Today my mission is to use Charlottesville Area Transit to get to a meeting on Pantops. My enthusiasm for transit remains tempered after the issues I documented last Saturday.
Still, I shall venture forth!
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The 4 isn’t practical today because I need to stop by a credit union branch. So I am walking to West Main. Perhaps the best way for me to use transit is to condition myself to always walk to West Main.
I make a slight error. The 6 showed up first and so I got on it, complexly forgetting it will now head to the Food Lion at Willoughby.
It will be a half hour before I get downtown. My error and now I will do some work on the bus.
A resident of Beacon on 5th gets off the bus. This land was rezoned in 2004 I believe and originally had the name Johnson Village Phase 3.
The time stop at Food Lion was not as long as I thought it would be. My estimate was wrong. I am glad to have taken this route because it is like a land use field trip! On Ridge Street after Brookwood, I briefly spot the land disturbed for a new subdivision I wrote about exactly one year ago today.
On Market Street, I notice from the bus I notice that another CAT vehicle has been stopped at a place that isn’t a stop, just outside the market. I manage to get the camera to take a photo of police questioning the driver. I decide not to post the photograph.
I make it to the downtown station and there are 7 minutes left until the 10 shows up. Do I have time to run and get a coffee? I opt not to take a risk. I really want to make this meeting.
It was a good choice to not go for coffee. The 10 was waiting at the station. I get on and wait patiently. I pull up the route on my phone to make sure I know where I am going.
The 10 is off and this is the second time in less than ten minutes that I am on a bus on East Market Street. Will the police still be talking to the CAT bus driver? Will I figure out what was going on there?
Now traveling through Pantops Shopping Center. The Chinese restaurant has closed and a new Salvadoran Restaurant is coming in its place. The Lazy Parrot is long gone. There is another stop at the Food Lion where a man in a wheelchair is assisted off the bus.
I arrived at Sentara hospital just over an hour after leaving my house. An eye opening journey. Now off to learn more about the Pantops Master Plan.
Still, I shall venture forth!
*
The 4 isn’t practical today because I need to stop by a credit union branch. So I am walking to West Main. Perhaps the best way for me to use transit is to condition myself to always walk to West Main.
I make a slight error. The 6 showed up first and so I got on it, complexly forgetting it will now head to the Food Lion at Willoughby.
It will be a half hour before I get downtown. My error and now I will do some work on the bus.
A resident of Beacon on 5th gets off the bus. This land was rezoned in 2004 I believe and originally had the name Johnson Village Phase 3.
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| Beacon on 5th is a relatively new development in Charlottesville, contributing to a series of changes on 5th Street in the 2010's. |
On Market Street, I notice from the bus I notice that another CAT vehicle has been stopped at a place that isn’t a stop, just outside the market. I manage to get the camera to take a photo of police questioning the driver. I decide not to post the photograph.
I make it to the downtown station and there are 7 minutes left until the 10 shows up. Do I have time to run and get a coffee? I opt not to take a risk. I really want to make this meeting.
It was a good choice to not go for coffee. The 10 was waiting at the station. I get on and wait patiently. I pull up the route on my phone to make sure I know where I am going.
The 10 is off and this is the second time in less than ten minutes that I am on a bus on East Market Street. Will the police still be talking to the CAT bus driver? Will I figure out what was going on there?
Now traveling through Pantops Shopping Center. The Chinese restaurant has closed and a new Salvadoran Restaurant is coming in its place. The Lazy Parrot is long gone. There is another stop at the Food Lion where a man in a wheelchair is assisted off the bus.
I arrived at Sentara hospital just over an hour after leaving my house. An eye opening journey. Now off to learn more about the Pantops Master Plan.
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| The bus stop is several hundred feet away from the hospital's entrance |
I had the opportunity to ask several questions about the Pantops Master Plan of Albemarle staff. I have several minutes to sit outside while I wait for the return bus. Now I wait patiently.
The actual arrival time was 5 minutes. This is a time point so I am on the bus and out of the sun. This route is a strange one as I know @RoryStolzenberg can attest to.
There are no stops directly on Route 250 as the traffic volume is likely too much to handle it. There are a lot of car dealerships here. I don’t really notice them when driving.
There is new development on Stony Point Road. Ground floor retail and residential on top.
There are no stops directly on Route 250 as the traffic volume is likely too much to handle it. There are a lot of car dealerships here. I don’t really notice them when driving.
There is new development on Stony Point Road. Ground floor retail and residential on top.
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| Under construction in 2019 from Stony Point Design Build |
We are almost back at the station. Transit worked for me today, but I can suggest many ways this route could be better, but I will do more research before offering them in a public manner. Thanks for reading!
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