Monticello, Saunders Trail, VDOT, Route 20 South

Saunders trail
Walked to Monticello this morning on the Saunders trail. Lots of pedestrians out. Encountered 114 people on the way up the mountain, 130 on the way down.


Saunders trail lot
People enjoy walking in a place where cars are disciplined and there is canopy overhead. The great paradox is that to find such a place they have to drive to it. The Saunder’s Trail Parking lot was packed.


bike hell
Long range City and County plans envision a bike ped connection to the Saunder’s trailhead. Meanwhile, from Charlottesville one must walk or bike 4000+ feet on the VDOT Route 20 South straightaway. A road that is a killing field for cyclists and walkers. There are no provisions for users other than motorists. The vehicles are in max velocity mode. Taching up for I-64, or in a post interstate frame of mind, four lane divided highway, high speed merges, go go go!

Franklin Street, ongoing

2005 WMNA President Allison Ewing
Ten years ago in May we marked up maps of the Woolen Mills talking about safety and quality of life as it relates to the City right of way in our neighborhood. There have been many entries in this discussion.
There was a moment of hope a year ago 6/16/2014:

Ms. Szakos moved to approve a six month pilot from Market St. to the driveway of the existing business with appropriate signage, conduct a traffic study, and engage citizens and businesses. Ms. Galvin seconded, with the addition of a clearly marked pedestrian pathway. Ms. Smith said we should be sure we give adequate notice to the neighborhoods. The resolution passed. (Ayes: Ms. Szakos, Ms. Smith, Mr. Huja, Mr. Fenwick, Ms. Galvin; Noes: None.)

Never happened.
Since that time the Bike-Ped master plan revision has been recommended for approval by the Planning Commission. County and City meet to discuss the Rivanna corridor and planning issues along their joint boundary.
Last night as part of its consent agenda Council approved funds for a sidewalk on Franklin.
The Code audit, Standards and Design Manual revisions, the Streets That Work initiative, these hopeful initiatives seem to be MIA.
The new director of Neighborhood Development has a very full plate.

Franklin Street Pedestrians

franklin looking north
(Kristin Szakos) So it would be up by, theoretically, July firstish?
(Jim Tolbert) Depending on the work load of Public Service you know they would have to schedule we would give
them a work order um if if we could gamble and go ahead and order some flexposts cause we have places we could
use them anyways so we can go ahead and figure out how many of them we need, order them so we can move faster.
(Kristin Szakos) I think that would be good, if people are walking through there to get to the pool, it is summertime,
lot of people walking I think.
May 19, 2014
(photo taken August 13)
motor age 1
motor age 2

venus fly truck

truck gravity trap
About once a month we catch a truck here. The City has signs posted discouraging
18 wheelers from rolling through the neighborhood, but the signs are advisory in nature, no bite.
But for those who venture in, there are gravity traps, constrained roadways
and Crazy neighbors with pitchforks

140831-no-outlet-sign

O’Hare

treat them like idiots
Chuck Marohn has an excellent podcast on the Strong Towns
site, a conversation with Ben Hamilton-Baillie, street designer and shared space advocate.
Marohn and H-B talk street design, traffic engineering and human psychology.

Streets and their sidewalks, the main public places of a city, are its most vital organs.–Jane Jacobs
The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Chapter 2

Streets define our cities. Learn about them…

connectivity

east on market south on franklin
Tiptoe in on 18 wheels

directions
The City has put up signage but it is of the advisory type. Doesn’t speak to the wallet. Steve contradicts the GPS, free
pedestrian advice to errant drivers.

right turn on the framework street
This truck was starting to turn turtle. Its drive wheels were no longer in contact with the pavement. Teetering between
two historic properties, the Pireus store (ca 1847) and the Woolen Mills Chapel (ca 1886).

John Warner Parkway
In the future possibly the City will consider one of these signs, here protecting the John Warner Parkway.
Discipline vehicles. Context sensitive. Note to City regarding context: the Woolen Mills is a city treasure,
not a high speed industrial corridor. People old and young, walking, biking and driving.
Those with the most power, in the neighborhood context, should yield to those with the least.

Main Street Indeed

SARC walkers
Monday January 13 UVA School of Architecture students and faculty walk where angels fear to tread,
a five mile trek north from the Ivy Road “Seminole Trail” intersection to the Rivanna River.

intersection Zan and Trail
The pedestrian infrastructure along Route 29 is 99.9% installed.
Where then are the pedestrians?
During the two hour walk the folk from UVA encountered a handful of indigenous bipeds.
The majority were runners wrapped in spandex, plugged into hydration equipment.
Several were seated at CAT bus-stops, visual and aural hooked to cell phones and iPods.

TV Journalist
The event was covered by the Daily Progress and Channel 29, from automobiles.

under the Fashion Square Oaks
The throng makes its way north at 2.5 mph. While US 29 might appear visually interesting at 45 mph, at walking speed its lack of amenities is notable, there is nothing to see or do other than preserve one’s physical safety.

meatza pizza
The strip is a visual wasteland.

Woodbrooke
One constant along the way were the looks of disbelief that the group of pedestrians received from the rubber tire populace.

Stellar what
Even the newest development along “Main Street” offers slight comfort to bipeds.

fuel
This store featured an inviting, human scale facade.

uva-announcement
Sunday, January 19, students will present their proposals at the Carver Rec Center, 605 E. Main St., Charlottesville, VA 22902.
Charlottesville Tomorrow covers the winners
Color photos of the Route 29 trek by Sanjay Suchak
Charlottesville Tomorrow coverage

quiet enjoyment

131003 Our Town

People have been living in this neighborhood, this place, for thousands of years.
We live in the bend of a state scenic River, on rich, fertile ground, Davidson Loam. Seated here we are eight tenths of a mile from the front porch of Monticello, a mile and 2/10ths from the downtown mall. Seated here we are home, in the center of our universe.
But often we feel, as a neighborhood, that we are in the center of the crosshairs.
Over the years our discussions with the Council have focused on a handful of issues. We’ve asked for reductions in traffic speed and volume, we’ve asked for a reduction of the sewage smell. We’ve asked for pedestrian safety improvements and we have asked that planning and zoning be used to conserve our cultural and natural resources as well as our quality of life.
We have partnered with government entities in the creation of a national historic district, in the design of a sewage pumping station and in the care of our City park. We plant streetscape trees. We pick up trash, we attend City meetings. We have accomplished much but still, we feel threatened.
We are reassured by statements from Mayor Huja and Vice Mayor Szakos in opposition to a bridge through the Woolen Mills. We thank Dave Norris for his enduring stand against the County using City neighborhoods as an interchange.
Diversity is a strength to our way of thinking. We are all kinds of people in this neighborhood. But our mixed status, our socio-economic profile, seems to attract locally unwanted landuses.
Please work with us in our effort to secure the quiet enjoyment of our own homes and the health, safety and welfare of our neighborhood. Together we can make it so.