In 2018, 54-year-old Joseph Mark Audia was killed when he was crushed between two cars in the Jak ’n Jil restaurant parking lot on East High Street. The Louisa County man was standing next to his car when a pickup truck ran off the road and crashed into several parked cars, trapping Audia between his car and another one.
More pedestrians could be injured or even killed if critical improvements are not made to East High, fears Dwight Corle, owner of Charlottesville Glass & Mirror.
“What we have is people cutting through parking lots starting at Jak ’n Jill, [who] will try to turn onto Hazel [Street] cutting through our lot, endangering the lives of myself, my employees,” explains Corle, who has owned his business for over 40 years. “Almost everybody who works here has had their life in jeopardy multiple times over the last 15, 20 years—it’s just gotten worse.”
For decades, Corle has asked the City of Charlottesville to rebuild the curbs and gutters that have eroded away in front of his shop, and create an adequate entrance. Because there are no barriers separating Jak ’n Jil and Charlottesville Glass & Mirror from East High Street, impatient drivers can easily cut through the business’ parking lots to get to Hazel Street. Curbs would also help divert stormwater runoff coming down Hazel Street into drains, instead of his store’s parking lot.
“If the curbs and gutters were there, it would be much more difficult for people to drive into the parking lot,” says longtime pedestrian advocate Kevin Cox, who became a school crossing guard at East High and Hazel streets this fall. “[Drivers are] not going to want to jump a four- to six-inch curb and damage their car potentially to cut through a parking lot.”
On September 25, Mayor Lloyd Snook joined Corle, Cox, and other concerned residents for a walk on East High to see the infrastructure issues that plague the street. The advocates also hosted a bake sale in front of Corle’s store, and collected around 34 petition signatures in support of the street improvements.
In addition, pedestrian advocates are pushing the city to move the bus stop and crosswalk located in front of the glass shop near the intersection of East High and Hazel streets—where they have seen multiple people almost get hit by cars—to a location further down the road. They suggest widening the new crosswalk, and adding plastic pylons and signs that remind drivers to yield to pedestrians.
Once pedestrians walking down East High toward Tubby’s get near Fisher Auto Parts, they have very few sidewalks. In front of the former AT&T building, located next to Charlottesville Glass & Mirror, there is only a rough dirt path—a danger to those with disabilities.
“If [they’re] using a wheelchair to get around, people will go into the street because that dirt path is so rocky, and they don’t want to fall over,” says Cox. “I’ve literally helped people off the ground multiple times,” adds Corle.
Some improvements to the street may be coming soon: “The consideration of moving the bus stop has been initiated, and I am awaiting staff reports on how soon we might be able to affect the change,” said Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders in an email to C-VILLE on September 28.
However, the city does not have a funded project yet for additional improvements, like sidewalks or curbs. “E. High is on the priority list of corridor projects in the city, [but] does not rank in the Top 5. … In the meantime, we continue to look at E. High because of the Safe Routes to School priority that aligns with this roadway, [and] are committed to exploring additional fixes in the interim,” said Sanders in his email.
As a temporary measure, the city recently provided Corle with plastic barriers to put between his store and Jak ’n Jill—but some people still drive around them. He hopes city leadership will implement more permanent solutions soon, and suggests they completely redesign East High after the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority installs a central water line under the street in two to three years.
“If they’re going to be ripping all of this pavement up,” says Corle, “what a great time to put it back and put it back right the way it should be.”