As a result of longtime advocacy, Free Bridge Lane is now officially closed to cars in order to provide a free activity space to promenade, bike, skate, etc. along the riverside.
Parks and Trails
November Piedmont Mobility Alliance Meeting
Join the Piedmont Mobility Alliance for it’s upcoming November 15 meeting at TJPDC’s Water Street Center.
Fall Updates From Albemarle and Charlottesville
This text was taken from an email alert sent out on Sept. 26, 2024. Sign up for email alerts →
Dear Supporter,
There are so many ways one can engage with the environment in the Piedmont. Whether you’re interested in wildlife and habitat restoration, water issues, or connecting more people to the outdoors in parks and trails, read on for ways to get involved in making our community better.
And if you’re an Albemarle resident, make sure to check out the Oct. 30 All-CAC (Community Advocacy Committee) meeting on Albemarle’s Comprehensive Plan. The CACs are forums for resident input on Land Use issues within the County’s designated neighborhood areas. They’re a great way to follow what’s happening in the community and in this case, they will all be meeting together. It is a very strategic opportunity and you can be sure that we’ll be there waving the flag for smart growth, access to nature, and protection of the rural areas for biodiversity, water supply, and the rural economy.
Conservation: Establishing Habitat for Grassland Birds in Albemarle
Over 60 species of birds rely on Virginia’s grasslands through the year to nest, collect food or over-winter. But in the last century, grassland birds have experienced the sharpest population decrease of any bird group in North America. The Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative, a collaborative partnership between PEC, the American Farmland Trust, Quail Forever, and Virginia Working Landscapes, has been working creatively to bring that population back on managed agricultural lands.
One of the ways they’ve done this is by creating incentives for farmers to delay their haying or participate in summer pasture stockpiling, practices which give grassland birds a place to nest and mate in the grasses. This season ensured there were 1,527 acres of grassland, from 18 landowners and producers who applied for the program, available for grassland bird habitat. About 40% of that was in Albemarle County. Other landowners are beginning to adopt the practices voluntarily.
A stable habitat is required to support wildlife populations . And ensuring that habitat is there involves maintaining
existing open space, including both working landscapes and natural forestland. To do this, and achieve our community’s climate goals, we are advocating for increased support for conservation programs in AC44 by making it a catalyst project.
Applications for next season’s VGBI incentives program will open Oct. 1 for landowners/farmers interested in taking part in the incentives programs.
Land Use: Water Supply Planning to Address Climate Impacts
Clean drinking water is a fundamental human need. Our community, through the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA), has a long history of planning for water use to ensure that there is sufficient supply for the Charlottesville/Albemarle region. However, the water supply plan was largely spurred by the dramatic drought of record in 2001-2002.
It centered on fortifying Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville, and Town of Scottsville water supply systems and accommodating projected growth of the urbanized development areas defined in the 2015 comprehensive plan.
Going forward, new legislation requires water supply planning to be more regionally cross-jurisdictional and be based on river basins. This brings Charlottesville and Albemarle into a region with Greene, Lousia, Fluvanna and Buckingham counties. It remains unclear what will result from cross-jurisdictional planning. PEC is currently requesting to serve as a formal stakeholder during the regional water supply planning process. Droughts and extreme weather events will be more frequent as climate change gets worse, and will have ripple effects beyond water supply systems. This is why PEC is proposing comprehensive groundwater monitoring programs be established for both Albemarle and Greene counties to inform decisions based on water availability in the future. View our Climate Action Report for more information →
Parks & Trails: Report Finds Residents Want More Trails
The City of Charlottesville has completed the first part of its new Parks Master Plan. This first phase was about understanding the recreational needs of Charlottesville residents. The preliminary results underline (emphatically) what we have been saying for years: Charlottesville residents want more trails, they want for existing trails to be better maintained, and they are willing to pay for them.
We will have more information as the plan develops. For now, here are a few tidbits that caught our eye:
- An astonishing 94% of residents have visited a local park in the last year (national benchmark = 76%).
- While residents clearly love the parks and trails, only 11% rate their upkeep as “excellent”, which is well below the 27% benchmark.
- The top nine priorities all relate to exploring the outdoors, with trails and access reflected in several different categories – all well above things like courts and ballfields (which we also love).
- Most residents (86%) are willing to pay for better parks. More than half would approve a $.01 property tax increase to pay for parks and a third would approve the maximum amount suggested ($.015).
- Not surprisingly, these findings track very closely with Albemarle County’s 2018 Recreational Needs Assessment – their most recent available. That report also found that County residents want more trails – specifically connective trails – and safe places to walk and bike. They too expressed willingness to pay higher taxes in order to have them.
- The results of both of these surveys are statistically and demographically sound and broadly reflective of area residents’ desires. They should not surprise anyone, as they reflect national trends which have solidified since the pandemic.
Peter just shared an update about one of his favorite local trails: a five-mile circulator greenway centered around McIntire Park that will serve both City and County residents by connecting Downtown with the Hydraulic and Rio areas. Peter and I will be leading an Advocacy Hike along that future greenway (which is already a lovely place to walk) on Sept. 28. (See below)
- You can learn more about the City Parks Master Plan here.
Upcoming Events
Loop de Ville 5-Mile Loop Advocacy Hike
Sun., Oct. 6, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m., McIntire Park
New date due to inclement weather!
PEC and partners have been advocating for a five-mile loop trail connecting McIntire and Greenbrier Parks, three schools, hundreds of businesses and thousands of residents for years. Now, it’s within reach! Join PEC’s Peter Krebs at 9:30 a.m. during Loop de Ville for a guided tour of the eventual multipurpose-path that will be a game-changer for community connection.
Loop de Ville: 20-Mile Hike / Bike / Run / Volunteer
Sun., Oct. 6, All Day, Starting and finishing at Rivanna River Company
New date due to inclement weather!
Celebrate National Public Lands Day by walking, biking or running the beloved 20-mile Rivanna Trail. There will be numerous hikes, walks, runs, and bike rides for people of all abilities — with guides and support along the way. Find PEC and our partners at the YMCA at our Cheer Zone Tent along the way.
Carbon & Conservation Workshop
Oct. 31st, 11:00-2:00 pm, Standardsville, Va.
Come learn about forest carbon, conservation easements, and other climate-smart conservation programs and opportunities are available to landowners at this free workshop. Lunch will be provided.
Albemarle Conservation Speed Dating Event
Nov. 1st, 1:00-4:00 pm, Bellair Farm
Join us for a hands-on workshop that will give you one-on-one time with local technical assistance providers and conservation practitioners to discuss your interests, options, and next steps specific to your property. All participants will receive a large-scale printed map of their property to use during the event and take home for reference.
Space is limited for this event. Please RSVP by emailing [email protected].
Soft opening of Biscuit Run Park
Fall, 2024Two decades in the making, this 1,190 acres of woodlands and meadows will open as a County Park this fall. PEC had a direct hand in ensuring this land be publicly accessible green space and in pushing the project to completion. Stay tuned for more info about a soft opening this October and an official ceremony in November.
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. So this election season, we encourage you to make a plan to vote. Early voting is available to all registered voters now through Nov. 2 at your local registrar’s office. You can check your voter registration status and learn more about voting in this year’s election at vote.elections.virginia.gov.
Faith Schweikert
Communications Specialist
fschweikert@pecva.org
(434) 977-2033 x7026
On The Ground Updates – September 2024
A series of short updates from around the PEC region – Albemarle & Charlottesville, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange & Rappahannock.
Reasons to Get Outside: Loop de Ville and a New, Central Greenway
Read on for a few upcoming events and a glimpse at a transformative greenway project that is within reach of being magnificent.
2024 Rivanna River Basin Commission Annual Conference
Learn what’s happening in the urban Rivanna corridor to bridge gaps in conservation and connectivity, celebrate local wins & get involved!
September Mobility Alliance Meeting
September 30, 2024 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
The Piedmont Mobility Alliance is a coalition of organizations, agencies, businesses and groups who share a vision of a better-connected community for walking, biking and other forms of active transportation in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. We gather every two months to share updates and work collaboratively on projects that none can accomplish alone.
This meeting is in person at the Water Street Center with a Zoom option.
Meeting Agenda and Working Notes Doc
Joint Piedmont / Shenandoah Active Mobility Social
August 29, 2024 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
The Piedmont Mobility Alliance and the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition are joining forces for a combined social gathering to celebrate Waynesboro’s brand new trail park and to enjoy a spectacular view.
Dwane Jones (Director, Waynesboro Parks and Recreation) will talk about Sunset Park and several other nearby projects. Advocates and planners from the Piedmont and Shenandoah areas will also be on hand.
The gathering is timed to coincide with the park’s titular sunset. Come early if you’d like to hike or bike on the mile of trails that are already built. It will be a great chance to meet new people and to learn what’s happening on both sides of the Blue Ridge to improve safe, active transportation and recreation.
It’s event is free and all are welcome. Non-alcoholic beverages and snacks will be provided.
Wilderness Lost?
Industrialization marches into Orange County, threatening historic battlefield and landscapes along Route 3.
Community Events Help Us Think about Issues in New Ways
One of my favorite things about being a community planner is going to events and having conversations with people in informal settings, close to where they live. These gatherings tend to be a lot of fun. For example, the one I just went to had a vegan-hotdog-tasting station!
Community events are also great places to hear from residents about their everyday experiences. People are in good spirits and they have many great ideas, perspectives and inspiration. They force me to reevaluate my assumptions, which leaders and planners ought to do — and do so regularly.
This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of tabling at the third annual Healthy Streets Healthy People gathering in Booker T. Washington Park in Charlottesville, organized by our partners at the Move2Health Equity Coalition. I especially love this event because the theme aligns perfectly with my own professional focus, many attendees share my passion and it’s in a beautiful park.
Although I’m working on many projects and issues, I like to keep things simple when I’m meeting with the public. People are busy, and if they are kind enough to gift me with their time, I owe it to them to be concise. So I only had one key question that I asked everyone, which seemed like a fair exchange for me stamping their bingo card. Of course this often led to follow-up and extended dialogue, which was intentional. And I had other materials for people who were curious or wanted to go deeper.
I gave everyone the following prompt: “Here we are at the healthy streets fair; what makes a healthy street?” If clarification was needed, my follow up was, “What characteristics would make the street a place that boosts you up, rather than bringing you down?” Almost everyone had immediate ideas to share and had actually given the idea some thought. Most ideas were familiar (and on point) and some made me think about my work in new ways.
Some common topics included safety, stress reduction and inclusivity. Each of these contains a world of nuance. For example, sidewalk safety might mean not getting hit by a car while walking along it or trying to cross a street. It might mean knowing that assistance is always available without being harassed by other people or by law enforcement. It could mean being able to negotiate the space without falling or being injured. Or not getting shot. And on and on; each idea merits a voluminous discussion of its own.
One conversation really stood out to me as an interesting framing, with implications far beyond the street. A woman told me that her spouse is a bus driver, who often complains that pedestrians who are focused on their phones often do foolish things for lack of attention to their surroundings. Note that she was not blaming potential victims of traffic violence: we all agree that those behind the wheel have a greater responsibility and that distracted driving is a public health challenge on par with drunk driving.
But she was asking why we can’t have an urban realm with enough appeal to be so interesting in itself that people wouldn’t feel the need to pull out their devices. That is a worthy question with implications about how we attend to one another, our spaces and ourselves.
It also gave other suggestions I heard (e.g. street art, trivia questions on little signs, foodshop windows, other people, conviviality, etc) new texture. Our conversation passed beyond the street through other spaces including classes and living rooms, which is to be expected at a health fair. But our public spaces have an important role to play.
It would be interesting for me to write a follow-up in which I compare these responses to what I learned at the same gathering two years ago when I asked attendees, “What makes a successful park?”
I entered the field of urban planning in hopes of creating a mutually-reinforcing triad of creativity, community engagement and practices that promote public health and well-being. Here was validation and a reminder that the work is urgent and anything but boring. Plantings, tiny libraries, street art and the like are not trivialities: they could save some lives.
Residents possess a wisdom that inspires good work and prevents costly or harmful mistakes. But we need to actually listen, which is not always easy. Conversations like this one, and the many others I had on that afternoon, are also fuel. They provide energy to go forward and they provide the ingredients necessary to solve the complex problems we face.
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Peter Krebs is the Community Advocacy Manager for the Piedmont Environmental Council. His work focuses on promoting walkable, bikeable, livable communities in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. He can be reached at [email protected]