THE CURRENT traffic study being conducted to examine potential delays around the new Emmet Street parking garage is a positive step, as it actively includes city officials and seeks to assuage the concerns of residents of Lewis Mountain neighborhood. Since its inception, the controversy surrounding construction of the garage has done nothing but further widen the rift in relations between the University and Charlottesville community. According to University Architect Mary Hughes, construction of the garage is unlikely to be altered at this point as the project itself has already begun ("Officials announce results from new traffic study," January 20, 2003). Although in all likelihood commissioning a new study will amount to no change whatsoever in the University's plans to proceed with the garage, the fact that the University has chosen to commission a second study in the midst of looming questions about the first study's accuracy, and strong objections of the Lewis Mountain Neighborhood Association, show that the University has not abandoned concern for residents of the Ivy and Emmet area. It is an illustration of the University's concern for the community at large which should not be passed over as trivial or routine.
Disputes over the construction of the garage between the University and community have been present since its inception last spring. The garage has brought us disputes over the presence of historical artifacts, widely differing views of traffic flows, flawed studies, loud objections from the Lewis Mountain Neighborhood Association and community leaders, and verbal sparring between University employees who are residents of the area and the University itself. To both parties' credit, however, negotiations remained active, with various forums and discussions being held to hammer out difficulties surrounding the garage's construction. Meetings such as that between Leonard W. Sandridge, University executive vice president and chief operating officer, and residents of the Lewis Mountain area provided a forum for community members to voice their concerns surrounding the garage.
And indeed, the garage was not met with unbridled backlash -- more often than not, Lewis Mountain residents, many of whom study or work at the University, saw the need for the garage given current University parking difficulties and supported its construction. Concerns remained, however, primarily about how the garage would affect traffic flow in the neighborhood. Many residents echoed this sentiment, including former Charlottesville Mayor Bitsy Waters, who put it bluntly: "My big concern is that I don't see how this location can work from a traffic standpoint" ("Neighborhood association protests parking garage," April 11, 2002).
The controversy took an unexpected turn, as well, when human remains were discovered on the construction site. In this instance, archeologist Ben Ford, hired by the University to dig at the site, uncovered five nails, wood fragments, and an iron bar, suggesting that at one time someone may have been buried there. Along came former Charlottesville resident Alice Norris, who provided proof to University officials that her great grandmother Amanda Wood Ford was buried on the site in 1895. However, she had been exhumed and re-buried in 1954 in Ivy, Virginia alongside her husband, who had died in 1911.
In the end, however, the historical significance of the site was eclipsed by its importance as the future site of a garage to relieve the University's parking woes, and considerations were voiced for a small memorial to Mrs. Ford to be included in the plans for the garage. Again, we should take note of the fact that the University took this unexpected circumstance into careful consideration in planning construction of the garage, including close consultation with Norris throughout the process and regard for her wishes. The fact that the University took the initiative to hire Ford to excavate the site speaks volumes about concern for greater community welfare,and should be met in retrospect with a sense of relief and optimism for future exchanges between the University and community.
The results of the most recent traffic study of the area around the garage suggest that alterations in traffic would not be far off from original projections put forward in the first study. However, certain differences may prove crucial in the remainder of the construction of the garage. For example, the most recent study by the consulting firm Kimley-Horn and Associates suggests that the resulting delay at the intersection of Emmett and Ivy Road will be an average of 66.5 seconds, compared to the original study's projection of 52.4 seconds. This difference is important to note, as University Architect Mary Hughes has said that a delay of 66.5 seconds would be "unacceptable" ("Officials announce results from new traffic study," Jan. 20). Regarding this potential point of contention, the University should continue to seek out exchanges with the Lewis Mountain Neighborhood Association and give serious thought to altering plans for the garage if it may, in fact, cause such a delay in the area.
Regardless of any changes which may result from this new study, the University should be applauded for its choice to go ahead with a new study to help ease concerns of Lewis Mountain residents and city officials alike. There will always be some who are dissatisfied with the impact of major University construction projects such as the garage. However, it is important to recognize that, for better or for worse, the parking garage has helped foster dialogue between the University and the community at large. Realizing that the University and community are largely dependent upon one another for survival, it is this sort of inclusive, dialogue-promoting approach that should be taken in all manner of disputes between the University and surrounding community to help foster communication and maintain cohesiveness between us all.
(Austen Givens' column appears
Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at agivens@cavalierdaily.com.)
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