charlottesville, virginia 2015

The eastern portal. Arriving from Richmond, I -64 and points east, Rolkin road crosses the Bypass at a major crest in the road, where for the first moment, distant views open up of the city and the Blue ridge mountains beyond. This is a prominent threshold. Yet Pantops is bifurcated by this Bypass, residents along the east side, cannot get to businesses to the west without driving and vice versa. At seven lanes wide, crossing route 250 at Rolkin road on foot is suicidal. Conversely at five to eight lanes wide, Rolkin offers no refuge islands and is equally perilous. Residential areas north and east of the intersections are essentially cut off from the shopping center to the west. Vdot traffic studies indicate continued increases in traffic volume. In 2016 along route 250 between route 20 and 64(east), annual average daily traffic was 40,000 vehicles, up from 37,000 in 2015.

The solution is a two lane roundabout with four thru-lanes below. Single lanes enter and exit the roundabout. Using existing right of way, this design does not alter existing sidewalks or roadway grades along side the adjacent properties.For pedestrians, crosswalks are normal widths and include new tree covered refuge islands along Rolkin. Unlike arterial roadways, vehicle speeds at roundabouts are substantially slower, improving pedestrian safety. Critically, unlike an overhead pedestrian bridge,there are no elevators to service, stairs to negotiate, elaborate bridge components to maintain, or land to acquire. Better pedestrian and cycling connectivity that’s at-grade while maintaining traffic flow is a superior solution.