The Times Dispatch featured this letter about the new 2nd St. connector road, echoing concerns brought up by Oregon Hill residents as well as the local Sierra Club:
Connector road should have sidewalks
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
As I biked home recently and saw the Second Street connector road under construction, I pondered the design, which calls for two narrow travel lanes and a sidewalk on only one side of the road. This road will connect Second Street just north of the Lee Bridge to Tredegar Street and descends at an extremely steep grade.
The lack of an uphill bike lane and sidewalks will increase delays for motorists and compromise safety for everyone. This new road is in the middle of the city and immediately adjacent to Belle Isle, the Canal Walk and the James River Park System — some of the most popular places to walk, run and bike in the city. For even more evidence that a sidewalk on both sides of the street is needed, look no further than Tredegar Street itself, which lacks a sidewalk on the north side and has a worn dirt path there instead. Fixing this is one of the recommendations in the new Riverfront Plan. What about the thousands of pedestrians who descend this hill to attend the Folk Festival?
Dominion employees will probably have the most time to ponder the road design as they wait behind bicyclists traveling uphill at 5 mph, a problem that would have been easily avoided by adding a mere 5-foot bike lane. It is always more expensive to retrofit a road than to build new, so please, Richmond, let’s stop being pennywise and pound foolish.
John Bolecek.
Richmond.
Also, Oregon Hill resident Todd Woodson implored for a change of leadership in the 5th District:
Agelasto will bring needed change to 5th District
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
As a resident of Richmond’s 5th District, I am fed up with the lack of focused representation from Marty Jewell. Asked about anything regarding the 5th and he gripes about the mayor, the School Board and other issues not directly relevant to the district’s needs. Meanwhile, sidewalks crumble and other responsibilities go untended.
What an exciting occasion to meet Parker Agelasto, who is also running for that seat on City Council. With an MBA from the Darden School of Business at U.Va. and credentials in teaching leadership to developing communities from U.Va., as well as running a small business, Agelasto has energized a diverse constituent group with his poise and boots-on-the-ground campaign style. He promises to bring insight, intelligence and energy to the table and we sorely need it.
I urge my friends and neighbors in the 5th District to cast their vote for Agelasto so we can turn a page for progress.
C. Todd Woodson.
Richmond.
John, thank you for the letter. Unfortunately, as you can see the decision makers here are corporate scumbags who have no honor….
https://www.oregonhill.net/2012/10/24/somebody-should-be-going-to-jail/
Ultimately, its this corruption which makes our local government seem more like a banana republic than a ‘tier one’ city, I don’t care how many folk festivals they sponsor.
Agree on both counts, except for your accusation of corruption for which you provide no evidence.
The corruption is already evident in that this 2nd Street connector travesty was allowed to proceed despite public opposition. City Council members, when pressed, kept referring to a previous agreement with the landowners, yet they can supply no evidence of this agreement, despite FOIA requests. In short, it stinks to high heaven.
In addition, there are particular questions in regard to the recent destruction of the historic canal wall that just aren’t getting answered.
1). Was Liesfeld Contracting issued a permit to demolish the 28 feet of wall as part of the 2nd Street Connector project? That seems like a very simple, straightforward inquiry.
2). Can we see a copy of Liesfeld’s contract to demolish the wall? The contract should show who hired Liesfeld and the scope of work. It seems like a logical step to request from Liesfeld a copy of the contract that they had for work on the wall.
3). NewMarket demolished a portion of the same wall on their property within 28 feet of city property a year ago in Oct. 2011 without the proper permit, and, according to press reports, was required them to get the permit after they demolished the wall. Was Liesfeld the same contractor that demolished the wall for NewMarket without the required permit in Oct. 2011?
4). Will the Commonwealth Attorney investigate the unlawful demolition of 150 feet of the historic Tredegar wall on city property? Not only was the historic wall demolished but apparently the bricks from the city-owned wall were being placed on pallets, apparently for re-sale.