County officials and consultants hosted a public meeting in Crozet on December 4 to engage with the public regarding potential routes for a proposed Three Notched Trail Shared-Use Path running from Charlottesville to the Blue Ridge Tunnel. Held in the Western Albemarle High School cafeteria and attended by a throng of over 150 enthused citizens, the meeting aimed to let citizens hear more about the plan and express their preferences for the track of the 24-mile pedestrian/bike path.
Chris DeWitt, project manager for the Three Notched Trail (3NT) consulting team, talked about the history and concept of the project. “We’ve been working on this for a decade, and in 2021 we got a petition signed and in 2022 we received funds for a study of how to build this trail,” said DeWitt. “This is really a shared-use path, so it’s for walkers, bikers, joggers, roller bladers. It will be physically separated from vehicular traffic—usually 10 feet wide and asphalt or crushed stone. Where this kind of project happens [in other localities], it provides distinct benefits for the community—outdoor recreation opportunities, commuting and connecting, economic development.”
DeWitt emphasized that his team is conducting a Master Plan study, part of an overall planning process expected to take 24 months, and are not in the phase of doing property easement acquisition or construction yet. “We’re really trying to determine what is the preferred route,” he said. “We’ll use your input and other technical analysis and screening criteria to try to narrow those options down to one preferred route for that 24-mile corridor. It’s very unlikely this will be built in one fell swoop, so we want to look at options for phasing construction.” The meeting’s planners specifically invited landowners of parcels along the various routes who might be affected by the path to the meeting to share their views.
Graphic displays along the perimeter of the room divided the trail into six zones (Ivy, Crozet, Greenwood, etc.). Each zone showed three or four possible routes through the area, with technical aspects of each—such as elevation changes or required bridges—noted on the display and a separate board for attendees to submit comments on stickies. Comments from attendees included observations about conditions such as heavy traffic and steep slopes, concerns about wildlife disturbances, and suggestions for trail connections to schools and parks. Amanda Poncy of local engineering consultant EPR described the public engagement so far, including an “active mobility summit” in March and a public open house in May, plus almost 700 responses to their online survey asking people, “what do you envision this trail to be?” “With all of that feedback we’ve developed these route options, and we’ve heard that safety and separation from traffic was the number one theme and priority,” she said. “People do not want to have to cross roadways, they want to have a fully-protected, car-free route.
“The community envisions the trail both as a recreation amenity and a transportation link connecting neighborhoods, schools, and businesses and making sure that those are accessible to people of all ages and abilities,” she continued. “We tried to provide options that highlight Albemarle’s natural scenic beauty, as well as tree cover, water access, and an environmentally friendly pathway. People see this as being a game changer not only for the county’s quality of life, but also for tourism and economic development, similar to the Virginia Capital Trail [in Richmond].”…