Area officials are giving up on plans for a 64/Sunset Avenue interchange, Seth Rosen writes in today’s Daily Progress. The traffic flow south of the city is awkward (moving between 20 S, Avon, and 5th isn’t particularly easy), and the city, county, and UVa were angling for improving things by way of a new interchange. But at $50-100M it’s just too expensive. Instead, they’re looking to connect Sunset and Fontaine, but as with just about all road construction, even that’s unlikely to happen. (The state is hurtling towards 2018, the date at which the spiraling cost of maintaining our roads will eat up 100% of the state transportation budget. With each year that goes by, we can build less and less roads.) The need for this is going to come from the massive Biscuit Run development, just south of town. But with the developers offering a paltry $1.2M towards the road, there’s no reason to think that we’ll end up with anything but more traffic.
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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So basically this is a giant FU to all the Old Lynchburg Road residents who can’t get out of their driveways. But the county doesn’t care, they’re city residents, right? Apparently the threat of closing that road at the county/city line months ago was not enough to wake up the Albemarle supervisors.
Don’t forget the massive number of people for the new Habitat project at the trailer court.
Eventually, if traffic really gets bad in that portion of Fry’s Spring, the residents will move and leave the housing to the students or they will die and the property will be sold to invoestors who will rent to students.
@Cville Eye: Are you sure that there will be more people living in the Habitat project than there are already living in the trailer court? There is a pretty huge population living there now, I’d be pretty suprised if it increased. Does anyone have any numbers to share? In any case, the current residents seem to drive straight into town on Fifth St. I ride my bike along that stretch often, and a couple of times passed through the trailer court to see what was back there. Surprisingly huge and squalid place.
The market’s answer to affordable housing.
@Sean: http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2008/04/10/NEWS-southwood-D.aspx
sates that there are currently 361 trailers and Habitat is planning to build 600 units. Although the article also states that it is estimated that there are 1500 current residents, meaning an average of more than 4 people per trailer, I cannot figure out how they can all squeeze into those small trailers. The lot is 100 acres and I read somewhere that zoning would allow around 900 units. Since they are aiming to include a substantial amount of mixed-income, mixed-use, and commercial space, I suspect more traffic will eventually be generated. The few times I have visited the park in the evening, I have noticed that it seems there is less than one car per trailer currently.
Cville Eye,
Because that’s what poverty is like. Poor people do not tend to be multiple car families. Many of them don’t even have one car.
They squeeze 4 people into those tiny trailers because they have no choice. Probably some members of the family are sleeping on the living room couch or perhaps on the floor.
The really sad part is that most of them do have jobs. Even with both parents working full time, at low wages it’s still not enough to maintain what you would consider an acceptable lifestyle. They work and work and work and this is all they get.
Barack Obama was right. A lot of us have good reason to be bitter.
Cville Eye says: “there are 1500 current residents, meaning an average of more than 4 people per trailer, I cannot figure out how they can all squeeze into those small trailers.”
Welcome to the reality of the working poor. There are pockets of poverty like this all over Cville/Alb.
“Barack Obama was right. A lot of us have good reason to be bitter.”
Yep. And I’m also glad to see that Dave Norris is currently trying to tackle the problem of housing for the folks attempting to exist at the lowest levels of the poverty spectrum.
If anybody believe 1500 people live in 361 trailers when a substantial number of trailers are occupied by retirees, he needs to call the county’s zoning administrator and report a zoning violation.
“And I’m also glad to see that Dave Norris is currently trying to tackle the problem of housing for the folks attempting to exist at the lowest levels of the poverty spectrum.” Can anyone spell out exactly how he is doing that? And, how is what he’s doing any different than what the city has been doing for at least two decades?
The County needs to get off its arse and start getting some leadership. We are the laughing stock of the state not being proactive with transportation. Through the bums out!
“We are the laughing stock of the state not being proactive with transportation.” Then the rest of the state must also be laughing at itself.