Supervisor Ken Boyd thinks it’s time to open the Meadowcreek Parkway to traffic, despite that it’s not finished being built, Aaron Richardson writes in the Daily Progress. The agreement between the city, the county, and the Virginia Department of Transportation stipulates that no portion of the road can open until it’s completed. The county’s portion was open briefly, so that VDOT could direct traffic along it to facilitate construction, but the effect of it was to dump all of the traffic directly in front of Charlottesville High School, which made the school’s administrators fear for their students’ safety. VDOT is yet to sign off on the project as completed. Boyd says that if the road isn’t opened soon, the surface of the road will deteriorate. There was no quoted response from VDOT spokesman Lou Hatter on Boyd’s claim. The Board of Supervisors is slated to vote on Boyd’s proposed resolution on the matter on Wednesday.
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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I would like to see a written copy of this agreement- I don’t believe it actually exists.
It was relayed to me that the county would keep their side closed while the city completed construction on their part. Since it looks as though no construction is actual occurring now or in the foreseeable future that the “gentleman’s agreement” is arguably no longer in effect. I would like the road opened since Rio is now a parking lot during rush hour due to the “temporary” light at Dunlora.
What a stupid decision by the county to build that thing in the first place! The fact that they built in the turn before the rest was ready to go shows that some heads were in some asses instead of thinking the traffic problems out.
Running freeways through cities is a way outdated idea, look what it did to Richmond. High volume, high speed traffic right through the middle of Charlottesville just isn’t going to work out well.
Hopefully the city’s portion will never be built and the part the county jumped the gun on will be turned into a park where kids can skate and ride bikes safely.
I never thought the day would come when Ken Boyd would say something I would agree with – must be the end of days.
Perlogik, you have obviously not been in McIntire Park recently. Construction of the road is well underway.
Bob Fenwick hit the nail on the head. The county knows that it has 3 city councilors in there back pocket and will do whatever the county request (parkway, larger dam).
Doesn’t the county also have the city manager in their camp? He’s still a county resident who owns property there isn’t he?
The construction I’ve been told is related to the meadowcreek interceptor- which is the actually a sewer project. You can see the massive work they have been doing off off Rio as you get ready to cross the bridge that takes you nto the city. That needs to be connected and the clearing of the area near the county end of the MCP is more related to that then the road. I’m unaware of any road construction that has started but could be wrong on that front.
I’m also still am waiting for anyone to produce the written agreement between the city and county on the opening of the Meadowcreek Parkway.
OK, so let’s make Melbourne Road one way heading north in the mornings and one way heading south in the afternoons. Large cities do this all the time to manage traffic. Add many, many speed humps to Grove Road.
Just because the county thinks it wants to dump a bunch of traffic on top of our one high school, doesn’t mean we have to make it easy for them when they arrive.
It’s pretty clear now that this was one project: not three. The people in favor of the parkway were in no way alarmed at exploiting the loophole of dissecting it into three parts to get, well, some of it approved. They seem to be very unhappy about those opposed to it exploiting loopholes to keep one or two of the other parts from happening.
So they’re hoist on their own petard at the moment and discussing slithering through some other loophole to avoid the everything-opens-at-the-same-time agreement.
Wow. Everything old is new again, eh?
On Wednesday mornings, I join a group of runners at CHS for early morning track workouts. Before we go on the track, we warm-up by running the length of the county’s portion of the Meadowcreek Parkway. It’s very kind of Albemarle County to provide us with such a nice, wide, safe running path, where we don’t have to worry about any auto traffic. Thanks.
Could you please provide a water fountain for us at the mid-way point?
The comments here so far have only confirmed my belief that: the county is behaving like the city should and the city is acting like what the county ought to.
I’m calling BS on Boyd’s claim that lack of use will lead to quicker deterioration of the paving on that section of the parkway.
I was skeptical, since it makes no sense that any engineered structure would deteriorate more quickly if it weren’t subjected to the loads it was designed for than it would if it were. I’ve searched for a while and so far no mention anywhere of lack of traffic causing paving to prematurely fail. On the contrary most of the information on pavement deterioration seems to agree with this paper produced by the University of Texas Engineering Extension Service under the sponsorship of the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. It’s entitled Asphalt Pavement Preservation
This is under the heading Causes of Deterioration
Driving to work is soooo bourgeois! Good on those that mock those of us that depend on roads to survive. Us working class cretins simply have not evolved to that higher plane occupied by those that believe in delaying this road as long as possible!
Turning Rio and Hyrdraulic roads into parking lots filled with idling cars is a good thing and I laud the City Council’s efforts. The most important consideration should be bicyclists and running enthusiasts. If we can have many more decades of delay and (literal) gridlock, then Dave Norris could be proud of his record of accomplishment!
Remember, there is no Democratic or Republican way to tie up a public works project! Good job City Council!!
Dave Norris can be particularly proud of all the development he’s approved in the county on Rio Road and 29N. It’s just amazing how he’s able to manipulate growth in the county and then stand in the way of their ability to get into the city when they want.
This sort of thing is why I supported Charlottesville reverting to town status when that was last popular. Charlottesville is indeed much larger than the boundaries of the city, but unlike Jessica Rabbit it isn’t drawn that way.
Property taxes are vastly different in the two jurisdictions. County residents should really not be surprised when their more heavily self-taxed neighbor balks at infrastructure expenditure created by growth in the county.
I repeat: the first error was chopping this project into three pieces. The second error was forging ahead with one of those three pieces before the entire project was approved.
This is hands-down the greatest visual metaphor ever posted to cvillenews.com.
I second that. :)
(Plus, it’s not every day somebody works in a Who Framed Roger Rabbit metaphor.)
“infrastructure expenditure created by growth in the county.”
My understand is that this infrastructure expenditure has already has been encumbered. And I recall fondly the pictures of Dave Norris enjoying the fashion square mall with his children on his facebook page.
So I guess Barbara Myer is saying that city residents don’t use county businesses? There aren’t city residents that work in the county?
My understanding is that the people in the city and the people in the county are friends, neighbors and relatives. It has only been the opposition to a number of already approved infrastructure projects where all of a sudden the interests of these two groups of people ostensibly diverge wildly.
Of course the reality is that the interests of city and county residents are concordant and will be well served by this road through an unused portion of McIntire park.
City residents do use county roads. City residents do shop on 29N. City residents have REPEATEDLY expressed a desire to have this road finished.
Blind anger at growth in the county has gotten certain city residents and city council members absolutely nowhere. Instead of railing at how stupid your neighbor is, perhaps an intelligent and wise approach is to deal with the world as it is instead of how you wish it would be.
The Meadowcreek Parkway will be a reality soon. This is nothing less than a complete and total defeat for anyone who ever opposed this road. Dragging feet will only end up costing the city taxpayers more.
failing… I don’t really have a position here. Although more roads means more ways to get around the place, if it’s not great in the grand scheme of things for the area, I don’t oppose that either.
It’s just.. your moniker doesn’t match your passion for the subject.
The Meadowcreek Parkway.
I have heard folks passionately squabbling over this since I first moved here 11 years ago. So, just out curiosity, I asked my coworker, a native, how long said squabbling has been going on. She said, “Oh, about 30-40 years”.
30-40 years. Didn’t see that one coming. Really?
Not to condescend, but I do hope you folks on either side of this particular issue realize just how silly the inability to reach a compromise makes you all seem. Some advice: Get it sorted and stop whinging on about it already. Lord.
#occupymeadowcreekparkway
I think failing to understand the issue would be a better moniker.
“So I guess Barbara Myer is saying that city residents don’t use county businesses? There aren’t city residents that work in the county?” No, not at all. That’s exactly why county growth creates the need for additional expenditures for city infrastructure. That’s the reason cities try to increase tax revenues by annexing growth areas at their edges.
“Of course the reality is that the interests of city and county residents are concordant and will be well served by this road through an unused portion of McIntire park.” I’m a city resident and I don’t see that is in my interest in any way to build a road through that park. Assuming for a moment that some moral imperative demanded that all “unused” land be “used” and some random dude on the internet whose word was the final authority on the matter came along and decreed that portion of land to be “unused,” it would not necessarily follow that putting a road through it was the best way to “use” it. Focusing on the park also ignores the fact that the parkway isn’t just a way to get through the park. It’s really a way to connect to 5th street which essentially means building a freeway right through the middle of an area that can barely handle its existing traffic flow at peak times. That’s a disaster in the making.
“Instead of railing at how stupid your neighbor is, perhaps an intelligent and wise approach is to deal with the world as it is instead of how you wish it would be.” Like maybe accepting that there is no way to build ourselves out of our traffic problems, that building more roads cause more problems than it solves, and that viable mass transportation is very badly needed?
“It’s really a way to connect to 5th street which essentially means building a freeway right through the middle of an area that can barely handle its existing traffic flow at peak times. That’s a disaster in the making.”
So, continuing to ignore the handling of traffic flow at all won’t be a disaster in the making? Okay, that’s sure shutting the barn door to make sure the horse don’t get out after it’s long left.
“Like maybe accepting that there is no way to build ourselves out of our traffic problems, that building more roads cause more problems than it solves, and that viable mass transportation is very badly needed?”
Not to mention what existing roads there are suffer from the illogic those very modes of “viable mass transportation” need/use those exact roads too. Add a dash of creating further road/street safety hazzards and a pinch of additionally encouraged road rage among the masses. Yeah, swell pretzel logic.
All in all: if you’ve never seen a road you liked, prefer to en masse networking eradicate the motor vehicle rather than totally reinvent such, in denial that bicycle trails are also roads and have a fixed preference for mature endowed homosapien males in anatomically correct spandex…. You might just be part of a bicycle lobby! Eeewwww wee, with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy.
The logical conclusion is inescapable: Tear up all city roads at once, sell the rubble and use the proceeds to buy more buses and bicycles!! TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM SOLVED! County people hoisted upon their own petard!! Victory for all!!!
“it would not necessarily follow that putting a road through it was the best way to “use” it. ”
You must have missed the last several decades of debate and voting whereby it was decided to do precisely that.
The dreaded double qouted qoute!!!
““it would not necessarily follow that putting a road through it was the best way to “use” it. ””
I suppose that would be comparative to using terms as – connector – and – bypass – as interchangable?
“Not to mention what existing roads there are suffer from the illogic those very modes of “viable mass transportation” need/use those exact roads too. Add a dash of creating further road/street safety hazzards and a pinch of additionally encouraged road rage among the masses.”
English is not your first language I take it.