About 50 residents and business owners of Ettrick, a town just west of Colonial Heights in southern Chesterfield County, gathered last week to learn about planned improvements to Chesterfield Avenue, the village’s main thoroughfare.
But what they really wanted to talk about was parking.
The meeting, which took place at Ettrick Elementary School, was hosted by the Chesterfield County Revitalization Office to present preliminary ideas for the street improvement plan. The presentation focused primarily on ideas for streetscape improvements. But with Virginia State University planning to double its enrollment by 2020 and the Fort Lee expansion expected to bring more traffic through Ettrick, most of the vocal meeting attendees wondered where everyone is going to park.
“I think we really need to understand how the traffic is going to be managed, whether it’s parking or just going in and out of this area,” said one attendee. “A lot of traffic is going to be added. I think it would be good for us to see a plan.”
The initial design plan did include ideas for improving and delineating parking along Chesterfield Avenue, but it did not involve adding parking spaces or dealing with student parking.
“There are a lot of issues coming up, which is good,” said Tom Jacobson, the county’s revitalization director. “What we want tonight is feedback, specifically on streetscape improvements. I think what I’m hearing is maybe we should continue to work together on other issues.”
The Chesterfield Avenue Enhancement Project was developed by a group of 10 community representatives, business owners, county officials and VSU representatives, along with consultants from Timmons Group, the engineering firm contracted by the county to develop the project. The group met twice prior to last week’s meeting to draft the plan.
The suggested streetscape improvements along the corridor, which runs from the Triple Nickel Bridge to Campbell Bridge, focus on creating a unified design scheme for the area and improving safety and parking. The proposal offered ideas on creating pavement patterns to identify crosswalks, installing uniform furniture, lighting and signage, and regulating parking at intersections.
The county has been awarded $125,000 in community block grant funds, a portion of which is being used on the Timmons Group’s services. While the remaining monies will allow the county to break ground on the project, it is not enough to fund the entire job. With the Virginia Department of Transportation unable to offer financial assistance, the revitalization office is actively seeking additional grants, but it’s anybody’s guess as to how long it may take to come up with adequate funding.
“What we’re going to be planning along Chesterfield Avenue is a long-range plan,” said Jacobson. “Whether it’s implemented in two years, five years or 10 years, there will be a guideline for development once money becomes available.”
VSU has been intimately involved with the design plans, as the school anticipates having a greater presence on Chesterfield Avenue. Its master plan calls for acquisition of all existing residential and commercial property from the existing university boundaries west to Chesterfield Avenue, where it will create a new mixed-use housing and retail complex.
“The university is coming in with this great new concept that pretty much makes a blank slate of the north side of [Chesterfield Avenue]. In my opinion, it’s a huge advantage, because VSU is very open to working with us,” said Lauren Fisher, a Timmons Group consultant who presented the plan at the meeting. “Everyone is working together to make a place that everyone feels comfortable using – not just students or not just local residents, but a place that’s welcoming to everyone.”
The CAEP planning group will reunite to discuss issues brought up at the meeting and incorporate ideas from community members into the plan. The final plan will be presented to the Ettrick community in January.
Katherine Houstoun writes for the Chesterfield Observer, which is an RBS news partner.
