Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:

Question: I don’t have a burning question. I have a trivial question. I’ve been driving through the tunnel on Tunnel Road twice a day for the last six months. I just can’t figure out what they’re doing with the lighting. Sometimes both sides are lit, sometimes one side is lit, sometimes half the lights are lit on one side and all the lights on the other. Sometimes every third light is lit, like this morning on both sides. I’m just curious as to what the plan is on what they’re trying to do with the lighting. Every day it distracts me as I go through the tunnel. I’m afraid I’m going to have an accident trying to figure out what the hell they’re doing.

My answer: Are you sure you're not lit?

Real answer: Anna Henderson, a traffic engineer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation's Asheville office, took this one on.

"Typically, all of the lights should be operating during the day, and half of the lights should be operating from dusk to dawn in the tunnel," Henderson said.

But, workers have noticed some issues of late.

"NCDOT crews have been working on the lighting in the tunnel and recently replaced some damaged wiring and a fixture," Henderson said. "The repairs are complete, and we will confirm the lighting system is operating normally."

These lights are not that old, either. As I noted in a 2018 Answer Man column, the tunnel was getting all new, $216,000 LED lights that year, which greatly improved brightness.

By the way, this tunnel, which dates to the late 1920s, is a recurring source of fascination for locals. Of particular interest is why people honk when they go through, which I wrote about in December 2016 and again a few weeks later.

It's worth a little rehash. The first column noted people honked mainly because it's fun and annoying and loud — and their parents did it. But then I got chastised for not actually providing the history behind it.

Kris R. Merithew, a training coordinator and instructor North Carolina Justice Academy in Edneyville, gave me the background on why people honk in tunnels. The Beaucatcher Tunnel, like nearly all modern tunnels, has two lanes, but that wasn't always the case with tunnels, especially older ones.

"The habit of blowing your horn in tunnels is based on early traffic safety laws requiring the act," Merithew said in January 2017. "Due to the high costs of this type of infrastructure, most tunnels, bridges and mountain cuts were only a single lane wide. Only on the heaviest traveled main roadways would the expense of a multi-lane passageway be justified."

So horn honking was actually encouraged, by law, to avoid collisions in tunnels with limited sight distance. And a tradition was born.

Of course, people do it now mainly because it's fun and annoying and loud. You really shouldn't, because it's distracting and really annoying to pedestrians, but I know you're going to, anyway.

Question: I have called Asheville Public Works and they have not returned my call, and have had no response, so I thought you might find an answer for this. I use, as do many others, the city-owned parking lot at the corner of Shelburne Road and Hominy Creek Road to access the Hominy Creek Greenway. Private garbage collection companies using large roll-off garbage bins use that lot to flip those bins around. They roll the large bin off onto the lot, pull their truck around to the other end and re-load it. They leave broken glass, leachate from the bins, and other small items of trash on the lot, and they are damaging the entrance to the lot as well. I would like to know if they have an agreement with the city, and why they are not required to clean up their mess.

My answer: Besides the leachate and broken glass, though, I hear it's a beautiful spot.

Real answer: City of Asheville spokeswoman Kim Miller responded to this query.

"The city of Asheville does not keep private vehicles from using parking lots," Miller said via email. "We do like to hear from our community if a city-owned facility is experiencing a problem."

Answer Man: Airport gate delays at AVL? Hominy Creek cleanup?

She put in a plug for the Asheville APP, which allows you to report problems under several different categories. You can download it through the Google Play Store or the Apple Store. It's also on the city’s website on the Public Works page (https://www.ashevillenc.gov/department/public-works/).

"Please provide as much information as possible, including in this case the name of the private collection company if available," Miller said.

I also checked with Waste Pro, as they're the largest trash-hauling company around here. Spokeswoman Tracy Meehan said the trucks in question are not theirs.

Answer Man: Wider road for Transfer Station? Lots of pipe welding on Sardis Road?

"Waste Pro uses the transfer station that neighbors the parking lot in question to dispose of residential materials," Meehan said via email. "We do not utilize the parking lot at the corner of Shelburne Road and Hominy Creek Road. All residential materials taken to the transfer station are contained in the truck and not in a roll off box that can be removed."

She added that all roll-off materials "are primarily taken to a another location."

This is the opinion of John Boyle. To submit a question, contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com.