Light Industrial Park Proposed for Yancey Mills - Crozet Gazette

Crozet gazette AUGUST 2008 s page 7
contributed significantly to the wealth and welfare
of their county and state. Post-World War II
industrialization and improved transportation
enticed many to depart from the agricultural
labors of their ancestors and take on clock-punching
jobs in town. They exchanged the familiar
rhythms of the seasons for the relentless hustle of
industrialized society. Some thrived. Some just
survived. But the social fabric of another agriculturally-based
county was forever altered.
Heaven help us in this day when land assessments
and taxes have precluded the opportunities
of the up-and-coming generation of would-be
farmers. Existing and potential land use restrictions
are squeezing out the remaining full-time
agriculturists. Farmers continually strive to maintain
their land in a productive state. To the recreational
passer-by, the bucolic vistas they enjoy
demand to be “preserved,” forcing the overworked
land stewards of today to carve out even more
time to attend public hearings in order to point
out emphatically that these lands are farms, not
parks!
Did you ever want to be a farmer? Or do you
at least hold on to the hope that productive farmlands,
with their aesthetic diversity and beneficial
assets, will continue to grace our local region?
Well, you’d better study-up on the potential
impacts of local zoning and conservation restrictions
affecting the farmers and their farmlands. If
we don’t take better care of the farmers around us
right now, we’d better start learning the best way
to prepare and serve houses. They could be the
last crop harvested on these once highly-prized
and fertile, but rapidly disappearing, farmlands.
Phil James invites contact from those who
would share recollections and old photographs
of life along the Blue Ridge
Mountains of Albemarle County, Virginia.
You may respond to him at: P.O. Box 88,
White Hall, VA 22987 or philjames@firstva.
com. Secrets of the Blue Ridge © 2008 Phil
James
Jaunt Tests
Demand for
Expanded Service
to Crozet
With punishing gas prices dramatically raising
the cost of the commute to Charlottesville,
Crozet residents have been wondering if public
transportation options could be expanded.
“We just need the money,” said JAUNT director
Donna Shaunesey, when asked if expansion
of their current morning and evening route to
Charlottesville was possible. “Show me the
money and we’ll be there. It’s really expensive.”
JAUNT is a publicly-funded regional transportation
service that operates 64 vans on routes
through Albemarle, Amherst, Buckingham,
Greene, Louisa, Nelson, Orange and Fluvanna
Counties, and it is mainly centered on providing
access to Charlottesville. Its vans hold from 14 to
18 passengers. It has a $5.3 million dollar budget
provided largely by the local governments. Only
$500,000 of its costs is recovered in fare revenues,
Shaunesey said. “We’d be nowhere without government
money. The fare revenue doesn’t amount
to a lot.”
JAUNT ran a three-times-a-day weekday service
between its pick-up spot in the Mountainside
Senior Living parking lot off Carter Street and
U.Va. and the downtown bus center for two
years, abandoning it in 2005. “It was a pretty
good service,” Shaunesey said. “We even made it
free. But we averaged only two riders a day.” She
said it would cost JAUNT about $25,000 a year
to provide twice-a-day runs from Crozet to
Charlottesville with a $1 fare charged each way.
It currently picks up riders in Crozet and delivers
them to locations in Charlottesville, returning
them in the evening for $3 each way in what
amounts to a virtual taxi service that means an
unpredictable travel schedule and potentially
long rides for some passengers. The service would
not work for commuters wanting to get to work
and back home at specific times and with reasonably
direct ride times.
“Our ridership has not gone up with the gas
prices,” Shaunesey noted. “Ride Share is getting
more requests but it hasn’t played out with us
yet.
“A more efficient way [to address the commuting
issue] would be van pools, especially for people
going to U.Va.” State Farm runs a successful
van pool to its offices on Pantops, she said.
Because the Albemarle Supervisors would
have to subsidize expanded service, White Hall
District Supervisor Ann Mallek has been soliciting
interest in the idea and so far has had four
responses, said Shaunesey, who has received forwarded
messages. Each of the four has different
time-of-day needs, she noted. Mallek is collecting
data through August.
“Even if the response is high we would have
concerns,” Shaunesey said. JAUNT responded to
a similar need expressed by residents of Esmont,
she explained, and even though many people said
they would use the vans, after the service was
instituted, few actually did.
“The Esmont experience was that people don’t
follow through,” she said.“Our goal is to make
sure everybody is getting where they need to go.
Personally, I would like to see people drive their
cars less. What we need to know [from Crozetians]
is specific information about hours of the day
they need to travel,” Shaunesey said.
www.ridejaunt.org
Rural Demand-Response
For transportation outside the scheduled routes,
JAUNT provides service with fares ranging from
$2.60 to $12.50, depending on the distance and
whether the passenger has a disability or is a senior.
Rural Services within the County
Anyone can ride JAUNT services within Albemarle
County. Service is offered Wednesday to Crozet and
Tuesday and Thursday to Scottsville and Esmont.
The fare is $2.00 each way and $1.00 for passengers
with disabilities and those 60 years and older.
Same friendly, personal service.
Same gentle, friendly dental care.
Your comfort is our #1 concern.
Jim Rice DDS • Jennifer Rice DDS
Sherman Smock DDS (Specialist in Periodontics)
Sedation Denistry • Complete, Modern Denistry for Adults, Teens and Children
Dental Cleanings, all types • White Fillings • Caps (Crowns), Bridges, Veneers
Root Canals • Implants • 1 Hour Bleaching
We’ve moved
the Crozet office!
Please visit us in our beautiful new
facility located in Shoppes at Clover
Lawn (above UVA Credit Union)
Conveniently located on Route 250
across from Blue Ridge Builders
Supply.
434.823.2290
crozet
325 Four Leaf Lane, Suite 10
Nellysford
2905 Rockfish Valley Hwy
434.361.2442