Posts tagged Politics

Why Isn’t Bicycling to School More Accepted/Viable/Practiced?

in Politics Transportation on

Accessibility/proximity to schools and parks are two of the most common criteria my buyer clients specify when searching for homes in Charlottesville, and more often, bikeability is a factor in addition to walkability. Walkability increases property values;

This is an excellent article from Bicycling magazine that describes the impediments presented to those who try to ride bikes to school; a few choice quotes –

Childhood obesity rates are soaring, youth participation in sports and other active pursuits is plummeting, and a generation is coming of age with little understanding of the joy and freedom of unsupervised play. There’s a simple solution—but all across the nation our schools earn a failing grade when it comes to letting kids ride their bikes.

…

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Cville Bike mApp – Track your Bicycle Rides for the Next Month

in Albemarle Charlottesville Politics Transportation on

People want to be close to stuff, and they want to be able to get to that stuff easily. More often, in the City of Charlottesville and more urban parts of Albemarle, “getting to that stuff” includes bicycles. Now the Charlottesville MPO is seeking to capture data that will show how many are biking to places.

Walkability matters ; so does bikeability.

Cville bike mapp

For the next month or so I’m going to be using the Cville Bike mApp to track my bicycle rides around Charlottesville and Crozet instead of MapmyRide.

On April 14th the Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) will release the Cville Bike mApp, a free, bike route mapping application for iPhone and Android phones. The App allows cyclists to record their trips and send the trip information to the MPO for transportation planning purposes. With an expected decrease in federal transportation funding, this data will help elected officials better determine where to target limited available funds for future cycling enhancements and improvements. This data input effort will also position the region to be more competitive for transportation grant funding. More specifically, the App will allow transportation planners to map cycling patterns, determine cycling corridors, identify cycling barriers and find appropriate locations for cycling facilities.

The MPO will be collecting cycling data over an approximately one month period – from April 14th to May 18th. Help local planners and elected officials improve cycling in Charlottesville and Albemarle by recording your bike trips using the Cville Bike mApp. Remember, mApp it for Better Biking!

I have no doubt that I could find significant and substantial data to support the opposite perspective, but in my practice, I have found that my clients value bicycle and walking paths and accessibility. Can I place a quantitative value on that? No; sometimes it’s a matter of “will they buy it?” Yes or No.

The League of American Bicyclists noted in 2010:

As we pointed out in our report, The Economic Benefits of Bicycle Infrastructure Investments, studies have shown that real estate property values increase with proximity to bicycle paths. People enjoy living close to bike paths and are willing to pay more for an otherwise comparable house to be closer to one.

Download the Android mApp here.

Download the iOS mApp here.

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What are Your Favorite Bills in this Year’s General Assembly?

in dual agency General Real Estate Politics on

These are the bills I’m tracking on Richmond Sunlight – bill ranging from real estate licensing to the castle doctrine to eminent domain – and quite a few more.

The Charlottesville real estate market has gotten busier since the General Assembly’s session started so my time has been more limited (and this highlights why the only ones able to really influence legislation are the ones paid to do so).

As a consumer, agreeing to Single-Agent Dual Agency would take an awful lot of consideration and trust …

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Best Buy Ramp Still Delayed

in Albemarle Charlottesville Politics Transportation on

Charlottesville Tomorrow reports that the Best Buy ramp project is still delayed.

Is anyone surprised that the advice VDOT is offering is this?

“Rich suggested that acceptance might be the best response to distant construction dates.”

This seems par for the course in the Charlottesville – Albemarle area, when one of the three conditions set forth by the City of Charlottesville is to “have more meetings.”

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Virginia’s General Assembly Reconvening Soon – Pay Attention! (2012 edition)

in Politics on

The Virginia General Assembly reconvenes in 8 days. 8 Days until our part-time legislators make decisions that affect our lives. Start paying attention now at Richmond Sunlight.

Between the House and the Senate, 169 bills have been filed so far. Everything from eminent domain to bicycles not needing to wait two minutes at an intersection, to forcing concealed weapon holders to carry proof of licensure to the “are you freaking kidding me?! – “Causing telephone to ring with intent to annoy. Raises offense from a Class 3 to a Class 2 misdemeanor for causing a telephone or digital pagerto (sic) ring with intent to annoy.”

While you’re getting up to speed, figure out who your legislators are – and then start tracking their bills and votes and contact them. Also, go to VPAP and figure out who’s giving money to whom – for example, the Virginia Association of Realtors’ PAC spent over $30k on entertainment. Politics are expensive. And time-consuming.

Pay attention folks – from the deadly serious to the blindingly stupid, these are our legislators, and we are responsible for them.

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Albemarle County Could Get 4G Mobile Service

in Albemarle Politics Technology on

While the internet is the new infrastructure, mobile infrastructure is crucial. I’ve had clients in the Charlottesville – Albemarle area choose to not buy property because 1) hard-wired internet accessibility – fiber (very limited), or DSL or cable – is not available and/or 2) Reliable cell phone service is not available (GSM AT&T and T-Mobile) tends to be worse than CDMA – US Cellular, nTelos, Verizon, Sprint).

Charlottesville Tomorrow reports that “The Albemarle Board of Supervisors has voted to pay a consultant to determine if the county’s existing policy on cell towers will impede implementation of the next generation of wireless communications services.”

Infrastructure – wired and wireless is crucial for quality of life, competitiveness and economic development. Let’s hope the County figures this out.

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