Charlottesville, Virginia, spent most of a decade revising its zoning code.
It held endless community meetings.
It gave opponents ample opportunity to make their case.
They lost.
But a handful of rich homeowners sued and have gotten the new Charlottesville zoning code overturned on a technicality
https://communityengagement.substack.com/p/june-30-2025-judge-worrell-voids?r=blgf
9 millionaire homeowners, who couldn’t persuade Charlottesville residents and couldn’t win at the ballot box, decided they would throw everything they had to nullify their defeat.
And it worked
sigh
I’m cool with walking, biking, or busses, or whatever. But if you are increasing the size of a city, and there is no easy way to funnel people from their homes to jobs in a timely fashion, your city will experience gridlock. The issue at hand is Charlottesville expanding- meaning a population increase to feed their financial center. So yes, they need to increase the ability to cross it. Be that via bus or car, to the new suburbs and other residential zones.
I do so love my heavy v8 sports car, but I’m not so short sighted to slight the idea of public busses and bicycles - just that if we want them in cities then we need to build for them. Bus curbs and bike trails. My city builds for neither except symbolically, so yes, I notice the issues with traversing it on the individual level, when my personal commute is over 8 miles poorly timed and poorly lined Stroads. Areas with very wide lanes and clear sides but silly low artificial speed limits. Areas with narrower old streets and trees closing in on you, but are 40. Zero consideration for road dressing and all according to zoned speeds. Results in speeding and unsafe neighborhoods.