Just a couple of weeks after The Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park, a group led by John Cruickshank of the Sierra Club and Bob Fenwick of SaveMcIntire.com, filed a preliminary injunction to stop construction on the Meadowcreek Parkway, a crowd of about 30 people gathered on the hills south of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the 250 Bypass/McIntire Road intersection.
“We decided to get together and start the coalition,” says Fenwick, who has been actively protesting the destruction of the softball fields for the construction of a YMCA. “We are different groups, and we may have different ideas, but our main goal is to save McIntire Park.”
Fenwick says the group is not against the construction of the Y, “just not at McIntire Park.”
Residents held “Save our Park” signs and a “Save Meadow Creek” banner, and saluted motorists cruising on the bypass. “We are sending a message to the community: don’t pave our park,” shouted Cruickshank into a megaphone. He explained that the injunction wasn’t the direction the group wanted to take, “but we felt it was necessary.”
The suit argues that City Council has given the land to the Virginia Department of Transportation without three-quarters majority, a direct violation of the state constitution.
Supporters of McIntire Park came together at the park in an effort to stop the proposed Meadow Creek Parkway and to convince City Council to find another site for the construction of a YMCA.
Photo by Ashley Twiggs.
Cruickshank and Fenwick rallied supporters to go before City Council on March 16 and voice their concerns. “We need new voices speaking up,” said Cruickshank.
Although among the demonstrators were some members of the coalition—Colette Hall, president of the North Downtown Residents Association, Rich Collins, Daniel Bluestone and Stratton Salidis—one member of City Council stood in the back and listened.
I just want to see what people had to say about this,” Julian Taliaferro told C-VILLE. “As I told people, I originally voted for [the parkway] … however, I am still open to listen to people and they made some really good points today.”
Taliaferro says that there could be a possibility that he may reconsider his initial position. “There is certainly a case to be made for losing park land,” he says.
Just as the winning bidder, Faulconer Construction, started working on the county section of the Meadowcreek Parkway last week, Cruickshank warned that another legal action could be possible.