In Virginia, Imagining a Less Disruptive Alternative to a Highway

On the north side of Charlottesville, Virginia, Route 29 is congested. So of course county officials immediately zeroed in on the most expensive, most disruptive course of action: building a $245 million bypass.

In the above video, a local environmental group is proposing a different solution. The Southern Environmental Law Center says the problem could be solved for a lot less than $40 million a mile -- with just a few key interventions.

Sean Tubbs at Network blog Charlottesville Tomorrow has this report:

While local authorities seem to be bent on building the bypass, proposing an alternative -- and proposing it in video -- is a smart and increasingly common strategy. Charleston environmental group the Coastal Conservation League was able to help successfully halt the 8-mile Mark Clark Expressway using a well-designed and accessible alternative plan. In Portland, Spencer Boomhower's animated condemnation of the Columbia River Crossing highway project has been viewed more than 2,000 times. He even followed up with a "common sense alternative."

Elsewhere on the Network today: Bike Portland reports that a local business journal recently published an editorial lauding bicycling's important role in the economy. Systemic Failure boils down the recent New York Times story about a lawsuit threatening Delhi's BRT system: The small percentage of residents who drive feel entitlement to the entire street. And the Wash Cycle shares results from a study of fatal bike crashes over a four-year period in Ontario.