The landscaping, Trail and street lights of Celebrate Virginia Pkwy will make a beautiful gateway into Stafford and Fredericksburg.
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We went from 2,300 supporters last week to over 2,800 supporters. Please keep on sharing my facebook posts and the petition.
On July 14th I attended a City of Fredericksburg Planning Commission meeting on their proposed development plans for Celebrate Virginia and the Central Park area.
The planners said they had too much parking in some areas and not enough in some areas. They said that one 6 lane road was built too big, so it could handle the Kalahari traffic. They are considering spending money to make it 4 lanes and using the other two lanes for parking. I don't like that idea.
They plan on building many short grid roads in the future.
They are also proposing a full interchange near the Rest Area on I-95 to connect to Gordon Shelton Blvd. I don't believe the Federal Highway Administration will approve an interchange there, because it's too close to the other two interchanges, however they might approve a Southbound right in Ramp, using the same right in as the Rest Area.
The planners were also talking about redoing the Route 3 Interchange, but it would take out many businesses near the Fredericksburg Hospitality House.
I believe it would cost much more than the river crossing.
They didn't talk about a pedestrian bridge, but I saw the proposal in another document that showed a pedestrian bridge crossing using the I-95 pillars. I believe homeland security would reject it, because of security concerns. Also it wouldn't connect the population and destination centers. It would have to be on one side of I-95, which would block access to the trail from the other side.
At the end of the City's presentation, I made my presentation, but the maps and pictures were hard to see. I shortened my 20 minute presentation into a 6 minute presentation, but I did get the message across.
After my presentation the meeting was over.
I did get to talk to many people after the meeting including a candidate for City Council, a Planning Commission member, the Director of FAMPO, Larry Silver and a many more.
Larry Silver said some interesting things that are worth noting.
I didn't take notes, but this is what I believe he said.
I put 400 acres of land into conservation easements in both Fredericksburg and Stafford. I own the Quarry and have been thinking of offering it to the City.
He also rattled off a long list of Roads and Sidewalks he built. The list was long, but I think he should be acknowledged for what he and his father have contributed to the community over the years. I think I'm going to ask him for a list of all the donations, so they can be acknowledged. I think a few dedication plaques would be a good strategy for future golf course negotiations.
I did ask him how much he though the golf course was worth, but he didn't answer.
Larry also said that he built the needed Road infrastructure in both Stafford and Fredericksburg to handle the traffic for a river crossing. The distance between his roads in Stafford and Fredericksburg is only 1.6 miles. He said sooner or latter officials would wisen up and put to use the millions of dollars in Transportation Infrastructure he already built. He said that he agreed with me when I said the New Road and bridge would relieve the traffic on the busiest sections of Route 3, Route 17, Route 630 and Route 610.
Larry also said a simple low cost common sense I-95 improvement that would help traffic would be to put in a Southbound I-95 right in Ramp, using the same right in as the rest area. He said let them come in and they will find their way out.
I can see how the ramp would benefit Larry's businesses, but I also see how it could benefit traffic flow, especially at game/event time at the stadium. The events will get out long after rush hour, so there will be much less traffic at that time.
I want to thank Terry Payne for helping me set up and the people that came out in support. I will keep everyone posted of new events.
I have another Trail/Boardwalk proposal that will connect to the main North to South Trail. It would be similar to the Government Island trail, but run to the Historic Accokeek Furnace property. I will be sharing the Accokeek Furnace Boardwalk proposal soon. Please like it on Facebook.
Sincerely,
Joe Brito