Why do you love Crozet?
Crozet is at an interesting crossroads. People move here – and stay here – in large part because of the community, the mountains, the setting, the amenities, and the small town feel.
I can’t tell you how many times I ask my clients, “Why Crozet?” and one of their first answers is either “community” or “to be part of something.”
What are the things about Crozet that you/we want to protect? To prioritize?
I love Crozet. I love the community. I want Crozet to remain special. It’s going to change; how we change and grow is critical.
The answers below to the question, “Why do you love Crozet?” are tremendous. Click through, spend some time.
Some of the highlights
- Mountain views
- Crozet Library
- Great Valu
- Coffee shops
- Small town living
- Sal’s
- Beaver Creek
- Orchards
- The people
- Restaurants
- And so. Much. More
To be and remain a community, infrastructure needs to be a critical component of how we grow – bike lanes and sidewalks are crucial to this – (read this!). Connecting humans needs to be at the forefront of how we grow, rather than a casual afterthought.
Think about this: in the Crozet Board of Trade meeting on 18 July, Frank Stoner, who is developing Barnes Lumber, mentioned that the Crozet design guidelines call for 10 foot sidewalks whereas VDOT calls for 5 foot sidewalks … if VDOT won’t maintain the sidewalks, who will? We are in challenging times.
Part 1, if you’re interested.
I am currently in Golden, Colorado, and I noticed that one area (not the downtown) has 10-foot sidewalks. It is wonderful. So much room for me on my feet, other runners, dogwalkers, and casual bicyclers. I don’t know anything about maintenance; I just happened to notice that sidewalk was HUGE (in a very pleasant way), and then it was funny to see it mentioned in this column.
If I were to list 5 ‘Likes’ again, I would put ’20 Minutes from Charlottesville/UVA at #2 following the Crozet Library. Sweet as Crozet is, were it not for the proximity to culture and knowledge, we would have chosen another University Community.
I was raised and educated in Albemarle county and selected Crozet as my residence because it reminds me of the what the entire area used to be like decades ago. I mostly enjoy seeing folks I grew up with and seeing their families grow. I currently live in Houston and keep a house in Crozet
The Library and the view from the Library of course. The coffee shops, orchards, bookstore and great Value. The many artisans who live here. That Crozet Arts is here and we don’t have to drive across the mountain or into Charlottesville to find superb classes in ballet, cello, guitar, yoga, painting and drama.
Bike lanes and sidewalks are crucial??? To What?? Crozet
existed and prospered with a minimum of these and can and will far into the future. What I feel is far more crucial to the very existence of the community is the need to remove the weeds from the cracks and joints in the new sidewalks. The point is if you really want something and you want someone else to pay for it you truthfully represent it and hope others take interest. If not,well, bike lanes exist on the right hand side of most public roads…
Bike lanes and sidewalks are crucial to:
– community – you see and interact more with your neighbors
– connectivity
– getting people – adults and kids – out of cars
– keeping people close to the urban business centers
– minimize automobile traffic
– affordability of housing (in theory) … someone could save hundreds of dollars a month by not having a car, or by having only one car.
But … Crozet needs *employers*.
Crozet does not have an ‘urban business center. Retail on the Square, along 240, and even in DCI Phase I, does not amount to an ‘urban business center’ What developer will venture the capital risk to build a 21C business park, or even just 1 building, on spec, in Crozet. With Cville/UVa our competition just 20 minutes away, what is our competitive advantage?
Nailed it. Sadly.
Economics necessarily will rule the day.