RECENT COMMENTS
Route 5 meeting on Thursday
A public meeting on a transportation plan for Route 5 from 7th Street downtown to South Laburnum Avenue in eastern Henrico County will be held this Thursday from 6-8PM at Varina High School (7053 Messer Road). The plan is intended to address mobility, access, and safety for roads, mass transit, bicycles, and pedestrians. Word has it that the powers-that-be are considering running the Virginia Capital Trail along the shoulder of Route 5 through Henrico, rather than as a separate path as elsewhere.
An email from Beth Weisbrod, Executive Director, Virginia Capital Trail Foundation:
We strongly urge you to attend this meeting to show your support for the Trail as completely separate from Rt. 5. We want our public
officials to know we can pack a room and be a powerful voice.If you can’t make the meeting, your comments are still very important. Go
to: www.route5corridor.com to be heard on this critical issue.What’s at Stake?
This process will determine the shape of over seven miles of our Trail. If
you currently enjoy–or plan to enjoy–the Trail for jogging, walking, riding
bikes with your children, getting to school, bird watching, taking field trips into history, then think about these activities as cars and trucks go past you at 55mph. Would you plan these activities on Parham Rd., or Laburnum Ave.?The Foundation’s Stance
- The 50-mile Virginia Capital Trail, once complete, will be a regional asset of statewide significance.
- There has already been a substantial public investment in building a
separate and dedicated trail. Currently 16 miles are complete.- Having 6% of the Trail be part of a busy road, would significantly reduce the tourism potential and broad appeal of the entire Trail, and diminish its viability as a regional economic engine.
- This Trail needs to be available and safe for all users: families, children traveling to and from school, senior citizens, handicapped individuals, tourists, anyone commuting to and from work, among other groups who enjoy outdoor recreation.
It is Important to Note:
- The funds used to build this trail cannot be used for building roads,
filling potholes or adding to existing roads. They come from a federal
program, and must be spent on dedicated trails and similar amenities.- If we don’t use them to enhance our own community, another location in Virginia will use them to make trails to enhance theirs.
This does not surprise me. Henrico doesn’t care about cyclists.
I second that, the only people that care is us (riding community). All the more reason to try to make it to the meeting. Bring friends 🙂
I just logged onto the route5corridor.com site and filled out the questionnaire. They’ve designed it so there is no specific mention of the Virginia Capital Trail and Rt. 5.
However, there are open-ended questions at the end of the survey that allow you to say whatever you want. So, i typed in: “DO NOT use Route 5 for the scenic Virginia Capital bike trail. The Capital Trail should be along the banks of the James River in Henrico County.”
Riding a bike along Rt. 5 from Richmond thru Henrico is a life-threatening pastime which I’ve engaged in all too often in pursuit of a bucolic bike ride. I do this less and less as I get older cause I figure the odds are getting better that I’ll get run over by a speeding truck trying to pass a senior citizen doing the speed limit.
It would be a thrill to ride a bike from Richmond to Jamestown thru the countryside, near the banks of the James River, on a quieter road. I hope the Capital Trail happens…the way it was envisioned.
I hope that the decision makers listened to the cyclists that showed up last night, although I doubt that it will actually change anyone’s mind. They will do what they want to do regardless of public input, like all the other decisions the “leaders” in this area make.
Public input sessions, charrettes, townhall meetings and public comment periods at hearings are all a ruse to make the citizenry think that the politicians and various commissions actually give shit. They don’t. They will do what they like. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you or your group’s “cause” was championed by those huksters just because your stance on something is in alliance with their preconceived agenda.
One only needs to look at the city’s implementation of the past and current Master Plan to see that it’s real value doesn’t extend beyond being used as a replacement for the Sear’s catalog in an outhouse.
Laura,
I couldn’t have said it better myself. I’m in full agreement with you!