Meeting with Adjacent Neighborhoods - January 2011

The following Questions and Answers were surveyed from the Downtown Business Association of Charlottesville in the January 2011.
1 - How can the Belmont Bridge project add value to Downtown Charlottesville

  • access

  • Provide a link from the bridge to Water Street without going through the Pavilion.

  • If it is designed to allow easier access for pedestrians directly to the mall. And is it does not interfere with the conduct of business as the mall re-bricking project did

  • Create an improved gateway to Downtown. Artwork in a pocket park next to Pavilion, banners and lighted holiday snowflakes on new lightpoles, exciting design.

  • if the design is appealing and the bridge becomes an attractive gateway the same way the bridge by the train station was improved with lights etc.

  • Making it easier and more convenient to come downtown without inhibiting traffic (pedestrian or vehical)

  • It is the entrqance corridor/gateway to Downtown

2 - What type of pedestrian and bicyclist facilities do you believe best serve the community?

  • muti-use

  • Accommodate them all.

  • Full sidewalks and full bike lanes-not the pathetic and dangerous way that Park St was implemented

  • Too dangerous and short to design for bike lane focus. Allow for bike use but focus on pedestrian.

  • I think it is important to have the pedestrian sidewalks on both sides, so all but the last layout.

  • Yes

  • I think cyclists are so ignorant or neglectful of traffic laws that a lane for pedestrians and bicycles together would confuse the issue even more.

3 - What creative ideas do you have for the project?

  • gateway to the community

  • Banners and flowers.       

  • Free parking and easy mall access

  • Don't build an attraction for homeless use. Keep any new park setting highly visible and lighted.

  • Flags or statues or icons on the bridge to indicate our past, present and future

4 - What outstanding questions do you have?

  • is it safe?

  • Why is this being done?

  • Can you direct traffic to Gleason St. and then to Mall parking at Water Street Garage? Once they are dropped on Market St. it gets complicated if the garage is full.

  • How will this be communicated to public, so they don't find it to be a headache and opt not to come downtown during construction.

  • Make it safe and don't go with "low bid."

  • Just concerned about the parking displacement. In addition to under the bridge, people who work here also park on the other side of Avon in the Monticello/Graves neighborhood. Will they be able to walk across Avon at Garrett?