Dear Friends:
This is a complicated letter but very important. Please take the time to read it all the way through and help save the Heritage Trail.
Many of you have said that the Heritage Trail is the best thing the City has done in years. Now a new development called “Dreamland” is threatening to seriously degrade the Heritage Trail with cars and traffic. This project is centered on Princess Anne Street by the Heritage Trail trailhead, and involves the Dowling Sign property and the parking lot behind the Dowling Building as well as the old BP gas station and Ice House property. It is a huge project involving three condo buildings and commercial development. This project could be great for this area, but it needs some serious changes. I have attached a site plan with some notes to help you orient yourself (above).
There are two areas where this development negatively impacts the Heritage Trail.
First – the project proposes to cross the trail with a private driveway/bridge from Princess Anne Street and cross over and above the Heritage Trail and connect that entrance to a parking lot behind the Dowling Building. The developer has stated that this is the only way for this parking lot to be accessed. I disagree. I believe that the developer could build an entrance off of Caroline Street to this parking lot. The driveway/bridge is not bad looking but there are major concerns. This is a private business attempting to build a private driveway/bridge across our public trail system (parkland). The bridge would only be about 9 feet above the path because the area it connects is very low. It would be 34 feet wide and about double that length. Here below are my concerns:
1. I have talked to many bicyclists and they are opposed to any blocking of line of site along this area. Bicyclists tell me that this grade and the way it winds, makes it challenging enough. With the addition of a bridge, bicyclists fear that they will be unable to see walkers, children or baby strollers in time to be safe.
2. The other concern comes from women who walk the pathways. Any blockage of line of site is a factor that adds to their discomfort. I showed the plans to many women and their first reaction to the driveway/bridge and having to walk under it, was “it’s creepy”. We do not need another area on our paths that makes women feel uncomfortable. We already have that at Jeff Davis Hwy on the canal path. When we designed the trees for the Heritage Trail, we consulted with UMW and they gave us guidelines regarding the placement of trees and selection of tree types to preserve line of site to make sure women felt safe. This bridge negates our efforts and puts a barrier on this path.
3. The driveway/bridge is designed so that you enter it mid block on Princess Anne Street. This driveway is very close to the Heritage Trail where it crosses over Princess Anne. The cars slowing and entering this driveway will create more congestion and confusion at a crossing that is already dangerous to those using the trail and crossing over Princess Anne Street. We do not need more congestion in this area.
The solution is to have the parking lot entrance off Caroline Street instead of off Princess Anne. Putting the parking lot entrance on Caroline Street will work. The developer says the site is too steep. It is not.
Second, there is a proposed huge major impact on the Heritage Trail on Caroline Street near the old grain elevator. The builder proposes to build a condo with 90 units on Princess Anne Street and have the underground parking garage from this condo building exit onto Caroline Street, crossing over the Heritage Trail.
The builder’s study shows that these 90 residential units will yield over 7 trips per day per unit, which would result in over 630 car trips per day across the Heritage Trail. At peak times there could be hundreds of cars crossing the trail onto Caroline Street and endangering bicyclists and pedestrians on the trail.
We need to insist that the City Council not approve this project until these two problems are fixed. No private driveway/bridge over the Heritage Trail and no cars crossing the Heritage Trail to exit from the condo parking lot. I hope you will help me protect the Heritage Trail and speak out and write to our City Council.
To make it easy for you, I have placed all of the email addresses for City Council below:
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
If you agree with me, just copy these emails into an email and tell the City Council:
We do not want a private driveway/bridge over the Heritage Trail and we do not want cars crossing the Heritage Trail to exit from the condo parking lot on to Caroline Street. The developer and Council need to find other solutions or deny this permit.
Be sure to put your name and address on the email.
City Council will be voting on this development in the next month. This development has been touted as a major economic driver for this area, but so is our trail system. There will be a lot of pressure for them to approve this development “as is”. We need to let them know how we feel.
A large group will also need to attend the City Council Meeting to show our support for protecting the trail. Public comments are given in the first part of the meeting from 7:30 to about 8:00 pm. I will send out an email to let you know the date as soon as it is announced. We can all stand as a statement is read by one person so we do not have to spend hours at the meeting.
If you can help pass out flyers, let me know.
We need to protect the Heritage Trail.
Thanks for listening,
Anne Little
Fredericksburg, Va.
[email protected]
Opinion editorials (op-eds) are printed as a public service, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Fredericksburg.Today.
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