Over the past few months, a growing number of Asheville city streets have removed dual lanes in favor of bike lanes. This is part of a move from the city to get more people using public transport, as well as bikes due to a green initiative. However, not everyone is on board. Certain shops and retail places in the downtown area of the city have started displaying banners such as the one pictured below.

Here, it reads: “No single lane. No road diet. College/Patton.” This shows the growing division between those who are in favor of single lanes and those who are staunchly against them. For transparency, we should point out that this does not represent every shop in the downtown area as well.

The main reason for the opposition to extra bike lanes is based on business. Here, certain storefronts have claimed that it negatively impacts their business as the lack of cars entering the district means a loss of footfall. Whether this is actually provable remains to be seen.

However, you can have sympathy with people who believe their livelihoods are at risk due to local policy. Similarly, other criticisms include awkward delivery spots, extra traffic in the single lane, and other issues. Regardless of these criticisms, for now at least, the single-lane policy looks to be entering Asheville for good.