Another setback for parkway

By Seth Rosen

Published: April 22, 2008

The long-planned and long-delayed Meadowcreek Parkway suffered another setback Monday when city councilors declined to endorse a design for a new interchange for its southern terminus.
Councilors were presented Monday with two options for a rebuilt interchange at McIntire Road and the U.S. 250 Bypass. A steering committee of city officials and residents had recommended councilors approve a diamond-shaped interchange that would run the 30-foot-high bypass over an oval roundabout, with the final design to be fleshed out later.
Committee members said the simple design would help cars easily move between McIntire Road and the parkway, and serve as an attractive entranceway to downtown Charlottesville.
But councilors said the designs need to be further refined and perhaps made smaller.
Councilor Julian Taliaferro, who supports the parkway, said that the interchange needed a smaller footprint than the 7-acre proposal.
“I just think the interchange is too large and out of character for the
intersection,” Taliaferro said. “I want to see it shrunk down.”
Councilors decided to set up a work session to discuss the outstanding issues. The meeting likely will take place in late May or June.
Councilors also expressed concerns about the project’s budget. The city has secured $29.6 million in state and federal dollars to pay for the interchange, but a team of outside consultants is estimating that the project likely will cost between $31 million and $35.5 million.
“How much is this going to cost and do we have the money to pay for it?” Mayor Dave Norris asked.
With Charlottesville’s annual allocation from the Virginia Department of Transportation likely to be reduced in coming years, officials could be hard pressed to find the additional funding and might be forced to curtail the scope of the interchange.
One way to cut costs would be to scale back the type of bridge used in the interchange. Another option would be to build the pedestrian and bicycle paths in stages, but city staff does not want to do that, said Angela Tucker, the interchange project manager for Charlottesville.
Tucker had urged councilors to select an interchange design Monday, noting that every delay adds to the project’s cost because of construction inflation.
Opponents of the project are pushing city officials to reconfigure the design of the interchange to have as little impact as possible on surrounding sites, including several historic houses, Schenk’s Branch and the Dogwood Vietnam Memorial.
Federal rules require that the city and Virginia transportation officials do everything possible to minimize the interchange’s encroachment on those historic resources.
Nearly two dozen residents urged the councilors not to take action Monday and, in the end, councilors heeded their exhortations.
Monday’s decision was another blow to the 2-mile parkway, which would connect the interchange to East Rio Road in Albemarle County.
The parkway’s supporters view the project as necessary to alleviate traffic on U.S. 29 and Park Street, and believe it is critical to ensuring the future vitality of downtown Charlottesville.
Its detractors, on the other hand, say it is a terrible use of precious parkland and argue that the road would exacerbate congestion by encouraging growth nearby.
“It makes a shortcut out of Charlottesville,” Stratton Salidis said. “People in the north will take the Meadowcreek right through town.”