Just wondering if this could work in the Charlottesville/Central Virginia area. I still think that an implementation of this type of system is among the best I’ve seen .
Browsing Category Transportation
Bike Week in Charlottesville
(gas prices are absolutely impacting ever facet of our lives – real estate, too ) “Many people did the ‘drive to qualify,’ ” looking in farther-out suburbs to find affordable homes, says Joe Cortright, an analyst at Impresa Inc., a consulting firm. … One thing I am wondering is this – where are the best places to buy recycled bikes in the Charlottesville area?
What if the Meadowcreek Parkway didn’t exist?
There have been countless (at least a few thousand ) stories written about the Meadowcreek Parkway over the years. What if the community was able to think of a brand-new transportation solution, not bound by the vestiges of 40-year-old (plus) thinking?
A great comment on mass transit in Central Virginia
In a discussion at Charlottesville Tomorrow:We still have a narrow window of opportunity to buy right-of-way for transit; use existing shoulders; use existing rails; even put BRT lanes on the Meadowcreek Pkwy…. If you can’t walk to a bus/trolly; if you can’t get there on a safe bicycle lane; if you can’t park & ride, the system will be underused. The system MUST connect and serve all of our county growth areas.There’s a lot more there, and it’s well worth reading in its entirety. The Central Virginia region is likely to look much, much different in fifty years than it does today.
Too short-sighted for our own good?
I’m not taking a position on this argument at Treehugger but have a question:A lot of the infrastructure in this country needs to be re-built,” says Gardner, University of New Hampshire associate professor of civil engineering and director of the Environmental Research Group. “We have a real opportunity to re-build the infrastructure the right way with sustainable materials and socially sensitive designs that protect air, water, land, and human resources.”My question is – do we have the capacity, the intestinal fortitude and political will to do whatever has to be done?… Is our infrastructure, as we know it, adequate for the next 100 years? This absolutely is a real estate query – quality infrastructure and “getting places” contributes greatly to quality of life – and therefore real estate values.
Bus Rapid Transit in CharlAlbemarle?
How cool (and expensive!)Â would that be?Read more at:Bacon’s RebellionCVillainDaily ProgressCharlottesville Tomorrow (the most comprehensive)My thoughts from earlier this monthFor a County that’s considering charging students to ride the bus to school, I’m wondering how much it would cost to ride the BRT.
Hopefully, they’ll study the consultant’s recommendation
Please excuse my cynicism.This is a potentially very encouraging step forward – from the Daily Progress:More than a year after discussions began on creating a jointly run bus system, Albemarle County and Charlottesville elected officials unanimously agreed Monday to form a regional transit authority.Next year the two localities will ask the General Asse-mbly for permission to establish the new transit body, which would have the power to levy fees and float bonds to pay for the expansion of the bus network.Officials in both localities have concluded that forming a transit board with the ability to raise its own revenue is critical to attracting thousands of new riders and to realizing their ambitious visions: high-frequency buses running on an L-shaped backbone from downtown Charlottesville to the University of Virginia and up U.S. 29 to the airport, with smaller buses servicing neighborhoods.Charlottesville Tomorrow has more:Next the consultants will finalize their report and recommendations. Additional public meetings on the plans for creating a Regional Transit Authority will be held in 2008.Four thoughts – 1 – Right now I’m still like this system, which combines bigger buses, smaller buses and bikes. 2 – Realistically, my prediction is that nothing is implemented for at least four years – (hopefully) get General Assembly approval in 2009, study and tweak for at least two more years.3 – Will people buy houses or develop commercial based on either the hope that one day transit will come, or will they wait until it’s implemented – and will they even do it then?4 – This is a good start – now we need to start talking about working with the University of Virginia and the surrounding counties. I’d love to see more recent commuting data than the 2000 Census.