Development can be expected to increase traffic on, mainly, Riceville, Road, including its main intersection at Tunnel Road where morning and evening rush hours already pose delays. On average each new family dwelling can be expected to contribute two additional vehicles.
Riceville Road is a narrow, winding, (mostly) unlighted, often shoulder-less, 35 mph two-lane country road, with little or no feasible right-of-way expansion. This roadway is only six miles long from Tunnel Road to its terminus at Warren Wilson Road. NC highway Patrol statistics show that there have been an average of two traffic accidents a month on Riceville Road over the past two years.
In the face of continued development, local topography and a few even less-capable alternate roads serving the whole Riceville Valley offer little practical relief from the specter of a grid-locked future. An answer seems to lie with dramatically improving effective management of development.
