Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, September 25 at YNot Italian in Greenbrier.
What is Green Drinks? Green Drinks is mostly for people working on environmental issues, but anyone can come -- people from environment groups, business, government, academia, and as individuals. There is no 'us and them'. Green Drinks is a chance to mingle, share insights, inspire and delight each other. Come out and order some food or a drink (each participant pays for their own drinks and food; if drinking, please do so responsibly!) and join the conversation. Please do share the invite with others who may be interested.
Trails and Connectivity Plan
Unfortunately, this draft, going to the Planning Commission on Wednesday, September 11th, still does not set clear priorities and does not define steps to make our Chesapeake's streets safer for bikers and walkers today.
The day after the August Planning Commission meeting, Steve Shil was tragically involved in a severe crash with a vehicle while riding his bicycle at the intersection of Mt. Pleasant Road and Hilwell. Mr. Shil died of his injuries a week later. Apparently, he was an avid biker and in decades past an activist for improving bicycle safety. Despite decades of talking about the need to make our roads safer, people are dying at an alarming rate. Considering the percentage of crashes, pedestrians and bicyclists are at greatest risk of death and injury.
After spending a year asking the citizens of Chesapeake what is most important to them, the draft Plan makes no serious attempt to define priorities for bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements or which routes should be upgraded first. The best the document does is say that all 112 miles of the proposed "core network" are a priority, even though these routes are along our major arterial roadways, crossing highway interchanges and waterways, and therefore the most costly and difficult to construct. The document suggests the actual work of recommending near-term priorities can be done in the Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee (BTAC) even though the City staff did not use the prioritization provided by BTAC to prepare this document or select the so-called "sample projects" for this document.
If you look at the public comments listed in the document and the comments from BTAC, what people are asking for is for the City to:
- actually build the already funded projects like the Western Branch Rail Trail and India River Road bike lanes
- improve and build out crosswalks across the city to provide safe passage, especially near parks, schools, libraries, business areas, and bus stops
- identify the "low-hanging fruit", routes where we can create connections along low stress corridors with bike boulevards at minimal cost
- lower speed limits and implement traffic calming practices
- provide both online maps of existing routes and real-world wayfinding signage
- fix existing sidewalks and curb ramps
- make sure all new developments have sidewalks and as appropriate bikeways.
- build new wider sidewalks to close gaps
- and yes, ultimately, build out the complete network of 400 miles of trails across the city, prioritized based on principles of equity and most benefit.
The current draft simply is not good enough. The Plan needs to set priorities - which can start with the items above - and set timelines. Let's ask for a further continuance at the Planning Commission to require the Planning Department to do better.
Greenbrier Area Plan
Reply back to this e-mail to let us know your thoughts - what would you do related to the Greenbrier area if you were "chief city planner for a day"?
Comp Plan Update
Planning Commission Updates
Two projects of interest at Planning Commission in August were recommended for approval.
- Church on Battlefield across from Water Treatment Plant. 22 of 25 acres are wooded, but plan does not impact those woods. Should add some landscaped buffer around new structures. (Concurrently advertised and also approved by City Council in August
- 5 MW Solar Farm on Long Ridge Road.
The GreenLink power transmission cable manufacturing ("tallest building in Virginia") was Continued to the September 11th Planning Commission meeting. Apparently, the Navy has security concerns that need to be addressed. This is the only development project on the September agenda. Meeting Agendas & Videos | Chesapeake, VA (cityofchesapeake.net)
City Council Updates
In August, the City Council also approved two development projects of interest:
- Medium Density Residential project on Joliff Road putting 146 single family and town homes on 30.8 acres. It does preserve area in CBPA minimizing net tree loss.
- Church on Battlefield across from Water Treatment Plant.
- 5 MW Solar Farm on Long Ridge Road.
CBF VoiCeS Class
The next CBF VoiCeS class is coming to Virginia Beach, September 24- October 29. This is a highly recommend class providing a holistic appreciation about the environmental health of region. The class connects you with a strong cross section of people working to make things better. Become a Chesapeake Steward - Chesapeake Bay Foundation (cbf.org)
Get Ready to Vote!
- President and Vice President of the United States
- U.S. Senator
- U.S. Representative
- Mayor of Chesapeake
- Chesapeake City Council (3 members at large)
- Chesapeake School Board (4 members at large)
- Referendum on Curbside Recycling in Chesapeake
The first day of in-person early voting will be Friday, September 20, 2024. The deadline to register to vote, or update an existing registration is October 15, 2024. (Voters may register after this date, through Election Day, and vote using a provisional ballot). Election Day - the last day to vote - will be Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
Make your plan on how you will vote now. Need to register to vote, check your status, or update your voter registration? Visit https://vote.virginia.gov/ today.
More Upcoming Dates
- Wednesday, 9/11, Planning Commission, Agendas & Videos | Chesapeake, VA (cityofchesapeake.net)
- Thursday, 9/12, Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT) carnival-themed community meeting to collect input for the PRT Master Plan; at the Rivercrest Community Center News Flash • PRT Master Plan Carnival (cityofchesapeake.net)
- Saturday, 9/28, Chesapeake Celebrates Trees at Municipal Center - Calendar • Chesapeake Celebrates Trees (cityofchesapeake.net)
- It's time to start following "Lights Out" for the fall migration in Hampton Roads. As part of this voluntary program, property managers, businesses, tenants, government agencies, and residents are urged to help to prevent night-time bird collisions with building by turning off and/or blocking as many external and internal building lights at workplaces as possible at night to help prevent injury and death of migrating birds, especially from 11 pm to sunrise. Learn more at https://www.birdsafehr.org/
- Chesapeake Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT) is conducting a community-wide survey as part of development a new PRT Master Plan. Take the survey at https://chesapeakeparksurvey.org/
- Hampton Roads Transit has put out a survey about these final four options for Connecting Chesapeake which mode most appeals: express bus, bus rapid transit, or light rail at https://www.connectingchesapeake.com/
- Share you "Flood Story" with Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation to help support flood resilience planning in Virginia. Tell them where it flooded and how that flooding impacted you. You can also share details like photos, dates, and frequency of flooding. Share your experiences at https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/9622222664b94ae6a4efef69184c43b2
In the News
- With deadline looming, Virginia leaders reflect on what’s next for Chesapeake Bay Agreement (whro.org)
- Dominion secures another offshore wind lease — right next to Virginia Beach project (whro.org)
- US wind and solar on track to overtake coal this year - E&E News by POLITICO (eenews.net)
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