Not used to NoVa traffic, are you?
In a recent post regarding the dearth of senior housing in our region, I noted a new development coming to Greene County. One might think (as I did) that it would be a beneficial idea for this developer to provide some form of transportation for…
An eye-opening opinion on transportation
Read the first response to this post at The Road To Ruin. If you can, read the whole thing. ... new heavy rail systems appear much less energy-efficient than new bus services, when the energy needed to build roadways and track, the energy needed to…
Smart growth raises housing prices?
Our region ought to learn from other regions' mistakes ... Thanks to the Washington Times: Economists increasingly are concluding that the shortage of affordable housing in Washington and other major U.S. cities on the East and West coasts is a result more of man-made restrictions…
How can we pay for transportation needs?
The Washington Post has an article discussing how localities are preparing for the real estate market downturn: At the same time, officials increasingly are looking at what would happen if the housing market flattens so significantly that it no longer provides enough tax money to…
Albemarle County BoS meeting … growth issues come to a head
If you are concerned, curious or just feel ignorant about where the Albemarle County growth process/issue, take 30 minutes to listen to this podcast provided by Charlottesville Tomorrow. I have attributed the quotations to the appropriate Supervisors and have indicated my uncertainty where necessary. One…
Google and transit
Charlottesville is consistently trying to tie itself to the debatable successes of Portland's transit programs. Google now is implementing a Google Transit Trip Planner for Portland. Let's take it a step further. Why don't we see if Google will invest some time and money to…
Transportation, the MPO and streetcars
Charlottesville Tomorrow has a podcast and report of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization's meeting on 17 November. Who would have thought a year ago that today we would have two podcast producers - Wordcast and CvilleTomorrow? Another nifty item of note is the renewed push…
Telecommuters, taxes and traffic
Technology is doing something transit planners have been unable to do for decades - get people out of their cars. Telecommuters, people working from home, now outnumber mass transit commuters in 27 of the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas, according to a new study by…
Gov. Warner’s transportation committee
From the Road to Ruin - Gov. Mark Warner yesterday announced the creation of a Commission on Transportation in Urbanized Areas which will, as the release says, "recommend strategies for better integrating planning and transit options in Virginia's urbanized areas." It's supposed to come up…
Belvedere and Wickham Pond
The County has finally approved the latest Neighborhood Model planned development - Belvedere, about which I have previously written. The County's constant delaying tactics have, due to market forces in my opinion, most likely driven up the prices of these properties, once they get built.…