The smart commute
In response to Joseph Booe’s dismissive letter about Stratton Salidis’ article “Sprawl is not for all” [Mailbag, June 24], I would like to say that Mr. Booe misrepresented the article. No one is suggesting that we develop bike lanes along major highways so that residents of surrounding counties can bike to work. What is being suggested is that we learn from 60 years of suburban sprawl in America and make wiser and more economical choices.
Most cities with transportation problems caused by surrounding bedroom communities make massive investments in highways and parking. When these six- and eight-lane highways become clogged and urban property is too expensive for parking lots they have to become creative. Eventually car pooling, HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes, buses and light rail are invested in. These strategies do not have to be the last resort but can be implemented sooner.
Mr. Booe suggests that Charlottesville will not grow to be like northern Virginia because “we are not that important a city.” On the contrary, Charlottesville is an important city to the counties surrounding it for jobs, shopping and entertainment. As a region we have to plan for growth that is responsible and smart, not just copy the mistakes of the past. The lack of available land for parking in Charlottesville is already a constraint that requires we be more imaginative.
Mr. Booe’s plea for the City and County to stop the “power struggle and work together” is code for “let’s let City residents foot the bill for infrastructure that will be used by everyone.” Just as County residents pay more to use City pools and City residents pay more to use County lakes, we should have a system that charges non-City residents more for using city parking garages. City residents paid to build them and County residents should pay to maintain and expand them.
As someone who lived and worked in Japan, I can attest to how productive, relaxing and social commuting can be. The Japanese read, sleep, make cell phone calls, work on laptops and socialize on their buses and trains. We can too.
Gene Fifer
Charlottesville
Questionable sources
This is in response to Ted Rall’s editorial in your June 17 edition [“They impeach killers, don’t they?” AfterThought]. Somehow Rall must have access to information that is not available to anyone else. He uses many “sources” to bring forth his position. By putting together random statements by loose cannon politicians and other hidden agenda experts, he is able to paint the picture he is looking for.
It is a proven fact that Iraq used chemical weapons against its own people, the Kurds. In a country the size of California how easy it would be to hide a barrel or two of deadly toxin. This could be the ultimate game of hide and seek.
I am not sure what a WMD is—Al Qaeda turned hijacked airliners into mass destruction instruments. What about a car bomber who can kill and wound many people? Do these fit the description? I think so.
Rall must have expected our troops to march into Iraq and find factories humming along with production lines spewing forth all sort of nasty stuff. Get real, turkey. It is beyond my intelligence level to make a statement that defines who is connected to who in the game of terrorism, but apparently Rall must have an inside track on this info. The intelligence community must be holding its breath waiting for him to share this information.
I think the readers of C-VILLE Weekly have had enough of Rall’s rantings. Ted Rall has had the opportunity to express his views, so it is time for the editors to move on to something more rational and realistic.
Larry Howze
racer1228@msn.com
Presidential pardon
In his column calling for the impeachment of George Bush, Ted Rall wrote, “Presidents Nixon and Clinton were rightly impeached for comparatively trivial offenses.” The history geek in me just can’t allow the factual error in that statement to go unnoticed. The President can be “impeached” only by a majority vote of the House of Representatives. While it is true that the House Judiciary Committee had begun the process that almost certainly would have led to President Nixon’s impeachment (a fact that Rall noted), Nixon resigned from office before the full House voted on the matter. Thus, although Nixon’s nefarious activities caused him to leave office before his term was over, he was never “impeached.” Ironically, the only two U.S. presidents who have been impeached—Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton—both won their subsequent trials in the U.S. Senate and served the full term of their presidencies.
Josh Wheeler
Ruckersville
Editor’s note: Rall corrected the impeachment facts in a subsequent version of his column, which, due to e-mail glitches, never made it to C-VILLE.
Hillsdale is a neighborhood
Thank you for enlightening your readers about the Hillsdale Drive extension project [“The road less traveled,” Fishbowl, June 24]. Your article focuses on the possible benefits of the project, and I’d like to point out some of the potentially negative affects if this road is built.
This proposed project undoubtedly has potential to improve our community if it is designed well. That is, if it is indeed designed to serve local traffic and not be an alternative thoroughfare to Route 29. This points to a two-lane road, designed to accommodate pedestrians, bicyclists, and mass transit, and maintains a low speed limit.
The existing Hillsdale Drive/Greenbrier neighborhood, including Senior Center Inc., Rosewood Village, Branchlands, Our Lady of Peace, JABA, Brook Mill and others, already needs improvements to ensure safety for pedestrians and motorists. A pedestrian was nearly killed last year on Hillsdale by a driver who was speeding through the neighborhood, not someone using the existing road for “local traffic.” Any Hillsdale extension design must accommodate the reality of a large proportion of seniors living in, and utilizing, this neighborhood.
Any proposed extension of Hillsdale Road must also account for the parking needs in the Hillsdale/Greenbrier neighborhood. The only available overflow parking is on the existing Pepsi Place. Several times a week, the Senior Center depends on Pepsi Place parking for seniors to access our extensive selection of life-enriching programs. With our senior population projected to grow by 30 percent in Albemarle by 2010, our Senior Center, a resource for the entire community, must have adequate space to develop to meet this population growth. If the Hillsdale extension is aligned along Pepsi Place, existing parking on that road must be retained in order for the Senior Center to meet our mission to involve, enrich and empower seniors in our community.
I ask that everyone who is balancing the pros and cons of this proposed road extension consider the effects on the neighborhood surrounding Hillsdale Drive/Greenbrier Road, as this is indeed a neighborhood, not a thoroughfare.
Peter M. Thompson
Executive Director
Senior Center, Inc.
Counsel to Council
Local government should stick to knitting and live within its means. That is the message Rob Schilling sent with his two most controversial votes to date—the Iraq resolution and the City budget [“Chemical reactions,” Fishbowl, May 27]. The City of Charlottesville needs a few more councilors with similar principles.
In February, city council rammed through a resolution opposing “unilateral” war in Iraq over the objections of numerous City residents who argued that such action exceeded their authority under Virginia law and was inconsistent with our constitutional scheme of government. One Democratic Councilor, perhaps speaking for all, demonstrated his disdain for the rule of law when he cavalierly dismissed such arguments as “mere legalese.” Schilling alone had the good sense to exercise self-restraint.
In May, City Council passed a budget that again raised taxes and increased spending. Schilling opposed the budget because taxpayers were being forced to pay more of their hard-earned money for essential services so that Council could continue to fund studies and provide subsidies of dubious value to the City. Schilling has rightly argued that the budget process needs more discipline.
Each and every member of the current City Council is an exemplary citizen who works tirelessly for the benefit of Charlottesville. I admire their dedication to public service and in the past elections I have cast my ballot for many of them. But I believe that the long-term health of Charlottesville as an independent political entity is not served by a monopoly on power by either party. Such a monopoly yields complacency in the stewardship of public funds and values loyalty and cooperation over leadership and management.
I hope the citizens of Charlottesville will recognize the value of Schilling’s service and elect a few more councilors willing to challenge the status quo.
Charles L. Weber, Jr.
Charlottesville