Don’t use school’s land for road

John M. Thompson Charlottesville
Published: April 9, 2008

So it comes down to nine acres of land on Charlottesville High School property. In order to gain final right of way for the Meadowcreek Parkway, the Virginia Department of Transportation has asked the city School Board to donate what is now a practice field.
And thus seven people have, at least for now, the power to move the project forward or stand, as it were, in front of the bulldozers.
The parkway has since its inception been a shortsighted, bad idea. It will not do what we wish it would — make traffic from U.S. 29 to downtown and Pantops run a few minutes faster.
What will it do?
It will temporarily distract VDOT from putting a bypass around Charlottesville.
It will use up transportation dollars urgently needed elsewhere.
It will satisfy a few powerful cronies of Sen. John Warner, who got him to earmark money for the parkway.
It will permanently destroy walking trails and wildlife habitat by stealing land donated by Paul Goodloe McIntire for a park, not a highway.
If we can get at least four School Board members to say no, then VDOT will have to go on record as seizing land against the wishes of the city. Isn’t it time the city decided its future for itself, instead of the shots being called by a parasitic county?
If city residents care at all about one of the few remaining green spaces in the city, they should please speak up now. It’s not too late to save McIntire Park.
It’s not a done deal.
Before more of your money is dumped down the drain on a project that will hurt the quality of life in our city, please contact your School Board members: Colette Blount, Llezelle Dugger, Alvin Edwards, Kathleen Galvin, Ned Michie, Leah Puryear and Juandiego Wade. Their e-mail links and telephone numbers are listed at http://www.ccs.k12.va.us/board_members.html.