News

Ask Matt ... about hidden apples, Church Street paving

Church Street paving is not on NCDOT's current plans.

By Matt Matteson, Published: July 1, 2017

Q. We recently, discovered some little bronze apples hidden in easy-to-miss locations in downtown Hendersonville. Who put them there?

The idea is a spin-off of Greenville’s “Mice on Main,” where nine unique bronze mice sculptures are placed along Main Street from the Hyatt to the Westin Hotel. Kids of all ages are given clues to their whereabouts and they hunt for them. The idea was the brainchild of a high school student who raised the money for the project.
Hendersonville has apples. Twelve bronze apples, each about the size of a tangerine, are hidden along seven blocks of Main Street. Aptly named “Apple Quest,” the scavenger hunt project was launched last year by Girl Scout Troup 1886. Clues to the whereabouts of the apples are available in the Visitors Center on Main Street.
Oh yeah, Huntsville, Alabama, has a “Lucky Duck” scavenger hunt with 14 bronze ducks hidden downtown. Anderson, S.C., has two dozen bronze birds. Paducah, Ky., had a leprechaun hunt last March, but I suspect that was a onetime deal with those little guys.

Q. When will they pave King and Church Streets? The pot holes and ruts are getting worse.

Both Church and King Streets in downtown Hendersonville are part of U.S. 25 and are state maintained. According to my sources at NCDOT, repaving these sections is not on the list for resurfacing in the next three years but the good news is that our folks in the highway department reevaluate the paving list each year and they may accelerate a project based on changing conditions and, of course, available funding.

Q. Will DOT plant trees in the medians in the new section of Upward Road? I thought that this was going to be a “boulevard type” roadway since it is a major entryway into town.

NCDOT officials have informed me that everything that was presented to the public and communicated to local officials was a “grassed median.” According to Keith Blazer, NCDOT’s Division Roadside Environmental Engineer, there are no plans to install any plant material (trees or shrubs) in the Upward Road medians.

Q. Now that they are going to close Ninth Avenue for the new High School, can anything be done to widen the narrow portion of North Main Street in front of Pop’s Diner? There is only enough room to stack one car at a time for a driver to “turn right on red” onto Asheville Highway. It’s bound to get worse when the school project gets underway.

I am informed that NCDOT is aware of this problem and it will be discussed during review of the project. Unfortunately, the state does not have sufficient right-of-way to make the needed improvement under current conditions.

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