Browsing Category Transportation

Riding a Bike in Charlottesville – Mountain Biking and More

in Albemarle Charlottesville Transportation on

If you’re curious about mountain biking in the Charlottesville area, road racing, and/or connecting with fellow bikers in the Charlottesville area, you will probably find this interview useful and interesting.

…When survey participants were asked to identify the three most important areas the cycling community should champion in the next few years, the largest percentage of votes, 82 percent, went to pushing for more bike lanes.

…I would ask about what the members are like, are they crazy riders or trail riders, where are the good trails, what types of events do they have, is there a weekly ride?

… Lastly: Bike Polo & Segway Polo Resources : Charlottesville Albemarle Mountain Biking Club (CAMBC) & their Facebook page Charlottesville Racing Club Bike Charlottesville Charlottesville Bike Club What is Single Track (mountain biking) Observatory Hill trails Mountain Biking Trails – Trails.com Rivervew Park in Charlottesville Rivanna Trails in Charlottesville Mint Springs Park in Crozet & Trails.com Preddy Creek (29 North area) Mountain Biking in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests Planners propose commuter bike trail from Rivanna Station military base to downtown Charlottesville

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UVA is Getting Bigger – And We All Get a Clue

in Albemarle Charlottesville Politics Transportation UVa on

The University of Virginia Foundation has been given the greenlight to expand its research park on Fontaine Avenue.

…To get a feel for where UVA’s growth is going, spend some time perusing their 2008 Grounds Plan . The best sentence in the Charlottesville Tomorrow story succinctly pinpoints why the Charlottesville-Albemarle region chooses not to build roads .

…The most recent rezoning does not answer conclusively the future of the proposed Sunset-Fontaine Connector but does offer clues to how parts of it might be funded.

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Funding and Intent Are Two Different Things

in Albemarle Charlottesville Politics Transportation on

Two clichés come to mind: – where there’s a will, there’s a way – perfection is the enemy of progress People move to the Charlottesville-Albemarle region because we don’t have Northern Virginia traffic and congestion; it’s one of the reasons Charlottesville is one of the 10 most livable college towns . … The transportation section of Albemarle County’s Places29 Master Plan has been slimmed down to include only projects that have a reasonable chance of being constructed within its first five years. … I don’t know whether I’ve ever seen the business community campaigning against growth while the Piedmont Environmental Council and Southern Environmental Law Center are campaigning for growth : Carter Myers, a former member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board who owns several car dealerships on U.S. 29, said grade-separated interchanges would threaten Albemarle County’s bottom line. … But Jeff Werner of the Piedmont Environmental Council said the interchanges would provide a way for motorists to cross U.S. 29 without stopping, a necessary step in alleviating traffic congestion.

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Blast From the Past – Why Charlottesville and Albemarle Can’t Build Roads

in Albemarle Charlottesville Politics Transportation on

Browsing through the archives, I found this comment , which could have been written fifteen years ago, four years ago or this morning:

My biggest issues with the county and city are the relentless studies and meetings to conclude what an average driver in Charlottesville could tell you. I mean I understand the point of a few studies to make sure money is being spent right, but for god sakes at some point you need to start laying pavement. … Now the county is spending tons of money on studies to figure out if 29 needs to be widened to Greene and if 250 needs to be widened to Fluvanna.

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How Do you Get From Charlottesville to Airports without Using a Car?

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Hawes Spencer at the HooK notes the benefits of inter-modal transportation, getting to the various airports in Virginia/Maryland/DC and allows a tiny dream – what if we didn’t have to drive everywhere … … Now I look at Charlottesville (CHO) first and then Richmond (RIC). 29 is a horror with seemingly a new stoplight every time I go to DC.

Planners call this inter-modal transportation, and it’s something that can allow people in small towns like Charlottesville to seamlessly make their way— typically via rail— to the better long-distance options found in bigger cities.

… We can’t do much about the reality in the US, but we could try to do something regionally that attempted to alleviate the need for a cars for everything .

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Updating Charlottesville’s Bicycle Transportation Plan

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Good stuff in the C-Ville this week about the City of Charlottesville’s bicycle plan. … Without a comprehensive plan that brings together the three players – Charlottesville, Albemarle and UVA, we’ll continue to have bike lanes that start, stop, start again … or don’t exist at all. A bike lane to NGIC and DIA would be nice. … Charlottesville did win a bronze designation as a “Bicycle Friendly Community” in 2008 .

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It’s Bike Week in Charlottesville

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ACCT is coordinating a series of community events to celebrate Bike Week, May 17th – 23rd. Bike Week is about spreading enthusiasm for the potential of bicyling to improve ourselves, our community, and our environment.

… “Need to Know” Bicycling Clinic – Making City Riding Enjoyable 11 AM to 12 PM | UVA Clemons Library, Room 407 (**change from Alderman) As part of National Bike-to-Work Day, ACCT and Community Bikes’ team of League of American Bicyclists certified instructors will hold an information session on making bicycle riding and commuting in Charlottesville safe and fun. The topics covered will include proper equipment, safety inspections, skills, commuting, and best practices.

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