Riding a bicycle from Downtown Charlottesville to Hollymead Town Center – I drove the new Berkmar Extension recently with a client who also rides a bicycle, and we discussed the feasibility of riding from there to Downtown Charlottesville.

Commuting by bicycle from 29 North to Downtown Charlottesville can be done, pretty easily; it requires skill, and a bit of confidence).

From the Nest office off Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall to the Hollymead Town Center (Target, Harris Teeter, Blue Ridge Cyclery and a lot more), it took me about 32 minutes on my bicycle. If I were commuting at a more leisurely pace, I’d budget 40-45 minutes each way.

Bike Lane Availability

• McIntire – bike lanes
• John Warner Parkway (both sections) – bike lanes. Lots of debris, but bike lanes!
• Rio Road – bike lanes … until you get to this side of Albemarle Square
• Crossing Rio – scary
• Rio Road (other side of 29) – no bike lanes, but not too bad … there are sidewalks
• Berkmar Drive (Agnor Hurt section, if you will) – no bike lanes. But fresh pavement!
• Berkmar Drive – from the Lowe’s stoplight to Walmart – no bike lanes. Still, not too bad; there’s a center lane for cars to nudge into
• Berkmar Extension – glorious … except for the part on the bridge. Bike lane narrows by about 6-8 inches, so you choose either to scrape the bridge, or go into the full lane.

To state the obvious, having bike lanes the entire way from Downtown Charlottesville to 29 North (or anywhere, really) would be ideal.

Conclusion

Is commuting from Forest Lakes, Hollymead, and all points in that vicinity, doable? Absolutely. You’d likely need to plan (changes of clothes, shower at work or nearby gym (ACAC?), but if you did commute by bicycle, you’d be a little bit slower getting from home to work