I have been meaning to write about this article in the WSJ concerning the planning perils of cul-de-sacs; I started a post on the 5th and then Jonathan Miller at Matrix beat me to it. For some local context, read Charlottesville Tomorrow’s post last year. For many families, cul-de-sac living represents the epitome of suburban bliss: a traffic-free play zone for children, a ready roster of neighbors with extra gas for the lawnmower and a communal gathering space for sharing gin and tonics. But thanks to a growing chorus of critics, ranging from city planners and traffic engineers to snowplow drivers, hundreds of local governments … have passed zoning ordinances to limit cul-de-sacs or even ban them in the future….For all the criticism aimed at them, cul-de-sacs do seem to have one last defender: the free market.In short, planners don’t like them, but the buyers do. Where does one find the compromise?
Browsing Category Transportation
Fake cities to replace real cities?
The WSJ had a fascinating story yesterday about the rise of mini-cities as a means by which to combat sprawl.Even though these faux downtowns contain tinges of suburbia, they’re taking advantage of a growing backlash against the sprawl that rings Dallas and other U.S. cities. The reaction began in the 1980s with the rise of New Urbanism, a movement of architects and planners calling for a return to traditional towns where people work, shop, live and play.They are describing, in many ways, Albemarle Place. More on Albemarle Place’s development here.Might Albemarle Place’s “New Main Street” supplant Charlottesville’s Main Street? Doubtful, but … they are nothing if not ambitious.It’s the New Urbanism — a high-energy environment mixing private elegance with a wealth of entertainment and shopping options. Simply step outside your door onto pedestrian-friendly Main Street. You’ll find all that makes this community special: mountain views, a vibrant night life, specialty boutiques as well as convenient shopping within a single town center.Mighty bold. With rising construction costs, rising interest rates and a general market cooling, how will these designs pan out?
Roundabout in Ivy
Following up on the Hook’s report in March, WINA notes today that:(Supervisor Sally Thomas) believes a roundabout might work at the intersection of Owensville Road, Morgantown Road, and 250 West. Thomas contends a roundabout is a good idea when roads at an interchange, such as those three, don’t align themselves precisely.The data from VDOT (please excuse my lack of possible correct data interpretation) shows that Ivy Road has 46,000 vehicle trips a day. Unfortunately, I could not find specific data showing how many vehicle trips the roundabout at the airport manages (which Sup. Thomas cites as the successful reference), but I cannot believe that it is anywhere near 46,000. If Crozet does end up growing to 12,000 (or 24,000) people and the speed limit through Ivy is (if I recall correctly) 35 MPH, how big would this roundabout have to be?Below is a picture of “The greatest roundabout ever built in the US. It carries up to 58,000 vehicles per day and 8,000 pedestrians per day.” That looks a little bit bigger than Ivy.Bacon’s Rebellion loves roundabouts…. I do drive Ivy Road at least twice a day (four times today).Note: How does this impact real estate, the primary function for this blog? It impacts quality of life and the desirability of an area – thus, property values.
Locked Out
Tying into the Jane Jacobs story is the Free Enterprise Forum’s “Locked Out” report, released yesterday. From their press release: The “Locked Out†report finds that just 16% of Albemarle homes are available to families earning median income. The report also finds Albemarle County has the largest planning department staff, the largest comprehensive plan and the longest approval time for subdivisions … the “Locked Out†report seeks to identify existing regulatory barriers and encourage an open cost/benefit analysis between regulation and affordability. The report includes an analysis of new urbanist design regulations, growth boundaries and their impact on land use patterns. So much to read … CvilleTomorrow reports as well.
Gas prices and real estate
Finally – something to distract from all the talk about a possible real estate bubble – gas prices that may reach four, even five dollars a gallon. These current and projected increases raise at least a couple of questions – Have you changed your daily habits due to the increases? Are companies and their employees going to (have to?) embrace more rapidly telecommuting?What impact will rising prices have on development patterns? Brian Wheeler has an excellent summary of the (almost incomprehensibly large) Biscuit Run development, focusing on the potential location of the elementary school.Several members of the Planning Commission and County planning staff have encouraged a site in a more central location to both preserve the rural areas and to create a school that can easily be walked and bicycled to from nearby homes …Biscuit Run is the type of development we say we want – located close to town and a fairly dense project that will help minimize sprawl. The more people that are able to bike to work or walk to the store, the better the development will be, at least theoretically. Finally, and this probably deserves its own post – if you were designing a city today, what would it look like?
Things I have not had time to read
Being away at this Leadership Academy is extremely challenging – business grinds slowly and I fear I am neglecting my clients. However, I am learning an awful lot; we have been spending time with Ann Atkinson this morning. Wow.Workforce housing *is* affordable housingCommunities are coming to understand that not only does affordable housing make communities healthy demographically, but also practically, as demonstrated by this recent New York Times article:RWSA unveils recommended water supply option – Finally!Biscuit Run work sessionsRising gas prices: Good or bad? Maybe this will be the time that we seriously consider and plan for the future.Top ten obstacles to selling a home – as always, Ardell writes a story that speaks to me and my clients.
Regional transit in our future?
BoS David Slutzky in Sunday’s Daily Progress:”It’s definitely time for the county and the city to put their heads together and develop a cohesive transportation system,” he said. “If you wait 20 years and start thinking about it, it will cost you a lot more than if you start thinking about it now.”I have heard many of the reasons that regional transit does not work: it is not fiscally viable, using eminent domain to take all the necessary rights-of-ways is neither reasonable nor practical, no mass-transit is successful or profitable (they are all subsidized) …… With fuel prices rising again and that Virginians are more susceptible to oil shocks, now is the time to consider our future. We seem to have a burgeoning grassroots effort with the likes of ACCT, MPO and now with a fairly forward-thinking Supervisor on Board, this thing may have legs. RCG had an excellent post last May that goes into great detail about whether mass transit increases property values. As with everything, (from the referenced report)Of course, as with any infrastructure project – be it a transit system, a public park, a highway or a school – there may be negative impacts that reduce the location value for some people. Some people move away from highways to escape the noise and smog, and some people move away from playgrounds to escape the shrill voices of kids at play. But for the market overall, positive impacts tend to outweigh the negative impacts, increasing overall property values.We should at least consider it.