Comments on: Congestion: It’s Not Just for NOVA Anymore

By: Harry Landers

Harry Landers — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 01:17:29 +0000

I’m not sure exactly which “anti-growth… kooks on City Council” J. Marks is talking about. I don’t remember any members of Charlottesville’s City Council making any statements opposing the 29 by-pass. Perhaps J. Marks could refresh my (all-too failing) memory by naming names?

By: J. Marks

J. Marks — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 08:28:08 +0000

I *am* a local, cvllelaw, and the neighborhood in Albemarle you’re speaking of isn’t considered a “rich folks'” neighborhood by anyone I know. The reservoir argument was always a load of crap — perpetuated by the same anti-growth (“more roads just mean more traffic”) kooks on City Council.

I agree that the proposed bypass was WAY too short, as its northern terminus was south of the airport. But while perhaps the original one, planned a generation ago, can’t be funded, a smarter can, and eventually will, be built — once the rest of the state gets sick of the Cville bottleneck when trying to get through the area.

By: cvllelaw

cvllelaw — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 04:15:01 +0000

Now, J. Marks — you’re over-simplifying. Actually, neither road was “signed, sealed, and funded.” And it may be a small matter to you, but for us locals, it matters a lot — Charlottesville has been the hold-up on the Meadowcreek Parkway (concerns about parkland and about funneling all that traffic onto a road that itself funnels into a black residential neighborhood on Ridge Street)), but Albemarle County has been the hold-up on the 29 Bypass (it would go through or close to a rich folks’ neighborhood, and through the reservoir that furnishes all of our water).

Part of the problem has been that Charlottesville and Albemarle have been unable to agree on ONE plan that they are willing to fund and actually build.

Had either road been “signed, sealed and funded” in the 1980’s, or the 1970’s when they had first been proposed, they would have been built. Of course, had the bypass been built, it would by now require a bypass of the bypass. Now the Commonwealth Transportation Board has pretty much said that they 29 bypass CAN’T be funded.

By: J. Marks

J. Marks — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 00:27:41 +0000

The vast majority of C’ville’s traffic woes can be attributed to the city’s refusal to allow two major road projects to go through: The 29 bypass and the Meadowcreek Parkway. The absence of those two roads means exactly one thing – every vehicle trying to get through C’ville MUST drive into the heart of the area’s worst congestion.

Both roads were signed, sealed, funded, and ready to be delivered. And both were grounded to a halt by anti-growth forces in C’ville.

Way to go, Charlottesville. Reap what you sow.

By: Waldo Jaquith » Blog » C’ville traffic.

Waldo Jaquith » Blog » C’ville traffic. — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 00:11:39 +0000

[…] Bob Brink writes about congestion in Charlottesville. It gets worse all the time. Five years ago a mention of “rush hour” around here was a punchline. Now it’s a reality, and there’s no clear way to address the problem. Don’t miss Bob’s blogmates’s explanation of bill filing deadlines and strategies. […]

By: Doug in Mount Vernon

Doug in Mount Vernon — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 20:33:47 +0000

Oops hit send before I finished the last sentence….

I’m sure he’s spitting mad over the Webb-Allen race because he was obviously a conservative Republican and saw NoVA as enemy territory. But we must somehow again find a political debate that can transcend this division so we recognize what we have in common and need to work together to achieve.

By: Doug in Mount Vernon

Doug in Mount Vernon — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 20:30:46 +0000

You know, revisiting Waldo’s post from July got me thinking. Lots of interesting comments on there. But we have a REAL problem in this state. A very Us vs. Them problem of the North vs. Everyone Else.

It’s not healthy. I took a training class out in Herndon a few months ago and had to travel from Mount Vernon to Herndon, mostly via the Fairfax County Parkway. It was a hard trip.

In that class, I met two gentlemen from Circuit City, one of whom was a stereotypcial southern VA middle-aged angry white man. We got to talking about the problems of NoVA as I explained how tough and unpredicatble the trip up to Herndon was. I pondered why it is NoVA can’t get the resources from the state it needs to create some better transportation solutions–because it CAN be done.

Well, he launched into one of the most vile and hateful tirades against NoVA I’d ever witnessed, ranting about how we need to ban people from moving to NoVA and he’s so sick of paying more taxes so they can go to NoVA—oh how misinformed was he! It was then that I realized that we have a huge problem and disconnect in this state when there is so much animosity toward Virginia’s “breadbasket” of NoVA.

The truth is, we need each other, and can benefit from the strengths of each other as Chap’s post the other day pointed to—our regions need to work together to solve each others’ problems.

And needless to say, my anti-NoVA friend got a piece of my mind back about how maybe we’re sick of bankrolling the rest of the state and getting scoff in return. However, I couldn’t let it end without making the point that working together we’d be much stronger for all.

He seemed to agree but retained his hostility.

I’m sure he’s spitting made

By: Jim Duncan

Jim Duncan — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 22:59:01 +0000

There have been three or four incidents on 64 in the past 12 months that have caused this type of congestion. It serves as the occasional example of what the worst-case scenario could be if nothing is done.