The reconstruction of the Park Street bridge has altered city traffic patterns strongly, in part because many people have long used the street as the route from downtown to 29 north. The furloughed traffic runs through north downtown residential neighborhoods, and Marianne McKernan of Saint Charles Avenue has had enough. She’s launched a petition drive — seeking what, WINA doesn’t say — complaining that the increased traffic has had a negative impact on her neighborhood. The new bridge should be built by December. 09/09 Update: The Hook had a considerably more detailed story about Ms. McKernan a couple of weeks ago.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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MAN, I can’t wait till later this century when we have flying cars like in the movie Back to the Future 2. Maybe that will final settle Charlottesville and surrounding area concerns on this here traffic problems.
Does she understand the concept of temporary? My neighbors and I had to be heavily inconvenienced for months when they did the Locust Bridge, but you didn’t see us petitioning. Does she give a shit about having a safe bridge or doesn’t she? Is she about to die and therefore only thinks in the short-term? Some people have the patience of a flea.
Does she expect them to stop work immediately if she gets enough signatures? That’s a great idea, have the construction halted halfway through, let the bridge fall apart somewhere along the line and kill a bunch of people, and then there will be no bridge and so traffic on Park St. Incredible.
Well, she sounds like one of those people who love to *****, but offer no solution.
I’m sorry, the censors caught me. I was saying that she sounds like one of those people who love to "female dog" but offer no solutions.
I’m sorry, the censors caught me.
Ain’t that a *****? I don’t know how to make this software stop doing that. I’ve turned that option off in the software, but it keeps doing it. I’ve dug through the code to try and debug it myself, but I’m yet to figure it out. I figure we’re big boys and girls, and we can determine for ourselves what words are and aren’t appropriate.
And yet I can still say "fuckface."
Weird.
Yeah, that woman sounds like a loon, though.
She was in the Hook this past week too. She was complaining about Watson Avenue being closed and how unfair it was.
I am thinking that she was also quoted in a story about the truck who already struck the Locust Avenue bridge. However that was, they were whining about the design of the bridge and how it resembled the old one.
Having attended some of the meetings that the city had with residents about the Locust Bridge project (which was HEAVILY PROMOTED by the North Locust Neighborhood Assc.), you all would have died at the comments. I went even though I live about 3 blocks from Locust/Tenth Avenue because I do use Locust to get on the Bypass. I took the time to look at the maps of the proposed bridge and even emailed the project manager as I was hoping that the project would take advantage of this opportunity to make it easier to get off Route 250 and make a right turn onto Locust.
Many people there wanted the city to block off North Avenue for the duration. The city representative said that this would not be possible but people were still agitating for it. People were downright angry that Locust was going to be closed; angry about the Park Street Bridge makeover and wanted roads blocked off. The representatives from the city tried to maintain civility and take questions from those who had their hands up, but mostly it was a bunch of people yelling out questions and being generally hostile. I gave up and left.
To be fair, I wasn’t aware until this meeting that there are drivers who use Agnese Road as a drag strip on weekends. That was a surprise to hear.
And, there’s a lot of traffic on North Avenue and I’d be curious as to who is using it (the one day I was out, I noticed it was predominantly Greene County decals on vehicles). But to the city’s credit, there were neighborhood meetings. Plus opportunities to email officials (and they responded quickly even though we disagreed) and abilities to see maps of how the construction for both bridges were going to happen. (And maps to see the future North Avenue construction that’s coming one day.) It’s not like the city sneaked in the middle of the night and did this.
But I imagine Marianne McKernan is one of those people at that meeting back last year who wants the roads blocked off from ALL users unti the bridge is finished. I hope she won’t be too surprised when the roundabout is built off North Avenue down the road….
(She reminds me of that man who wrote a letter during the Rio Road construction who loved having no traffic on Rio Road and wanted it to remain just a private road for him and his neighbors. Sheesh.)
bitcharoony
*****
shit
*****
ass
*****
*****
humm i wonder which one wasn’t censored?
http://www.gnu.org/software/grep/doc/grep.html
While we’re on the topic of limiting free speech: what’s the current policy here on discussing C-Ville Weekly stories?
(John Borgmeyer wrote a nice story on the Jefferson School debacle — a subject of much previous ink here at cvillenews.com — and I think the article would be worth our attention.)
Ms. McKernan SOUNDS LIKE A REAL IDIOT.
DARN… I wonder if it has ever crossed her thoughts that our tax help keep her road paved for travel. Maybe she should consider moving.
Her next idea,l I assume would be charging
a toll to use (HER STREET).