Are you interested in biking to work – or maybe curious about it? Let us encourage you during your morning commute – or ride – with free swag, free snacks and even a quick tune up. We’ll be set set in front of Shenanigan’s Toys on West Main Street in Charlottesville from 7:30 – 9:30 a.m. Friday, May 16.
Cookies will be provided by Albemarle Baking Company; Coffee by Mudhouse; Tune Ups by Blue Wheel
Cycling to work (or school or wherever you go!) has many benefits. It costs less and is more fun than driving; it provides a dose of exercise while most other people are sitting; it reduces greenhouse gas emissions–and it impresses colleagues!
For more information, please contact Peter Krebs ([email protected])
Charlottesville Bike Month is a joint effort of local government staff, nonprofits, and volunteer organizations.
Conserved public spaces have measurable impacts on our lives: research shows that spending time outdoors improves both physical and mental health, and can even improve students’ grades, lower blood pressure and drive economic growth. If you enjoy outdoor adventures like I do, lace up your boots and come with me as we explore a couple of these new parks that opened in 2024, as well as one potential future park.
Charlottesville, VA (March 6 – 7, 2025) Every year, leaders, professionals, advocates, business owners and passionate people come together at the Active Mobility Summit to find ways to improve walking, biking, running and everyday access to nature in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Part celebration, part learning opportunity, part work-session, it is an opportunity for attendees and their organizations to identify ways to collaboratively tackle problems that none of them can solve alone.
This year’s Active Mobility Summit (the fifth one) was much larger than any before (more than 150 attendees over two days). That enthusiasm was due in large measure to this year’s theme: the Three Notched Trail (TNT), a proposed multi-use trail that will connect the City of Charlottesville to the Blue Ridge Mountains through the rolling countryside of Albemarle County. This year’s Summit served to unofficially launch the two-year design effort.
The event was divided into two parts to accommodate people’s diverse schedules. Both sessions were free and included food, drinks and abundant networking and fellowship. Both also included guest speakers but the events were not the same.
The Thursday evening session was for a general audience. The Friday morning workshop (the next day) was for advocates and professionals who wanted to dig deeper. The tone of both gatherings was inspirational but also highly practical and focused on solving problems.
Thursday: a Public Convening on Transformative Possibilities
Thursday speakers (l-r): Cat Anthony (Virginia Capital Trail); Jessica Hersh-Ballering and Kevin McDermott (Albemarle County Community Development) Photo by Hugh Kenny/PEC. [video]
The Thursday, Mar. 6 session was full of fellowship, information and inspiration. Albemarle County officials described the upcoming trail planning and design process. Next, Cat Anthony, executive director of the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation, spoke about that fabulous trail connecting Richmond to Williamsburg — and what Charlottesville area residents can learn from it.
Three Notched Trail: What, How and Why
Source: Albemarle County / Rivanna Trails Foundation
Jessica Hersch Ballering and Kevin McDermott, of Albemarle County’s Office of Community Development provided an overview of the $2 million, two-year effort. They started by clarifying what type of trail is being designed. It will be an approximately 24-mile shared use path from the City of Charlottesville through western Albemarle County to the Blue Ridge Tunnel.
To qualify for transportation dollars the trail will need to be at least 10 feet wide, with a maximum grade of 5%. There is some flexibility about the surface but shared-use paths are typically paved. This trail will provide an off-road, low-stress connection between Charlottesville, Crozet, the Afton Tunnel (and beyond), passing through suburban and rural areas, and will be connected to a broader state-wide network.
Next, they laid out the process, which will start with the development of a Master Plan that identifies the preferred alignment through an alternatives analysis and lots of public engagement. The next steps will be to create shovel-ready designs for a few high-priority segments that could be started first to begin to solve the most pressing gaps. The project will include an implementation plan that creates a timeline and identifies likely funding sources.
Community ideas for the Three Notched Trail. Photo by Hugh Kenny/PEC.
Their presentation proactively answered some commonly asked questions, such as what route the trail would follow (to be determined) and how much it will cost to build (a lot). They finished by outlining the project’s intended benefits. These include improving safety, providing more transportation options, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting better health, igniting small business and economic growth opportunities, and improving quality of life.
Cat Anthony presents the Virginia Capital Trail. Photo by Hugh Kenny/PEC. [video]
A Capital Trail for Everyone
Next, Cat Anthony gave an inspiring presentation about the Virginia Capital, a 51.1-mile paved, protected multi-use trail from Richmond to James City County / Williamsburg. It is used by more than a million people every year. She explained how the trail came about, what obstacles were overcome and how, who uses the trail today and how it impacts the community.
Source: Virginia Capital Trail Foundation
She emphasized that it is not a bike trail. It is a trail for everyone to exercise, commute, or simply enjoy fresh air. Many people who go there would not run or bike at all without this safe environment to do so. She noted that many early trail opponents became supporters; “Some people initially wanted a fence between the trail and their property; later they wanted a gate.”
Cat spoke of the importance of organized community support through the Capital Trail Foundation, a non-profit organization that shepherded the trail through construction, and now manages the trail and its programs.
Source: Cat Anthony / Virginia Capital Trail Foundation
Cat spent a portion of her presentation talking about why it would be a good idea to build the Three Notched Trail. She described the economic and social benefits the trail would bring, citing a 2018 study showing that Capital Trail had generated $8.9 million in economic activity, supported 99 full-time equivalent jobs and $3.6 million in wages that year. Those numbers have probably increased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic.
She also noted that the successful RAISE grant application says a lot about TNT’s merits because that grant is extraordinarily competitive. She said that people across the Commonwealth would benefit, especially if the trail manages to connect with other regional greenways. That is the intention and it is part of the reason why the Capital Trail Foundation is so supportive.
An extensive question and answer session followed, during which audience members asked questions about both trails. The evening concluded with more fellowship and opportunities for one-on-one and small group discussions.
Photo by Hugh Kenny/PEC.
Friday: A Focused Workshop for Stakeholders
The next morning, about 70 people (half of whom had not attended the evening program) showed up for detailed conversations on how to successfully get the Three Notched Trail built. There was a panel discussion, small-group workshops and plenty of informal conversation over free coffee and breakfast.
Panelists (l-r): Cat Anthony (remote, Virginia Capital Trail), Brantley Tyndall (Fall Line Trail), Elliott Caldwell (East Coast Greenway), Dwayne Jones (Rockfish Gateway), Ben Chambers (City of Charlottesville) discuss trail projects across Virginia. Photo by Hugh Kenny/PEC. [video]
Wins and Challenges from Across Virginia
Ben Chambers, Charlottesville’s transportation planning manager, led a discussion of leaders of existing and emerging trails from across the Commonwealth.
Cat Anthony, executive director of the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation, re-joined the discussion, this time remotely from her office in Richmond. She is also the president of the Virginia Trails Alliance. She began her response to a question about lessons learned by pointing out that no one regrets building the Capital Trail. She’s excited that its success is spawning similar efforts all across the country.
Brantley Tyndall, director of BikeWalkRVA, is a leading proponent of the Fall Line Trail. When complete, the Fall Line Trail will connect Ashland to Petersburg via Richmond and cover 43 miles, spanning multiple localities and jurisdictions. That trail started with a well-produced Vision Plan. Brantley spoke about the galvanizing impact the plan had, along with the extensive conversations that went into it. That early dialog will help assure that, when built, the trail will improve the lives of the many people who live, work and go to school near it.
Elliott Caldwell’s organization, the East Coast Greenway Alliance, is making progress to connect 3,000 miles of protected greenway from Maine to Florida. He’s constantly impressed that greenways like the one he’s working on don’t just physically link destinations. They are places where people from many different backgrounds come together and meet in a common space.
Dwayne Jones, Waynesboro’s director of Parks & Recreation is working to string together the city’s emerging South River Greenway and is the visionary of the Rockfish Gateway Trail that will connect the City of Waynesboro to the Blue Ridge Tunnel and, eventually, to the Three Notched Trail. He spoke about the tremendous opportunity of connecting to Shenandoah, the Crozet Tunnel and the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is America’s most-visited park. He added that it is much easier to win local support for large projects if the leverage significant external resources, such as Federal funds. He has been more successful when that is the case.
All of the panelists spoke about the importance of mobilizing citizen activists early to generate momentum and having an organization in place to keep the project moving and pursue opportunities. Once a trail is built, people tend to love it, but that support organization is crucial in the beginning, and later for maintenance and programming.
The Mobility Alliance periodically recognizes local leaders and volunteers who are tenacious and who accomplish difficult things. A volunteer usually crafts a handmade award that is fun and kindheartedly goofy to embody our values of community and joyful camaraderie.
Jessica Hersh-Bellering received the informal “Community Champion” award for leadership in obtaining the $2 million RAISE grant that is funding the trail design. Photo: Hugh Kenny; Hand-made trophy: Hannah Pearce
This year, the Mobility Alliance recognized Jessica Hersh-Ballering, for the work she did to obtain the $2 million dollar RAISE grant that is funding the TNT design. She has created numerous other wins like closing Free Bridge Lane to cars, shepherding multiple transportation projects and inspiring more people to ride e-bikes by organizing a community film screening.
Jessica is moving back to her native Wisconsin but will leave a significant legacy behind.
Attendees work in small groups to identify actionable opportunities for collaborative action. Photo by Hugh Kenny/PEC.
Generating Collective Impact through Strategic Doing
One key purpose of the Mobility Summit is to bring people together to tackle large problems that no group or entity can resolve alone. None of us have everything we need but together we do.
This year’s attendees formed three large groups to explore topics related to the Three Notched Trail that require local action.
About half the room stepped aside to dig deep into the idea of community involvement. They had subgroups that discussed the formation of an advocacy organization, organizing events and research trips, and how to make sure that the planning process includes authentic participation from everyone who will be impacted.
A second group discussed what the Three Notched Trail might look like within the City of Charlottesville, where it will pass through fully-built communities that may not have space for new, dedicated facilities. That might include making existing roads and sidewalks safer, incorporating consistent signage, and interpreting local history.
A third group considered how a future “TNT-East” might connect to Richmond and the Virginia Capital Trail. A first segment of that trail is actually within reach along the Rivanna River (the Old Mills Trail). This 4-mile greenway, which passes visible traces of the original Three Notched Road as well as Thomas Jefferson’s birthplace, is currently in its own planning phase.
Photo by Chris Ridder.
It’s More Fun to Ride – and Work –Together
Both sessions of the summit began and ended with group bicycle rides from downtown to the Wool Factory and back. These were organized by Charlottesville BPAC, the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee. BPAC is one of many groups that promote walking and biking in the City for transportation and pleasure.
BPAC is part of the larger Piedmont Mobility Alliance, the coalition that organized the summit. The Mobility Alliance is active throughout the year and will be meeting again March 31 from 4-5:30 p.m. at the Charlottesville Parks and Recreation office (find more details here). The main agenda item will be the coalition’s next large-scale effort. Bike Month (May) will include a full calendar of rides, events and programs.
Meanwhile we are compiling notes from the work groups, answers to most of the audience questions, and a list of resources is underway in the crowd-sourced program document. We invite attendees add their own notes there and to assist with the transcription. If you would like to learn more about the Active Mobility Summit, the Piedmont Mobility Alliance or other local efforts to improve walking, biking, transportation, and trails, please contact Peter Krebs ([email protected]).
We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create an expansive new state park in Loudoun County, a proposed park that will protect a National Historic Landmark and offer easy access to the outdoors for millions of visitors to and residents of Northern Virginia.
Biscuit Run Park covered in snow. Photo by Peter Krebs/PEC.
Dear Supporter,
In the last week, I’ve wandered around the County’s new Biscuit Run Park and advocated for data center reform in Virginia’s General Assembly Building in Richmond. Both feel like the right kind of places to spend a winter: enjoying easy-to-access nature and taking action on environmental issues that impact us all. Read on to learn about ways PEC has been working with community members to make Albemarle and Charlottesville better.
And if you’re interested in hearing about all of this directly from us, mark your calendars to join PEC’s Charlottesville stafffor an Open House next Mon., Feb. 3 from 4 – 7 p.m.RSVP or swing by to hear about all the land use, conservation, and transportation and mobility work we’re working on this year.
Conservation: Impact of 2024 Conservation Easements in Albemarle
Permanently conserved farmland in Albemarle County. Photo by Kim Biasiolli/PEC.
As an accredited land trust, PEC helps Virginia realize its conservation, climate, and biodiversity goals by partnering with landowners who wish to permanently protect their lands by placing a conservation easement on their property. In 2024, Albemarle County landowners protected 665 acres through conservation easements held by PEC, the Albemarle County Easement Authority and the 500 Year Forest Foundation.
Eighty-three percent of land in Virginia is privately owned, and these private lands contain irreplaceable waterways, prime agricultural soils, forest blocks, scenic viewsheds, historic resources and wildlife habitat. Locally, examples of this impact include over 500 miles of streams, 1,500 acres of wetlands, 76,00 acres of forests, and over 40,000 acres of prime farmland protected by conservation easements in Albemarle County alone.
Protecting these conservation values and a myriad of other public benefits that conserved lands give the community, such as climate and flood resiliency, is crucial. This is why we’ve been advocating for increased support for conservation programs in Albemarle County to advance more conservation locally and ensure that landowners of all income levels can participate.
The Albemarle Comprehensive Plan update process (AC44), which seeks to outline the vision for the County for the next 20 years, will soon wrap up discussion about land use decisions in the Rural Area, the Development Areas and the Growth Management Framework. The Board of Supervisors will hold a work session Wednesday, Feb. 12 on these topics, so we’ll share our comments with those signed up for our AC44 update emails beforehand. Throughout this process, PEC has continued to wave the flag for smart growth, access to nature, and protection of the rural areas for biodiversity, water supply and the rural economy.
Next topic up is Parks, Recreation, and Open Space. The Planning Commission will hold a work session Tuesday, Feb. 11, and a Board of Supervisors work session is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 19. As for all community topics, we encourage you to write to your supervisor if you have an opinion on parks, recreation and open space. County planning staff will continue to consolidate information as they work through the draft chapters before producing a draft document this summer.
Parks & Trails: Biscuit Run Park Opens to the Public
Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and supporters cut the ribbon to open Biscuit Run Park in December. Photo by Hugh Kenny/PEC.
Two decades in the making, 1,190 acres of woodlands and meadows has opened to the public as the new Biscuit Run County Park. PEC had a direct hand in ensuring this land be publicly accessible green space and in pushing the project forward along the way. We’ll continue to be involved as we work toward:
Designing a greenway connection to future Monacan Nation Tribute Park
Expediting walk & bike connections to the rest of the community, including the City of Charlottesville
This new park is located in the heart of the community. Its many offerings, including seclusion, diverse habitats, more than 8.5 miles of well-marked trails, and abundant fresh air, are now available to far more people within a walking, biking or a short drive’s distance. Its heritage trees, multiple streams, a pond with beavers, historic home sites and much more can now be part of people’s everyday lives.
At this year’s Charlottesville / Albemarle Mobility Summit, March 6 and 7, we’ll be celebrating this and continuing to work toward greater access to the outdoors, including launching the study of a path that extends from Charlottesville to the Afton Tunnel near Waynesboro.
Upcoming Events
Our PEC and Buy Fresh Buy Local signs on East Water Street. If your business would like to be added to or support this year’s Buy Fresh Buy Local Guide, please email [email protected]. Photo by Faith Schweikert/PEC.
E-Bikes could be game-changers as ways to get people out of cars, while dramatically reducing emissions, congestion, and parking. They transform cycling in some fundamental ways that are particularly important in our region, which is hilly with four very distinct seasons. To reduce barriers to entry, the City of Charlottesville is offering a $1,000 voucher for e-bike purchases. Register for several drawings throughout 2025. The first registration period will end this Friday, Jan. 31. Learn more at https://cvilleebike.com/
Come join us in celebrating the past year and learn about our work going forward. We’ll gather in community with drinks, light bites, and conversation about PEC, the community, and how we can all work together to make it better. Let us know you’re coming and stop by the King Building anytime that evening.
The fifth annual Charlottesville / Albemarle Active Mobility Summit invites cyclists, walkers, runners, and people interested in promoting active lifestyles for an evening of presentations, followed by morning work sessions. This year’s Summit will be the unofficial launch of the Three Notch’d Trail study — an 18-month process to determine the best route for a paved, shared-use path connecting Charlottesville to the Afton Tunnel and beyond.
You don’t need to attend both sessions to benefit, but it is encouraged. Both sessions will include snacks and drinks. The Mobility Summit is free but registration is required.
Lastly, these emails are meant to inform, to engage and to remind our members and readers that their participation can make a difference in issues that are important to them. In the midst of great change, local action matters. As always, we encourage you to get involved.
At nearly 1,200 acres, Biscuit Run is twice the size of the County’s next largest park, the Patricia Ann Byrom Forest Preserve. Apart from its enormous size and diverse ecosystems, what makes Biscuit Run Park so special is its location. It is both close to Charlottesville and in the part of the county where most of its people live. While the park itself is a work in progress, PEC is collaborating with the County and neighboring communities to make the park better connected — and more accessible — to area residents.
Albemarle County has several gorgeous local parks, as well as one of the nation’s premiere national parks: Shenandoah. Because most of those places are located in the rural area or on the county’s edges, most area residents have had to pack up and make a daytrip to enjoy these parks. That’s if they have the time and the wherewithal to do so.
Biscuit Run changes all of that.
This new signature park is located in the heart of the community. Its many offerings, including seclusion, diverse habitats, more than 8.5 miles of well-marked trails, and abundant fresh air are now available to far more people within a walking, biking or a short drive’s distance. There are heritage trees, multiple streams, a pond with beavers, historic home sites and much more. These assets can now be part of people’s everyday lives.
We know that regular exercise and everyday access to nature improve our lives in myriad ways, from improving kids’ grades to lowering blood pressure to driving economic growth. We also knew that many existing parks and privately managed preserves are beginning to feel over-crowded. This vast new park can absorb many visitors, offering educational and stewardship opportunities that can bring the love of the outdoors and a sense of stewardship to more area residents, with benefits in both the present and the future.
Albemarle County leaders cut the ribbon to open Biscuit Run Park. Photo by Hugh Kenny/PEC. View the video of full ceremony.
What’s Next for the Park
Albemarle County is taking a phased approach to developing Biscuit Run Park and will be adding recreational amenities (such as trails and a few flat fields) while also strengthening stewardship through the protection of designated natural and cultural resources.
The next phase will include basic infrastructure (like a maintenance yard and more parking), many more trails (including a mountain bike skills area), and a second entrance and pedestrian bridge close to Southwood, for which PEC and our allies fought hard and won.
At the same time, Albemarle County is undertaking an ambitious project to restore a mile of the stream valley from which the park derives its name. These projects are being done thoughtfully and intentionally to minimize disruption of vital ecosystems.
Because the underlying land is owned by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, the landscape has multiple layers of protections. Most of the park shall forever remain predominantly forest and meadows. The County must follow best practices in everything it does there (such as trail building) and it is committed to the removal of invasive species, which arrived during the decades of transition from working farm to abandonment to public park.
What we see now is only the beginning. I encourage you to spend some time reading the county’s website about the park. It’s packed with details.
What’s Next for PEC
PEC has been advocating for this park for more than 15 years and we are far from finished.
Photos of the existing condition of Biscuit Run stream valley trail and an example of a well-built greenway in a similar landscape (VA Creeper Trail). Photo by Peter Krebs/PEC.
PEC is also working with the County and residents of the surrounding neighborhoods to expedite the creation of walk/bike connections to the rest of the community and the wider greenway network. Our next push will be to construct a greenway path along the stream valley to connect the park to the neighborhoods downstream, including Mill Creek, Foxcroft as well as Fifth Street Station and the City of Charlottesville.
Further Advocacy is Needed
After hundreds of conversations with area residents, we are convinced that the overwhelming consensus is that they do want well-designed connections to the park and elsewhere. This is particularly true if the trails are done in a way that is both useful for getting around and if they maintain a bucolic natural setting. But it is by no means a sure thing that these connector trails will be built —– particularly the Biscuit Run Greenway. That is what we propose and we need your support.
We have gotten this far because, as a collective, we have been dogged in our advocacy. The County has delivered extraordinary results. But this is just the first step. Much more needs to be done.
A series of short updates from around the PEC region – Albemarle & Charlottesville, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange & Rappahannock.
Virginia’s state and national parks, battlefields, and other historic and recreational sites are under threat from uncontrolled data center development. One notable example is Wilderness Battlefield, in Orange County, which was named one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2024 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
