, 2011. BLOWING ROCK -- A cacophony of organized chaos bubbled out of the Community Room in the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum (BRAHM) Monday night, as an estimated 300 Blowing Rock area residents and business owners filtered in and out of a community-wide meeting about the widening project for U.S. 321 (from Blackberry Road, north to Shoppes on the Parkway).

Just about anybody and everybody with an interest in Blowing Rock attended the confab. Some had specific and urgent questions, others sounded as if they were hearing of the project for the first time, while still others appeared to have little more interest in the gathering than its social benefits -- prompting one guest to ask, "Where's the wine and cheese?"

For the most part, Monday's meeting was an opportunity for serious people to ask serious questions about the 321 widening project, to get to the details of the personal impact on property and business owners along the route. For others, it was an opportunity to evaluate how all the hubbub will affect life in Blowing Rock along Main Street, or in their own respective neighborhoods.

The "freestyle" format allowed attendees a chance to get with the contractor or Department of Transportation (DOT) representatives face-to-face -- to get their questions answered and any misunderstandings cleared up, directly from the guys who are supposed to know. To that end, the DOT and contractor organizers are to be commended for coming to the people, rather than the people having to find the right person to talk with, individually. The all-in-the-same room approach was effective, even if the noise level emanating from BRAHM's Community Room may have at times reached decibel levels to put rooftop HVAC units to shame. The convenience of asking the right question of the wrong person -- and simply being pointed across the room to the right person was value-added, to everyone.

While the general contractor was bombarded with questions ranging from dynomiting to detours, the DOT reps fielded questions covering various issues, from landscaping and utility poles when the project is done, to the "treatments" for any retaining walls that will run alongside portions of the highway.

A common business owners' concern was what would happen to signage that might currently appear in the highway right of way -- signage that many businesses depend on.  Other questions centered on the impact to restaurants along the route, the relocation of utilities and creeks, and the responsibility for repairs to properties that have historically been used by private businesses for parking and such, but that actually fall within the DOT right-of-way.

If anything, the meeting brought into focus the need for more one-on-one discussions between some property owners and the principals involved with the widening, to attend to some details. Blowing Rock News learned during the meeting and its aftermath that not all right-of-way transactions have been finalized, and not all "improvements" to adjacent properties -- required because of the DOT project -- have been agreed upon.

One thing became crystal clear, though:  The project is upon us. It has been determined by regional and state policy-makers as a necessary upgrade to North Carolina's transportation infrastructure and Blowing Rock happens to be in the path. The time for bickering about the route or decrying the adverse impact on business is long gone. We've had years to prepare for this moment in time.

It's real. It's time for Blowing Rock to show its true colors: working together to make the best of it, to help each other out, taking the disruptions in stride the best we can, and looking forward to better times a-comin'.  Who's  bringing the wine and cheese to THAT celebration?!

Comments: