George,

here are some thoughts on the meadowcreekparkway. actually more on mcintire park.

I have known about plans for the Meadowcreek Parkway for some time and have had concerns about its effects on the environment of Meadowcreek and on local traffic. With students of the Living Education Center I participated in a art installation that examined the effect the road would have on the landscape. We laid tires along the boundaries of the road to get some general sense of how much space the road would require and where the road would fall. I remember being struck by the beauty and wildness of the meadowcreek and wondered how a road built across it would affect this sliver of untouched land.

More recently I visited McIntire park in mid-October to catch up on some school reading. It was a sunny and warm Sunday and I rode my bike to the park. I had to go down part of the 250 bypass which was noisly, frightening, and smelly. I managed to survive by biking on the sidewalk (slightly illegal). Then I turned onto the still green parkland and coasted down a hill. All of a sudden I was surrounded by trees.

I rode along a trail that followed where the MP may be built. I was struck by the size of the trees in the park and by the magnificent open land. I turned around and could barely hear 250 traffic. I reached the top of the hill and stopped. All I could see all around me was the tops of trees. If it weren't for the church steeple slightly visible through the tree limbs and the highly manicured golf lawn, I could've been in the middle of nowhere.
I stayed there for several hours reading in the fading sun then biked home.

The Meadowcreek Parkway would do irreparable damage (no matter HOW its built) to the landscape and would destroy trees, some of which are probably older than Charlottesville. Such shortsighted development would shortchange Cville and Albemarle residents of the opportunity to enjoy the park as I did last October.

McIntire park can NOT exist as it does now or as it will in the future with the Meadowcreek Parkway. Now it is not accessible and many do not even know of its existence because of the wall that is the 250 bypass. The meadowcreek parkway would destroy a valuable resource to our community that many do not even know exists.

Lets protect it for future generations.

Thanks George!

alex davis (electronic mail, December 3, 2003)