66 - Piedmont Environmental Council

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14 PEC SUCCESSFULLY ADVOCATED FOR THE ROUTE 50 TRAFFIC CALMING PROJECT, INCLUDING THIS ROUNDABOUT AT GILBERTS CORNER—WHICH IS NOW IMPROVING SAFETY AND TRAFFIC FLOW AND SAVING TAXPAYERS THE EXPENSE OF A MAJOR ROAD-WIDENING. Photo by Katherine Vance. sensible transportation FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY • LESS SPRAWL • MORE OPTIONS
¬« 7 VIRGINIA Leesburg £¤15 Gainesville ¬«28 Catlett 0 §¨¦ 66 Miles 5 £¤ 29 MARYLAND ¬«28 Dulles £¤50 Manassas Quantico 10 Fairfax Woodbridge VIRGINIA §¨¦ 95 §¨¦ 66 §¨¦ 270 Zombie attack ¬« 7 UV267 UV 7100 Washington DC MARYLAND §¨¦ Plans for an Outer Beltway around D.C. have come back so many times that it’s called the “zombie” beltway. In 2011, the Commonwealth Transportation Board resurrected this long-cherished dream road for developers by declaring this route to be a statewide transportation priority—with no public input or expert review, and over the objections of impacted localities, including Loudoun and Clarke. This vast new ring road around Northern Virginia would cost taxpayers billions of dollars, fail to address Northern Virginia’s real traffic problems, and push sprawl dramatically further out into Virginia’s countryside, so stopping it—again—is a priority for PEC. §¨¦ 495 £¤ 1 §¨¦ 495 Built or Partially-Built Segments Proposed Segments Publicly Owned Lands The right bridge for a Scenic Byway When a family in Madison learned about VDOT’s high-impact plans for a bridge on Rt. 231 near their farm—doubling its width while also straightening and widening the road, removing trees and blasting a rock outcropping—they got in touch with PEC. We agreed that these plans were more suited to a fast-paced highway than this rural Scenic Byway. The project would cost more than necessary, take away from the scenery, and encourage drivers to go at dangerous speeds. We launched a grassroots advocacy campaign that succeeded in changing VDOT’s plan, so the new bridge will be a better fit for its surroundings. THIS BRIDGE, ON RT. 231 IN MADISON, DOESN’T NEED TO BE TWICE AS BIG. Photo by Beth Burnam. ` PEC has been leading efforts to stop the Charlottesville Western Bypass since plans for this exorbitantly expensive, ineffective road project were suddenly reintroduced. The bypass competes for funding with smart-growth alternatives that would address the real source of congestion on Route 29— local traffic—by improving the local street grid. sensible transportation Proposed Bypass Rivanna Reservoir £¤ 250 ! ! ! ! GREENE COUNTY ALBEMARLE COUNTY Hollymead ! ! ! ! ! !! Charlottesville ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ALBEMARLE GROWTH AREA ! Ruckersville GREENE GROWTH ! AREA Proposed Stoplight ! ! ! ! ! ! £¤ 29 £¤ 33 ! ¬«20 ! 0 1 2 Miles Rt 29 Stoplights MEGAN LIDDLE GUDE, A CITIZEN WHO SUPPORTS THE PLACES29 PLAN RATHER THAN THE CHARLOTTESVILLE WESTERN BYPASS, SAYS “PLACE MATTERS, AND ADAPTING ANY IDEA TO THE PLACE IS VERY IMPORTANT.” Photo by Katherine Vance. ` PEC sponsored much-needed investigative journalism by the online political magazine Bacon’s Rebellion, including an exposé of the questionable politics behind the revival of the Charlottesville Western Bypass. ` PEC led an online advocacy campaign on statewide transportation priorities that resulted in over 500 messages to the Governor, asking him to direct the state’s limited transportation funds to existing cities, towns and neighborhoods instead of new roads that lead to sprawl. Piedmont Environmental Council · Annual Report · 2011 ! ! 15
Page 1 and 2: Piedmont Environmental Council 2011
Page 3 and 4: Founded in 1972 “What we try to d
Page 5 and 6: estricted. Whether children or adul
Page 7 and 8: Easements Recorded in 2011 Rivers /
Page 9 and 10: PEC as a Land Trust PEC is expandin
Page 11 and 12: Building fences for cleaner streams
Page 13 and 14: HISTORICAL DRAWING OF THE BATTLE OF
Page 15: Reasonable growth in Fauquier In sp
Page 19 and 20: Transmission line victory—and a p
Page 21 and 22: Protected and prosperous If we want
Page 23 and 24: Habitat how-to PEC led a tour of ha
Page 25 and 26: SIERRA CARTER HELPED CREATE THIS TR
Page 27 and 28: Contributions With much gratitude,
Page 29 and 30: “It was the students who wanted t
Page 31 and 32: Carol and Landon Butler Kristen and
Page 33 and 34: “You look at the three biggest ec
Page 35 and 36: Statements of Financial Condition F

66 - Piedmont Environmental Council

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