To the Editor:

A representative from the N.C. Department of Transportation recently briefed Dillsboro board on plans to replace the bridge just west of Harold’s Supermarket. One statement caught my attention: “with the existence of a professionally-drawn conceptual design, a pedestrian walkway linking the Monteith Park and downtown Dillsboro would be permitted beneath the bridge.”

I urge Jackson County to take advantage of this opportunity. Envision a county recreation center (serving northern Jackson) located at the 16-acre Monteith Park accessed by a greenway from both Sylva and Dillsboro. Envision a two-mile, scenic, winding, mostly level “urban stroll” from downtown Sylva to the Tuckasegee River via the Mark Watson Park, the Monteith Park, and downtown Dillsboro.  

Preservation, economic stimulation, and outdoor activity.  

Tim Osment

Sylva,

Jackson County Genealogical Society, Appalachian Women’s Museum, 

North Carolina Museum Council