For those of us who grew up in the area, it’s easy to remember when the town of Boone was just that… a small town in the mountains. We also remember when Appalachian State was a regional college with roughly half the enrollment it has today. At one time, the road leading from Boone to Blowing Rock was comparatively barren. The old Wendy’s, the Peddler, and Makotos were about the only restaurants on the strip in those days.
That started to change by the end of the 1980’s. Over the last thirty plus years App State’s enrollment has exploded to over 20,000, causing the town itself to grow exponentially in an effort to keep up. Nowadays there are new apartment buildings, giant parking lots, big box stores, and other new businesses springing up all over town, and even in the areas outside of town.
In fact, there is a very interesting history of Boone’s efforts, spearheaded by a group of very determined local citizens, to keep the community small during this period of rapid growth. Specifically, a sizable group of local people in Boone mounted a strong resistance against Wal-Mart’s efforts to come to town back in the 1990’s.
It was as if they knew the tide would turn, and old Boone would be forever gone, once the first big chain store was allowed. They were right, of course, and now Business 321 (Blowing Rock Road) south of Boone is littered with the “usual suspects” of fast-food joints, big boxes, and other non-local franchises.
All of this change over a relatively short period of time has caused quite a bit of stress on the once-small town of Boone. Traffic and parking around town is a headache. The highways leading in and out are much, much busier.
In fact, the once two-lane highway leading from Deep Gap to Boone was expanded to four lanes in recent years to accommodate the increased traffic.
In response to the growth, the State Highway Patrol and local law enforcement agencies have upped their efforts to patrol the roads and keep them safe. This has resulted in a big increase in speeding violations in Watauga County.
From time to time, someone will call our office and tell us they’ve received a ticket in one of the “speed traps” coming into Boone. And while it may feel that way, we always try to explain that no community in the region has experienced the sort of growth Boone has seen over the past few decades.
As such, Boone works pretty hard to encourage people to “slow down” as they pass through. The good news, we also tell folks, is that the people in Boone are good to work with, and we can almost always help you get a fair resolution to your traffic violation. That usually means working something out that keeps points off your record and avoids the dreaded insurance hike.
If you’ve been ticketed in Watauga County, give us a call. We can usually help without needing you to come to court, and we do it at a very fair price. Call 336-995-0060 or email us at [email protected].
Will McElwee has been a traffic attorney for over 25 years, and has established a solid track record helping folks from Boone and Wilkesboro to Winston Salem address traffic tickets. His family has a long and fruitful history in the area: the McElwee Law Firm began in 1932. Will’s grandfather, William H. McElwee, Jr., was a former president of the North Carolina Bar and sat on North Carolina’s Board of Law Examiners for many years.
As a “Double Deac,” Will attended Wake Forest University for both undergraduate and law school. He is a certified Superior Court and Family Financial Mediator and is also certified in the field of collaborative law.
