Hanover County teenagers are not that clueless
The members of the Pamunkey Regional Library (Hanover County has the most members) have gone to great lengths to assure that books with explicit sexual content are shelved in the adult section, rather than the “teen section.”
A recent phone call to the library confirmed that any teenager with a library card could check out books from any section of the library.
Striking a Nerve
Bacon’s Rebellion has run two articles (here and here) this year disclosing how some agencies, despite not spending all their capital maintenance reserve (MR) appropriations for many years and thereby building up large balances, continue to receive MR appropriations, which only add to their unspent balance. In the capital budget development instructions for the next budget cycle recently sent to agencies by the Dept. of Planning and Budget, the following admonition was included:
There will be an exercise this fall to better understand how well agencies are able to fully utilize their maintenance reserve funding. Although specifics on this exercise will be forthcoming, the amount of uncommitted maintenance reserve funding at an agency will be taken into account for agencies requesting additional capital funding for large maintenance-type projects.
This is the first time that this language, or anything similar to it, has appeared in the capital budget instructions and it could be viewed as a shot across the bow of agencies. However, if carried out as indicated, this exercise will be a waste of time. It seems that agencies will be asked to identify uncommitted MR funding. The capital project staff of any agency worth its salt could show that every dime of its MR balance is committed. For example, there is no doubt that the Dept. of Corrections can show its balance of more than $100 million “committed” to legitimate projects. Left unsaid will be the fact that it would likely take the agency 10 years to spend that amount of money on maintenance reserve projects.
Raping a park
The city of Richmond never ceases to amaze.
First, some background. A 43-mile regional trail, the Fall Line, stretching from the town of Ashland to the city of Colonial Heights has been approved. One segment will go through Bryan Park in Richmond and construction is scheduled to start soon.
[Disclosure: The author lives in a neighborhood adjacent to Bryan Park and uses it frequently.]
Bryan Park has a fairly extensive system of paved roads. About one-half of those roads, those in the “back area” in which there is not much public activity, are closed to vehicular traffic. There is a considerable amount of bicycle and foot traffic on these roadways, which are heavily shaded by mature trees.
Instead of using these existing roadways, however, the plan is to construct a new ¾ mile-long, 14-foot wide (10 feet of pavement and 2 feet of shoulder on each side) roadway (trail) through the middle of the park. This “trail” will take users along the edge of soccer fields, a pickleball court, a playground, and down a steep hill through the middle of a frequently used Frisbee golf course.
There are two reasons given for wanting to construct a new paved pathway, rather than using the existing roadways that are now closed to vehicles.
- “It should be visible and aligned to high-volume areas to encourage high use and trail awareness,” said Brantley Tyndall, who leads Fall Line Trail planning for Richmond Sports Backers. It shouldn’t be “hidden along the periphery.” It is hard to understand how walking beside soccer fields that are being actively used is going to encourage high use of the trail. It is doubtful that people coming to Bryan Park to play or watch soccer or play Frisbee golf would use the Fall Line trail instead of driving there if the trail were in the middle of the park, rather than on the periphery.
- It would be dangerous for trail-users to use the roads. That would be true if it were proposed that the trail be routed along the roadways that vehicles are allowed to use. But that is not what is being proposed as an alternative. Furthermore, the roads are dangerous for walkers to use on Saturdays because of actions by the city itself. The roads are packed on Saturdays because the city allows the RVA Big [Farmers] Market to operate there.
Opponents of the proposed route, citing the lack of necessity for the proposed route, warn of the environmental damage that constructing the route would entail. Their particular concern is about the impact on the large trees near the route. Tyndall of the Sports Backers, contends that fewer than 10 trees will require removing. However, that does not account for the damage that will inevitably be done to roots of other trees, including severing and compacting, that could well lead to a slow decline and death of more trees. Furthermore, the machinery necessary to dig out the base of the trail and pave it over will inevitably cause unforeseen damage.
Then there is the question of the estimated $3 million cost of building a new pathway through the park. Of course, the city does not have to worry about such unnecessary spending because the Fall Line is being financed by the Central Virginia Transportation Authority, along with state and federal grants.
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