University of Virginia Library

Tremain Endorses Master Plan
As Basic Guide For City Roads

By TERRY JASPERSON

The President of the Charlottesville
Chamber of Commerce urged City
Council Friday to continue the present
Master Plan for city road development.

Local president Tryon E. Tremain,
asked that the Master Plan be used as the
basic outline for community development
in Albemarle County. The Virginia
Highway Department's proposal would create a
series of multi-lane thoroughfares through
predominantly residential areas in the city. One
of the proposed streets would destroy three
fraternity houses.

The Master Plan, which was first developed
in 1947, created a long range plan for
development in Albemarle County. According
to Mr. Tremain, the plan was revised in 1958
and again in 1968.

At present there is another proposal for
further revision before City Council. Mr.
Tremain said that this new proposal greatly
reduces the overall planning for the future and
dwells solely on specific short range plans.

Mr. Tremain said that he feels that the
Master Plan should not be revised, but should
be maintained as an outline for future
development.

The revised plan is fine as far as it goes, Mr
Tremain said. He agreed that the fifth
McIntire-Rio Road corridor should have top
priority along with the improvement to Preston
Avenue.

At the same time he suggested that the new
proposal lacks plans for complementing
east-west and north-south corridors. "West
Main Street," he said, "cannot possible be the
only in-town east-west corridor for efficient
movement of traffic."

In 1968 the Highway Department presented
the City Council with a revised Master Plan.
The plan called for one of the thoroughfares to
be built through the fraternity area and would
destroy three fraternity houses.

City Council sent the proposal back to the
Highway Department and asked them to revise
their plan to eliminate the road through the
fraternities. The Highway department refused
to alter their plans.

At present City Council is using the Master
Plan as a guideline. Until Council approves
plans for the construction of these roads, no
work will begin.

Thoroughfares which link with federal roads
are funded by both the federal government and
the city. The federal government finances 85
per cent of the project and the city contributes
15 per cent.

In a meeting with City Council two weeks
ago, concerned citizens voiced their objections
to the proposal. These individuals said that if
the city built the roads that there would be less
private property on which the city could levy
property taxes.

They added that the construction of certain
of these roads would disrupt residential areas
and contribute to their deterioration. Finally,
these roads would cut off residential areas
from other parts of the city.

Mr. Tremain concluded by saying that he
presented no specific ideas for changing the
proposal, but said that he felt that City Council
should keep in mind the future growth of the
city.