Category: transportation

Might be more than a “what if” and more “when they” …

From Charlottesville Tomorrow:

In other news, the Federal Highway Administration has awarded a $100,000 grant to the MPO to study I-64 from exit 87 in Staunton to exit 124 at Pantops. The organization will work with its equivalents in Staunton and Waynesboro, as well as VDOT.

The goal is to find ways to improve traffic, relieve congestion and prevent crashes in a 40-mile stretch that crosses the Blue Ridge Mountains.

“This project will be a two-fold mission,” said Chip Boyles, executive director of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. “The biggest mission is to develop and promote a planning tool that FHWA uses and they’re trying to get MPOs to use to coordinate planning between multiple jurisdictions.”

Boyles said the second mission is to come up with high-level concepts of what can be built to help address the issues.

“It’s not just looking at I-64 but maybe looking at transit opportunities and possible changes to 250 so that it can handle a larger capacity when people have to detour onto it,” he said.

The Charlottesville MPO will hold a joint meeting with the Staunton-Waynesboro MPO in the fall to discuss the issue further.

Update, sent in from an offline commenter

Also from Charlottesville Tomorrow, this time in 2009: (bolding mine, and you should read the whole story)

VDOT’s final report in January 2000 recommended the widening of 250 west to four lanes between the US 29/250 Bypass near the Bellair neighborhood all the way to the railroad trestle crossing the Mechums River.

Scenic 250 vigorously opposed the road’s widening, a recommendation that VDOT made over the objections of the citizen committee participating in the study. The public argued that it made no sense to widen 250 when it ran parallel to the existing I-64.

With the strong support of Supervisor Sally H. Thomas , the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution in May 2000 that committed the county to protecting the road as a two-lane scenic corridor all the way west to the county line. VDOT conceded that 250 was used largely for local traffic, and if residents wanted to deal with the congestion, that could be a local choice.

And for kicks and giggles and a bit further thought:

Portland’s drop in car use frees up $138 million in our local economy every year

via Albemarle’s A-Mail –

Continue reading “Crozet Sidewalk Update – 24 May 2016”

In February we had  a good conversation about buses from Crozet to Charlottesville.

Brandon Black from Lenoir Limousine has asked me to ask you –

“Looking to get some input on what people think about a bus service from Crozet to Charlottesville.

• Would you ride it?
• What times should it depart in mornings and evenings?
• How much would you pay per week?
• What areas in Charlottesville would you want to go?

Just throwing around ideas want to hear community input.”

This used to be a narrow shoulder. Then they paved it and made it a wider shoulder, which served as a wonderful bike lane.

Then they rumble-stripped it.   As someone who rides a bicycle and drives there frequently, I hate this new “feature.”

I posted the question on Facebook;  the consensus is that the rumble-stripped the road because people driving cars keep running off the road.

Alison’s response wins, and I encourage folks to act as they see fit: (bolding mine)

The driver who ended up in our yard actually passed two breathalyzers. She was sober, there was no bad weather, it was light out, nothing in the road. We assume she was looking at her phone as it was in her hand when my husband got to her car seconds after she crashed. She had two fence posts go through her windshield on either side of her head. She was lucky to have nothing more than a couple gashes. She went through two back fences, took out several mature trees, missed our kids play structure by literally inches, and broke through our side fence, stopping feet from our neighbor who was unloading groceries in her driveway. That same neighbor had a car go through their yard a few months earlier.

So we and several others on our street have been begging VDOT for a guardrail since this happened and they have repeatedly shot it down as too dangerous for the drivers. We also asked them to lower the speed limit to match the section of 240 near Western Ridge and they refused to do that as well. What they did do is pave the shoulder (because the drop off was soft and didn’t allow drivers the opportunity to self-correct) and put in the rumble strips. We told them it was not enough but after 11 months of asking that was what we were given. Anne Mallek even spoke up for us and they didn’t budge.That being said, I would urge anyone who is unhappy with this situation to call VDOT and tell them! There are houses on our street where the drop off from 240 is very steep and any car going off the road would be in their living room in seconds. People regularly drive too fast and we have spent many nights watching them swerve in and out of the lane lines for no apparent reason. So we are not giving up.

If you’re willing to help, you can reach our Charlottesville Residency Administrator at VDOT at 434-422-9373. Express your safety concerns/unhappiness with not having a bike lane/frustration with wasteful spending… If enough people speak up maybe they will reconsider. We won’t get what we don’t ask for. Thanks!