SUNDAY
N.C.’S OLDEST FESTIVAL: Crowd turns out in Thomasville. 1B
UPTOWNE:
September 26, 2010 127th year No. 269
FILING DEADLINE: Law could affect status of nonprofits. 1B
www.hpe.com High Point, N.C.
THE PACK IS BACK: Wilson, State sting Yellow Jackets. 1D
50 Cents Daily $1.25 Sundays
It soon may project whole new atmosphere
WHO’S NEWS
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Quaint shopping district is one goal for efforts
Tori Gross, the 10-year-old daughter of Tim and Sharon Gross of Archdale, was crowned the Overall Supreme of the Princess of Davidson County on Sept. 18 at the theater of the American Children’s Home in Lexington. Tori will now go on to compete for Princess of North Carolina in August 2011.
BY PAT KIMBROUGH ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – The idea may seem farfetched to some, but a future trip along Main Street could have a very different feel if one scenario comes to light. Instead of four lanes, imagine a two-lane stretch with a 25 mph speed limit and even a traffic circle at its intersection with Lexington Avenue in the heart of a “pedestrianfriendly community – a place to shop, walk, ride a bike and hang around ... where cars slow down.” The idea of transforming one of the busiest streets in High Point “from a thoroughfare into a main street” is being championed by The City Project, the nonprofit organization working to promote growth and revitalization of the city’s 11square-mile urban core. The concept is more than just a pie-in-the-sky fantasy of urban planners. The city has applied for federal funding to conduct a transportation study of the feasibility of taking over control of Main Street from the state. City leaders have long expressed a desire to improve the look of Main Street in certain areas by tweaking zoning classifications along the corridor to make them more suitable for a city street than a highway. The completion of the U.S. 311 Bypass – which eventually will be dubbed a leg of Interstate 74 – around High Point and through Randolph County within the next couple of years will provide an opportunity to go to the state and assert more city control over Main Street. “2012 is not that far off. If it’s going to be done, you’ve got to start studying it now,” said Mayor
INSIDE
SONNY HEDGECOCK | HPE
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This part of the Uptowne corridor begins at Ray Avenue on the south and extends to State Street on the north. Becky Smothers. “Certainly, I think the control of the street and the land uses around it need to be closely coordinated.” With local control would come maintenance costs, from the asphalt on the road to the sidewalks that line the street. In addition, just doing the study would cost the city $120,000 – the portion of the local match
Make it ‘not just a roadway but a destination.’ Wendy Fuscoe City Project executive director for the $480,000 from the feds that is being sought.
But the investment would give the city a roadmap for how to bring the vision for Main Street about. City Project Executive Director Wendy Fuscoe said a study could focus on specific areas, such as Uptowne High Point, and suggest how to integrate bike and bus travel with vehicle traffic. “It would show what
Main could look like, with the end goal to take it from a state highway into a main street, being not just a roadway but a destination,” Fuscoe said. “It would look at how we could transform Main to do other things than just handle cars from one end to the other.” pkimbrough@hpe.com | 888-3531
Implementation could mean major changes for Main Street BY PAT KIMBROUGH ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
HIGH POINT – Changing the face of the city’s main drag is one key proposal for the group charged with revitalizing High Point’s core. If Main Street ever loses its U.S. 311 Business designation and reverts to local control, it will provide a golden opportunity, according to representatives of The City Project. City control would allow for streetscaping, such as narrowing it from four to two lanes with a median, on-street parking, buried utility lines, the addition of trees along the sidewalk and other features. “It is our No. 1 priority, because people are so visual. They need to
see things to believe,” said Aaron Clinard, City Project chairman. “In all the places we visited, like Greenville (S.C.) and Salisbury, they tell us the first thing you must do is streetscape, because people see it. They believe something’s happening, and then it creates this air of ‘I need to be there’ for entrepreneurs and restaurateurs and that sort of cast of characters we want.” He added that the idea is key not just in the Uptowne area of N. Main Street, where the group has been focused of late networking with restaurants and other small businesses. Getting a hold on Main Street traffic, from the furniture showroom district south to the area surrounding the High Point campus of Guilford
Technical Community College, also is the key for other priorities. “For all of these places, we had to, No. 1, slow traffic down, because if you’ve watched it closely, they’re going 45 to 50 mph, so there’s no way someone could notice a store, shop or restaurant because of the mere speed,” Clinard said. One part of the planning process would involve how to handle the volume of traffic on Main Street if the city decides to take it over. Mayor Becky Smothers pointed out that the city faces some significant traffic management issues along some parts of Main Street, especially with trucks accessing the showroom dis-
CHANGE, 2A
Eatery moves to new location BY DARRICK IGNASIAK ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
SONNY HEDGECOCK | HPE
Jimmy Davis, owner of Rosa Mae’s Cafe, weighs out burgers in the kitchen of his business on National Highway in Thomasville. He will be moving the restaurant to the old Jed’s BBQ location, also on National Highway.
THOMASVILLE – The owner of Rosa Mae’s Cafe in Thomasville says the economy has forced him to relocate to another spot on National Highway. Jimmy Davis, owner of Rosa Mae’s, said he will close the doors Thursday to his restaurant at 1322 National Highway. He will then reopen Rosa Mae’s the weekend of Oct. 2 at the former location of Jed’s BBQ at 709 National Highway. Davis said he purchased the former Jed’s BBQ building in June because it would be cheaper in the long run to operate out of, instead of leasing his current location. Jed’s
BBQ closed its doors earlier this year. “It’s kind of a no-brainer,” he said. “I’m buying the building for half of what I am leasing here.” Davis has been in the restaurant business for 15 years, moving his restaurant from downtown High Point to Thomasville 51⁄2 years ago. He said his business has been a “victim of circumstance” because of the economic downfall. “It’s been up and down – seriously,” Davis said. “It’s feast or famine. It seems like we have a good day and a few bad days. It’s just economical problems. It’s just something we are going through.” Davis said the recent announcement of Thomasville Ford, located across from Rosa
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Mae’s, hurts business. He said the relocation of Food Lion a few years ago to N.C. 109 also sent a blow to his business. But he believes the relocation on National Highway will help. “Six blocks away, we will be closer to the city,” Davis said. “It’s more residential around there and a lot more small businesses, too.” Davis wants customers to know that he is staying local. “I am staying within the area,” he said. “I’ve kinda made Thomasville my home, too. I do enjoy High Point, but I am staying close by. I do have a good base as far as that goes, but people just aren’t driving out and doing things like they used to do.” dignasiak@hpe.com | 888-3657
OBITUARIES
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Lorraine Deadmon, 83 Ora Grubb, 90 Edsel Reeder, 84 Paula Shaw, 83 Colton St. Louis, 18 Jerrie Tucker, 74 Frank Tucker Sr., 77 Obituaries, 2B
WEATHER
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Storms likely High 69, Low 58 8D
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