A Bayfront Community that is pedestrian & bicycle friendly, architecturally interesting, landscaped with significant native plants and is an engaging, involved community worthy of its unique & historically significant location on the Chesapeake Bay and Lynnhaven Inlet.
Pedestrian & Bicycle Friendly
Safety of its residents and visitors would be the highest priority. Taming the perceived speedway that is a major influence both positive and negative on the entire Bayfront needs to be addressed immediately.
Life, including quality of life, would replace the short sighted, ill conceived historical notion that moving vehicles faster at virtually all costs is part of creating an engaging, safe, tax payer friendly environment.
Demographically speaking, it is ignorant not to understand, and plan for the more mobile, aging population that will complicate driving issues for decades to come.
Having a more pedestrian & bicycle friendly Shore Drive would also show the hundreds of thousands of visitors, and potential home owners, who travel down the Eastern Shore annually for vacation at the Ocean Front a more people friendly destination.
Vacationers reaching this side of the Bay Bridge Tunnel, after driving such a distance, would have a more positive all around experience with their trip to Virginia Beach/The Ocean Front if it “started” at a more people friendly Shore Drive. This would in turn, sell the Bayfront area more positively to possible future home owners. Many more obvious benefits would accrue as well.
Transporting people and not moving vehicles more efficiently is a more sustainable goal. This needs to be understood considering the enormous downside of not addressing this today, coupled with budget constraints, and dangers of an aging, older, & more prevalent driver – moving people and not vehicles must be the goal.
Thanks to the current density, and realistic probability that density will indeed increase, localized, unique, friendly & desirable transportation besides cars would also become ‘cool’.
Architecturally Interesting
Subjective & objective guidelines would be enforced using both a carrot and stick approach.
Stick – City ordinances would exist and be enforced creating a style of architecture worthy of being allowed to be built in such a unique, high profile, desirable area as the Bayfront currently is.
Carrot – market pressures, education & incentives that would inspire more architecturally interesting construction and renovation of existing properties.
Subjective - you know attractive architecture when you see it. You also know obviously unattractive architecture as well. Finding the broad spectrum of attractive will be challenging and can be accomplished. Think Santa Fe, Martha’s Vineyard, Charlestown, Ocean View East & other architecturally interesting areas you’ve seen.
Objective – guidelines set up to give property owners and developers inspired ideas would be perused aggressively. Short term short cuts for short term profits under the guise of private property rights would not be tolerated.
Landscaping with Significant Native Plants
Since the Live Oak was made the Official Tree of the City, a more positive corner has been turned.
More education, intelligent construction guidelines, incentives and enforcement of saving significant native plants would be the rule and not the exception. Again, short term short cuts for short term profits under the guise of private property rights would not be tolerated. On the other hand, some sort of fair financial incentives would inspire property owners to save, maintain and plant significant native plants.
Tangible benefits to all who travel & live in the Bayfront area would be significant, especially considering the unique and historical beauty of the existing native plants.
The significant investment required to move older oak trees, and others, would be seriously contemplated. Moving said trees using best practices already in use in other areas such as South Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, etc would be the norm instead of the destruction of said trees.
Engaging, Involved Community
The Bayfront area would have large public spaces for planned and unplanned gatherings that are located in areas safe for people to travel to whether it’s by foot, bicycle, car or other transportation like a Segway.
They would be areas that would inspire creative thinking and interaction similar to the finest college campuses and would encourage the free exchange of ideas, and other social activities.
They would be designed on a pedestrian friendly scale, not on a ‘vehicle themed’ sprawling parking lot scale.
Open space would also be aggressively pursued to offer residents & visitors to the area engaging locations outside housing and business developments that acknowledge the significant shortage of open space in the Bayfront area especially considering the increasing population density that will be multiplying over time. Think smaller footprint and taller rather than shorter and larger footprint. [Not taller and larger!]
Bottom Line
My Bayfront Vision, is a Bayfront area that will offer the best of all things for its residents & visitors.
A Shore Drive scaled to a human being and not to a vehicle.
Open spaces that can be enjoyed by all.
Landscaping relevant, & unique to the area that is not only revered but respected.
Architecture that is well conceived, constructed and attractive that is worthy of such an area as the Bayfront.
Pedestrian & bicycle friendly and safe for all.
More of my vision includes a free, wireless internet available to the entire area, desirable transportation to areas such as the Ocean Front, Hilltop and Town Center, bike paths, eatery’s and other business establishments that are Bayfront friendly, no plastic litter anywhere, a Chesapeake Bay and Lynnhaven that produces shell fish, & fish that are safe to eat and prevalent, and finally responsive city leaders that are engaged in a more thoughtful, democratic, & forward thinking manner that would help achieve a better Bayfront.
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