The Cape Charles Town Council voted unanimously to approve action items that will allow the Town Manager move forward with a grant application that will help construct a bike trail from town limits, up Stone Road and across Route 13 to Food Lion, where it will eventually connect with Phase IV of Southern Tip Bike & Hike Trail. Council approved:
1. Motion to authorize Cape Charles Town Manager to formally request the A-NPDC to prepare and submit an application for VDOT HSIP funding through the Bike and Pedestrian Safety Program.
2. Motion to authorize Cape Charles Town Manager to sign and enter into a MOA between the town of Cape Charles, Canonie Atlantic Co., and the Northampton County Board of Supervisors.
3. Motion to appoint at least one member to a Bike Trail working group during the application and implementation phases of the trail.
4. Motion to authorize Cape Charles Manager to sign a Letter of Support for the application and subsequent implementation of Phase IV of the Southern Tip Bike & Hike Trail.
In September, Town Council met with Curtis Smith, Director of Planning for the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission (A-NPDC), who addressed the grant opportunity for a multi-use pedestrian trail along the Stone Road corridor.
VDOT’s Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) Bike and Pedestrian Safety Program awards up to $5M for projects involving locations with high crash risk.
There is no local match required.
The grant may cover phases including preliminary engineering, final engineering, environmental review, and construction of Phase IV of the Southern Tip Bike A& Hike Trail.
Phase 4 of the bike trail would run from Parsons Circle, along Stone Road, to Route 642, to the Cape Charles Harbor with the goal to make it safe for pedestrians and also complimenting other existing plans such as the regional bike trail.
The Memorandum of Agreement for Application for Funding, Ownership and Maintenance of Phase IV of the Southern Tip Hike & Bike Trail (MOA) would be between the town of Cape Charles, Canonie Atlantic Co., and the Northampton County Board of Supervisors. The purpose of the MOA is to set forth the terms and conditions, scope of work, and responsibilities of the parties associated with the collaboration on the application for the VDOT HSIP funding and subsequent implementation of preliminary engineering, final engineering, environmental review, and construction of Phase IV of the Southern Tip Hike & Bike Trail.
The responsibilities of the town are agreement to submit an application for the VDOT HSIP funding through the A-NPDC, an agreement to reimburse the A-NPDC for employee time, plus fringe benefits, required to completion of the application for VDOT HSIP funding, in an amount agreed upon in advance of submission of the application, an agreement to own and maintain the trail for the duration of its lifespan, including provisions for employee time and requisite funding to maintain the integrity of the trail’s paved route, shoulders, road crossings, and railroad crossings and buffers, as long as the town remains owner of the trail, as well as an agreement to, through the use of VSOT HSIP funding, reimburse Canonie.
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This project, if completed, will be a great boon for the town. I could save a lot of gas and wear and tear on my car if I could ride safely to Food Lion. Many others could too.
Town’s sewer system.
Potholes.
Bathrooms.
Parking lot.
These are just some of the things that could be done that would benefit the entire TOWN, instead of the .00002% of the population that bikes.
But hey, priorities.
I think the bike trial sounds like a good plan. I would be curious how they plan to negotiate route 13 crossing. As far as money most of not all of these projects are covered with grants. I haven’t researched this particular proposal.
As is always the case, the law will require bikes to follow the law.
And as is always the case, bicyclists will ignore the law and cross at their leisure. I’m not the first to note the absolute lack of attention to the law vis-à-vis bicyclists.
There is no such thing as a free lunch. The money comes from taxpayers. All of them. Seeing as how money can only be spent ONCE, wouldn’t it be a far better ROI to use it for any of the issues that truly affect the WHOLE town, as opposed to an infinitesimal population of bicyclists?
There you are on your bike heading into town, only to pass through the fetid stench of the Town’s sewers backing up?