Interchange worries some city residents

The construction of an interchange at the U.S. 250 Bypass and McIntire Road in Charlottesville has alarmed several Hillcrest Road residents and nearby neighbors, who say the blocking of the residential street will hinder emergency access and aggravate traffic on an already clogged road.

The bypass’ current design — a diamond-shaped, above-grade interchange — would prohibit exiting off Hillcrest Road, making it so cars could only exit the neighborhood through Birdwood Road. At 5.9 acres, the interchange will serve as the terminus for the 2-mile Meadowcreek Parkway, the controversial thoroughfare whose plans had languished for roughly four decades.

The City Council signed off on the design concept in August and construction is set to begin in spring 2010. Construction of the parkway, which will connect to East Rio Road, is set to begin this fall.

Che Stratos, who lives on Hillcrest Road, said traffic is already present during the school year because of children being dropped off at the Covenant School on Birdwood Road while the city’s public school buses maneuver the small residential streets. City officials held a meeting for concerned North Downtown residents Tuesday night at the Covenant School.

“It’s a bit tumultuous, to say the least,” Stratos said in an interview. Referring to the neighborhood, she added, “It’s kind of a battle to get in and out.”

Owen Peery, the lead consultant on the interchange, said the speed limit on the interchange will not be adjusted from the current 35 mph on the bypass, though the interchange will be designed as a 40 mph road.

But limiting exits to one street, coupled with speeding drivers on the interchange, will make it even more difficult for people to get out of the small city neighborhood, residents say. Several said that even if the interchange’s speed limit remains 35 mph, the removal of McIntire Road’s stoplight will encourage drivers to speed up.

“For people who bought property here, they want to not add 20 minutes to their commute time,” said Janice Cartwright, who lives on Birdwood Court and usually uses Hillcrest Road to go east on the bypass. “We’re still bottlenecked, and that’s not good.”

Donna Apel agreed, saying a traffic light at Birdwood would help solve the problem.

“They can hardly get out now with the traffic,” said Apel, who lives on the intersecting Edgehill Road. But Peery said adding a stoplight at Birdwood Road is counterintuitive to having a contiguous, flowing interchange.

Angela Tucker, Charlottesville’s development services manager and the interchange’s project manager, said actual design of the interchange is just beginning, and traffic volume has been studied along with the number of residents and Covenant students.

“It’s not too late in the project development to be addressing this issue,” Tucker said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Some neighbors say the city was not as forthcoming as they would have liked about Hillcrest’s closing, and that the development only surfaced in March — months after a public hearing was held.

“The neighborhood essentially didn’t find out about it until earlier this year,” said Ted Jones, a North Downtown resident.

Tucker said the neighborhood had not been directly notified of the road’s possible closure.

But displays at the November public hearing noted that Hillcrest Road would be closed if the diamond-shaped concept was selected. Additionally, a memo addressed to the Charlottesville City Council and Planning Commission in June 2007 said two design alternatives for the interchange — the same concepts that were recommended by the interchange’s steering committee to councilors — would close off Hillcrest Road from the bypass.

City Councilor Satyendra Huja said councilors were aware of the possible closing, but discussion about the street was limited. Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris, City Councilor Julian Taliaferro and Huja were at Tuesday’s meeting.

“We didn’t talk much about that part,” Huja said in an interview.

Tucker said a public hearing will also be held in the spring about the interchange’s design.