The Western Bypass in 3D
Charlottesville Tomorrow's successful Kickstarter campaign results in an impressive 3D rendering of the probably-soon-to-be-built-and-already-obsolete Western Bypass. U.S. 29 Western Bypass, Northern Interchange - 2012 Design from Charlottesville Tomorrow on Vimeo. I'm categorizing this post under both "Transportation" and "Politics" and if I could weight the…
Walkable Neighborhoods Have Happier Residents
Yeah, the info graphic below is for/from California, but the data points are universal. Walkability = happiness. And, because images aren't searchable, the three points: - Lose Weight! The average resident of a walkable neighborhood weighs 6 to 10 pounds less than someone who lives…
Dense Neighborhoods Are Good for Single Family House Values
Yet another study demonstrates that dense neighborhoods - close to neighbors and close to stuff (coffee, parks, grocery, library, schools - you know, stuff) is valuable. They learned that pedestrian aids, such as sidewalks and shorter street blocks, as well as a mix of retail,…
Western Bypass Contract Awarded – 29 to Get more Interesting
Western Bypass rendering, courtesy Charlottesville Tomorrow It seems that the Western Bypass may actually be built. Charlottesville Tomorrow reports that the contract to build the Western Bypass has been awarded. Is this the right road? Probably not. It needs to go farther up 29 North…
Six Questions about Albemarle County’s Neighborhood Model
You can have the most walkable neighborhood in the world, but if the only places you can walk to are your neighbors', the neighborhood is not truly walkable; this seems to be something lost on Albemarle County, whether intentionally or circumstantially. Now the County seems…
Commuting and Traffic in Charlottesville
I noted five years ago that Charlottesville's traffic's perspective wasn't that bad, when put into the appropriate perspective. In the years since I wrote that article, traffic hasn't gotten any more tolerable and the City and County continue to demonstrate an astonishing capability to do…
Lots of Road Construction in Charlottesville and Albemarle This Summer
Thanks to C-Ville for putting this list together. From Shadwell to Crozet, there are lots of improvements/detours.
Why Isn’t Bicycling to School More Accepted/Viable/Practiced?
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…
Another New Neighborhood Coming to Crozet?
Westlake Hills is proposing to build 145 new homes in Crozet. I hope they include some kind of connectivity to other neighborhoods besides roads built solely for cars. (the data show that people prefer walkability) I suppose it can be argued that developers choosing to…
Cville Bike mApp – Track your Bicycle Rides for the Next Month
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…