Asheville seeks public input on Wilma Dykeman Greenway extension

A 0.41-mile trail gap in the River Arts District could soon stitch the Wilma Dykeman Greenway to the Riverside Drive multi-use path, adding a new northern connection along the French Broad River.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation and the City of Asheville are asking for public comment on the extension, which would run from the north end of the existing Wilma Dykeman Greenway to just north of Hill Street. Officials say the new segment would strengthen the larger River Arts District Transportation Improvement Project trail network and make the riverfront easier to move through on foot and by bike.

At a public meeting Tuesday, May 19, at New Belgium Brewing, 21 Craven Street, officials showed 30-percent-complete designs and met with residents in one-on-one discussions rather than giving a formal presentation. The comment period runs through June 30, and feedback can be sent by phone at 984-205-6615, project code 10354, by email, or by mail to Gabriel Johnson at NCDOT in Asheville.

The route would tie into a corridor that already has defined access points. The city says the Wilma Dykeman Greenway runs through the River Arts District with trailheads at the Amboy Road-Lyman Street intersection and at Hill Street and Riverside Drive. Sidewalks on the Craven Street and Amboy Road bridges already connect trail users to the French Broad River Greenway on the opposite side of the river, making the extension part of a broader network of daily travel, recreation and commuting.

The project has changed as planning advanced. In 2024, NCDOT described the corridor as a 1.3-mile extension from near Hill Street to Pearson Bridge Road. The current proposal is narrower in scope, but officials say it still fills an important northern link in the trail system.

The extension also sits inside Asheville’s post-Helene recovery. City materials say Tropical Storm Helene damaged more than 200 acres of public parks, greenways and recreation facilities along the French Broad River, with losses of at least $25 million. The city said it began two riverfront recovery projects in 2025 and has already gathered input from thousands of people on how the corridor should be rebuilt.

The Wilma Dykeman Greenway itself grew out of a decade-long effort to renovate the River Arts District and carry out the Wilma Dykeman RiverWay Master Plan, named for the Asheville-born writer and environmental advocate. The first major RADTIP segment opened in April 2021, including a 2-mile paved greenway corridor. The new 0.41-mile extension is small in distance, but it could shape how Asheville residents reach the river, cross through the district and use the French Broad corridor for years to come.