CEDAR MOUNTAIN NEWS FOR THURSDAY MAY 8TH 2025

CROOKED PINE BAND 50TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT. 

Greeting, neighbors and friends.

This popular band, formed right here on our mountain will hold a concert at our See Off Community Center on May 10th, from 7-9 pm.  It promises to be a great evening of music and celebration; just like previous concerts/dances they’ve ‘brought back home.  One newer song they will play is ‘Becky Mountain Road,’ written by Marion Boatwright.  Rumor has it that Marion has written a new verse that he will unveil at this event.  You are encouraged to try your hand at songwriting by coming up with a new verse for this song that is based on your own personal relationship with this road that is so much more than just another piece of infrastructure.  We may even figure out a suitable prize for the best verse submitted and, who knows, Marion may even add it to the song going forward.  .Pizza by-the=slice and beverages will be available until we run out for donations.  We’ll be raffling off a lightly used 5-burner Charbroil grill, too.  A reminder that you’ll be among the very first folks to hear the newest verse in their Becky Mountain Road song.  $10 donation at the door to support our community center is suggested.   You can park in the church parking lot and behind the church on the cemetery road. 

Speaking of Becky Mountain Road…

The President of the firm that has the rebuild/repair project said they expected to get started on it in July.  The contractual due date for it to be open to traffic is 3 October.  Let’s wish them luck and favorable weather to get our preferred route to town back online as soon as possible.

CEDAR MOUNTAIN INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENT PROJECT  Submitted by Sarah Dearbaugh

Dear Friends & Neighbors, 

On April 24, a community drop-in meeting was held at the Cedar Mountain Community Center to present and discuss the proposed intersection improvement at Cascade Lake Road and Highway 276. The informal format allowed attendees to ask questions, review project details, and submit public comments. The meeting was well-attended and a range of feedback was shared. Some community members expressed concerns about the necessity and cost of the project, while others considered the potential long-term benefits of a safer and more efficient intersection.  Understandably, for some, the meeting still raised a lot of questions—how did we get here, what does it mean, and why this complex solution?

As business owners of Cedar Mountain Café and Cedar Mountain Moonshine/Coffee Bar and Studio276, we feel a deep responsibility to keep people safe—both on our property and throughout our village. We want to share how and why we’ve come around to support the roundabout project.

The truth is, we didn’t initially ask for a roundabout. Our original requests were fairly straightforward safety improvements: lower the speed limit through the residential and business area, reinforce the stop sign at the intersection, install rumble strips or flashing caution lights, improve signage, add reflectors, and consider pedestrian-focused infrastructure like crosswalks or flashing crossing lights. We even suggested rebuilding the median and addressing the culvert near the fire station with protective barriers and a footbridge, to give pedestrians a safer off-highway option for crossing between businesses.  However, we’ve learned through ongoing discussions with NCDOT—including at the April 24 drop-in—that none of these solutions are feasible under current state regulations.

So how did we get here? We have explored every single option for safety. But, simply put, the roundabout is the only viable option currently available that meets safety goals, uses funds already allocated and can be completed within a realistic timeframe—a rare exception, as we’ve been told, in the world of NCDOT projects. While it might feel like an outsized solution to what began as simple requests— it's the only implementable option that effectively slows traffic, reduces conflict points and enhances safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.  It’s also important to understand the funding source: this project is supported by a substantial grant secured through Land of Sky Regional Council and our Brevard City Council under the Carbon Reduction Emissions initiative currently underway in Transylvania County. If Cedar Mountain declines the roundabout, those funds won’t be redirected elsewhere in our community—they’ll be lost. And truthfully, Cedar Mountain is long overdue for infrastructure investment and beautification.

We’ll be honest—we are concerned about the construction phase. It will be another hurdle for our small business community to navigate. But over the past five years, we’ve weathered a lot—pandemic disruptions, Hurricane Helene, wildfires—and we know we’ll get through this, too, with the continued support of each other and this community.

Do we need this project? This project comes at a staggering proposal of $5 million dollars. That sounds like a lot, especially when we hoped this could be addressed with signs, lights or paint. But we’ve seen the risks up close. The distillery parking lot is already being used as a makeshift roundabout by drivers missing their turn or unfamiliar with the area. A Cedar Mountain child was nearly hit on his bike during one of these turnarounds. That’s the reality.

This project represents a short-term disruption for a long-term gain. We see daily misuse of the split median and intersection, excessive speeding and just recently, a crash caused by a driver running the stop sign. On busy weekends, we are relying on volunteers from the Cedar Mountain Fire Department to slow traffic by parking trucks with flashing lights in the road. The numbers don’t lie: roundabouts reduce fatal and injury accidents by up to 75%, pedestrian crashes by 30–40%, and bicycle accidents by 10%. Meanwhile, incidents at our intersection are increasing.

With 1.3 million visitors annually to DuPont, 600,000 to Caesars Head, hundreds of weddings at Pretty Place and summer camps filling and emptying every weekend—not to mention our full slate of small businesses reopening from hurricane damage for the season—traffic through Cedar Mountain isn’t going anywhere. We need responsible tourism. Our little mountain economy depends on it. And a roundabout offers a way to slow people down—helping them appreciate where they are—without resorting to signs or billboards that would compromise the look and feel of our mountain village.  As front-row business owners in “downtown” Cedar Mountain, we’ve chosen to support this intersection improvement project.

We encourage everyone to stay involved and continue sharing thoughts as we navigate upcoming phases. Please submit your comment by May 9th to:   us276-cascadelakerd@publicinput.com

For project details, visit: http://publicinput.com/us276-cascadelakerd

NOT AROUND THE HOUSE by Linda Packer Young

Our trip will soon be coming to a close and I for one will be glad to get home.  Traveling can be fun but there’s no place like home.  Today (Tuesday) we are in Pigeon Forge TN.  We found a great Asian restaurant in Sevierville, TN and then went mini golfing.  It was a highlight of the trip.  Be back soon.

Note:  The deadline to submit articles for the Cedar Mountain News is Monday night.  If your contribution will be later you need to let me know.  Email cedarmountainnews@gmail.com with all news.  Photos are welcome and need to be 900kb or more to be used in the paper.