# Pedestrian Plan Steering Committee Meeting | Oct. 26, 2026

**Body:** Buncombe County Government — Buncombe County Pedestrian Plan Steering Committee
**Date:** October 26, 2026 2:01 PM EDT (2026-10-26T14:01:42-04:00)

**Link:** https://sunshinemeetings.org/event/3280

## Summary

No formal votes or motions were taken during the meeting. The committee did not pass a formal resolution of endorsement for the draft Buncombe County Pedestrian Plan. However, several members expressed verbal support for the document, with one member noting that a formal endorsement by the group was not required, but that any expression of welcome was appreciated.

## Discussion Highlights
The meeting served as the final review of the draft Buncombe County Pedestrian Plan, the county’s first plan focused on unincorporated areas. Rachel Bronson, Project Manager, presented an overview of the 100-page document, which includes a countywide pedestrian network, top 10 priority projects, and an implementation roadmap. She emphasized that the current draft is not the final published document and will undergo several more rounds of review in the coming months.

Committee members discussed the plan’s structure, noting that the writing was targeted at a sixth-grade level and included lengthy image captions for accessibility. One member praised the effort to make the document digestible and legible to those outside the industry. In response to a suggestion that the project cut sheets should better outline phasing—such as building a sidewalk on one side of the road first to make projects seem more feasible to the public—Rachel Bronson agreed to look for ways to better integrate language around phasing and clarify it in the document.

Additionally, members discussed the high costs of the top 10 projects, which are mostly over $1 million, and the need for clearer communication regarding feasibility. One member suggested using a Gantt chart to help partners understand the schedule, stating this would make them feel more inclined to engage. On safety data, a staff member shared a link to a dashboard containing pedestrian crash data and High Injury Network (HIN) maps in response to a request for larger-scale visualizations of crash locations.

## Follow-ups
Several committee members explicitly agreed to send emails by the end of the week, specifically by Friday, October 30, 2026, confirming their review and support or endorsement of the draft plan. Rachel Bronson stated that the project team would work on integrating clearer language regarding project phasing into the document.

## Impact
This meeting marks the conclusion of the steering committee’s role in the planning process. The plan, which reflects input from thousands of residents and committee members, will now move into a public comment period in November 2026. Following that, the document is scheduled for presentation to the Buncombe County Commission in December 2026 for review and potential adoption. Rachel Bronson noted that after adoption, the focus will shift to pursuing funding, advancing projects, building partnerships, and implementing recommendations.

## Video & Transcript

- Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y8UpNsEIek
- Transcript: https://sunshinemeetings.org/transcript/2184/segments

## Sources

- [YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y8UpNsEIek)