Crutchfield proposes slimmer Parkway interchange
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Crutchfield, with U.S. Senator Mark Warner.FILE PHOTO BY LINDSAY BARNES
The entrepreneur who blasted the controversial Nature Conservancy-touted reservoir/uphill pipeline water plan as Charlottesville’s own “bridge to nowhere” is now employing that same terminology on the Meadowcreek Parkway interchange. Bill Crutchfield, who founded the chain of electronics stores bearing his name, has penned an essay in the Daily Progress to suggest that all sides would benefit from paring down the Parkway’s planned $30 million interchange with the U.S. 250 Bypass and dividing the savings among the feds and the localities.
Build the thing ONE TIME and maintain it. Population growth and use of this new road will not decrease over the next 20 years.
Loise, This road will increase congestion and lengthen travel times in most of the areas it’s intended to relieve. More lanes equals more drivers trying to zoom in from further away, trying to run more and longer errands. And the number of actual working commuters has fallen and should continue to fall.
If some rich guy proposes something, it MUST be a good idea!
Actually, Crutchfield’s analysis — that Rio Road/Park Street carries mostly local traffic, so there won’t be many more cars entering the McIntire/250 intersection so we don’t need an overpass — makes a point that I am confident that Crutchfield doesn’t intend to make. That is that the Meadowcreek Parkway should not have been built in the first place.
The fact is that Crutchfield’s analysis ignores all of the traffic counts and traffic studies that have been done over the past 30+ years. Traffic studies are not arcane science — we have known how to do them for many years, and there is not a “liberal” or a “conservative” way to count cars. And all of the studies say that the traffic on the Meadowcreek Parkway will be great enough on the first day that it opens that the intersection will grade out as an “F.” And it will only get worse. If the overpass is built, it will grade out at a “C.”
I am not a great fan of the Meadowcreek Parkway, particularly when it is the only road built (it was first proposed in 1974 as a part of a network that would have included a Western Bypass). But now that it is built such that it will end at Melbourne Road, I think that the City has no choice but to go ahead and finish it and do it right and build it in a way that it will work and not fail.
the parkway should cut across the top of the park towards the high school, cross the tracks, run beside the tracks (behind the little league and softball outfields - yes, there’s room) and connect to the mostly already build cloverleaf at rugby ave/mcintire park. the y should go to the triangle of land created off melbourne by the HS, and the cloverleaf should be completed by adding a single north bound exit off the west bound bypass lane. this would help increase the viability of the commercial zoned areas along rose hill and preston, as well as create more retail nodes so we truly can become a viable pedestrian city. the city of charlottesville should not be encouraging cutting through the city to reach 29n shopping. it will be detrimental to the city. also, they should build a parking garage next to catec and a free shuttle to the downtown mall (loop via rose hill and mcintire rd.)from catec parking garage. you can even make it a grass roofed affair with athletic fields on top if there’s money/need. because of the terrain it could be built into the bank and not loom over catec or even interfere much with sightlines/views. the current location and design is a waste. this is the way to “do it right” and build it so it will be useful and helpful going forward.
please
can someone tell us what the Actual plan is.
And the start date or compleation date
Also why was the road opened and then closed.
thanks
js
Joe Smith–
My understanding is that the county’s portion of the road is closed because the whole project isn’t completed (the whole project including the city’s portion of the interchange). It is also my understanding that the county’s portion will remain closed until the city finishes their portion.
For more information on the interchange itself, check out this website: http://250interchange.org/
It has the plans for the new interchange, as well as news and updates. Hope that helps!
Stew has some great ideas. I would love to know the full story behind why the county rushed to build the Catec-melbourne connector. Remonds me of the week they tried to connect BestBuy to the bypass off ramp.
I think the sun is geting to this guys dome. What does he know about uban planing ? Is he an engineer , a constuction manager ?Nope just another rich guy from charlottesville forcing his will on the average Joe in this town.JUST KEEP SELLING CHEEP ELECTRONIC AND LET THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE KNOW DO THE PLANNING.
HEY! “idontknowanythingjustaskmywife- Is he an engineer , a constuction manager ?”
“LET THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE KNOW DO THE PLANNING.”
What do they know?
He offers the products, customers buy them- if they are “CHEEP”, it is not his fault………….
I like Stew’s ideas.