Help Me Be Car Free | NIMBY Nonsense
Also: Library Pick Ups
Hey there, we are ALMOST settled into our apartment in Southside Richmond! This week I want to discuss some of the obstacles I’m trying to overcome in order to go car-free. I’d also like to take this issue to create some sections to look forward to each week!
Team Car Free?: Part One
Getting rid of my car was my first goal moving back home but working in suburbia has made this goal pretty complicated to reach so far.
I work in The Arboretum, one of Chesterfield’s premiere prom photo locations that moonlights as an office park. I absolutely love everything about my job. However, there are no sidewalks or bus stops on this side of Chesterfield County. You are simply welcomed by 6 to 9 lanes of traffic going 45+ mph.
I typically spend 8 stationary hours at work. I am in marketing so I do have the occasional in-person meeting but most are done over Zoom. I also can work remote a few times a week but collaboration is key to success in my field. My goal is to find a bike commute safe enough for an old rededicated cyclist along Jahnke Rd. Wish me luck or shoot me some advice.
I’ll keep you all posted on my progress.
New City, New Library Card
My wife and I decided to get matching library cards over the weekend, maybe now I can read her mind. :)
The library is such an amazing free resource for the community and I am one who absolutely advocates taking advantage of it. We got Baby Greene some new books and I picked up some great finds myself!
I can’t wait to share some streetcar stories but my favorite pic so far is a shot of both our old streetcar and train traveling in the same shot!
Richmond Renegade: Rant #1
New residents of the city may not remember our old hockey team but I want to play off the team’s name for this section of the newsletter. I’ll use this corner to discuss my general thoughts on controversial development from around the city.
There’s been a lot to say about the new proposed amphitheater coming to our riverfront. I biked past this land a month ago and thought we could really use more community activations along the James. Restaurants, hotels (Can you believe we currently don’t have a riverfront hotel?), nightlife or event space was a few of the first things to come to mind.
I’m really excited to see such a large outdoor venue downtown that could attract national acts.
While parking is a huge concern here, I think we could turn E. 7th into a two way street from E. Broad and begin an hourly shuttle. This would allow access to the forgotten Kanawah Plaza, Brown’s Island, & Potterfield Bridge. This could eventually be extended for a connection all the way to the redevelopment happening near the Coliseum site. With the Convention Center and several hotels just steps away, this move could help give visitors and residents alike easy roundtrip access to the riverfront from City Center.
Thoughts?
NIMBY Nonsense
I’ve seen “NIMBY” thrown around a lot lately as more cities turn to their comp plans to eradicate exclusionary single family zoning. While I believe there are plenty of people who are against more housing in their backyards for the wrong reasons, I also believe there are communities who simply don’t want to be displaced.
If we are infilling empty lots in dense communities inside the city core that is perfectly fine. However, if we are building “more housing” in black and minority-rich communities, they should have first dibs on the new housing at a below market rate. They should have a say on whether a new “luxury apartment” complex becomes their new neighbor.
The reality stands that developers just aren’t putting up market rate apartments for the benefit of the community but rather the tax breaks. Cities need to be careful as simply getting rid of exclusionary single family zoning isn’t enough. City councils will need to follow through and apply pressure upon developers to build within the needs of the community and not their bottom line.
Having more housing will certainly help keep rates competitive but this needs to be in addition to market rate housing. I have so many thoughts on this topic. What will a city do to prevent a private builder from building an 8-plex of one bedroom apartments at $2500 per unit?
I say this all to say, let’s quit being lazy and do our due diligence on why someone may not want a project. What defines a NIMBY to you? Email me at info.greenethumbz@gmail.com.
Sign Off
I’ve gotten so much love for the newsletter. We are up to 20 subscribers already and I hope to see it continue. I’ve enjoyed documenting some of my adventures and create a community who is looking to create positivity and action around urbanism. I know this week’s newsletter was hyperlocal to Richmond but I promise to be more broad in future issues.
See ya next Tuesday and remember, CUT LOOSE.