Village at Gerber Mixed-use Development in Asheville, NC

In 2004, Gulfside Development proposes to build a new mixed-use urban village off Hendersonville Road (US 25) in Asheville, NC.  The project was to be built on the site of the former Gerber Plant.  The project included 150,000 square feet of retail space, 65,000 square feet of office space, and 300 residential town homes. The proposed development was expected to generate approximately 9,574 new daily weekday trips; with 362 new trips during the AM peak and 1,211 new trips during the PM peak. The project was to be built in two phases. The site was to be served by three full access points – one on Hendersonville Road (US 25) and two on Gerber Road (SR 3199).

Davenport Transportation Consulting (DTC, formerly JDE) was contracted to provide a traffic impact analysis (TIA) for the proposed development. The following existing intersections were included in the TIA. Turning movement counts were taken at all four of these intersections.

  • Hendersonville Road (US 25) & Gerber Road
  • Hendersonville Road (US 25) & Mills Gap Road
  • Sweeten Creek Road (US 25A) & Gerber Road
  • Sweeten Creek Road (US 25A) & Mills Gap Road


In addition, the City of Asheville required the analysis of the following proposed full access points into the development. These intersections were analyzed for 2004 existing conditions (where applicable), AM and PM peaks, No-build conditions, and Full build-out conditions.

  • Proposed full-access entrance at Gerber Road (roundabout)
  • Proposed full-access entrance at Gerber Road
  • Hendersonville Road (US 25) @ Proposed full-access point


Based on the results of the TIA, the following recommendations for phased improvements were made:

  • The widening of Mills Gap Road to a three-lane section between Hendersonville Road (US 25) and the Proposed Entrance 2.  Mark the center lane for left turns (developer –phase 1).
  • Installation of a traffic signal at Hendersonville Road (US 25) at the proposed main entrance, and the coordination with the adjacent signals on corridor (developer – phase 1).  Should a signal not be approved for this location, a “left over” median could be installed at the Main Driveway to allow SB left turning vehicles access to the site and NB left turning vehicles access to the proposed development across the street.
  • Construct a 200-foot eastbound left turn lane at the intersection of Gerber Road and Sweeten Creek Road (US 25-A) (developer – phase 2)
  • Adjust signal timing at the intersection of Gerber Road and Sweeten Creek Road (US 25-A) (NCDOT)
  • At the intersection of the Gerber Road access it was recommended to construct a modern roundabout with a minimum of a 60-foot outside radius, designed to NCDOT/ FHWA standards (developer-phase 2).
  • At the proposed second Gerber Road entrance, it was recommended that the developer construct a 150-foot right turn lane, in addition to the three-lane section from Hendersonville Road (Developer – phase 1)


Based on all available data, DTC concluded that the trips from the proposed development would have a minimal negative impact on the surrounding roadways as there was ample capacity on most of the roadways to handle the increase in volume.  Where there was not adequate capacity, the recommended improvements would mitigate the adverse effects of the new trips. Additionally, because of the “walkable” nature of the proposed development, it can be anticipated that there would be 20-25% less trips than a traditional development of this size on this same tract of land.