Wouldn’t it be nice, after a swim in the Crozet Park pool, a visit to the dog park with Fido, or a Peachtree League softball game, to be able to walk home on the Crozet Connector Trail with your family, through the woods and over a babbling brook to your home in Cory Farm or Sparrow Hill? Maybe stop on the way at Lickinghole Basin for some birdwatching. Or walk from your home in these communities to the Park, or to The Square? Impossible? Not if the Crozet Trails Crew (CTC) is successful in making its long-held dream of building a pedestrian bridge across Lickinghole Creek a reality. The project has cleared several hurdles, and if the recently launched Connecting Communities Fundraising Campaign is successful, it could be built within the next few years.
The proposed pedestrian bridge would create a long-awaited trail connection between north and south Crozet, i.e. between Westhall, West Lake, and other neighborhoods in eastern Crozet to the north and Cory Farm, Chesterfield Landing, and Sparrow Hill to the south.
The CTC has completed a feasibility study, chosen a prime location, obtained the necessary easements, and even gotten permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a pedestrian bridge across Lickinghole Creek. The latter was required because Lickinghole Creek—via the Mechums, Rivanna, and James Rivers—is part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Running from the trail access behind Nicolet Court (Westhall) in the north to an existing trail behind Sparrow Hill to the south, the bridge will significantly extend the Crozet Connector trail network for hikers and runners.
To raise the funds needed to bring this beneficial and much-needed amenity to the community, the CTC is launching the Connecting Communities Fundraising Campaign. They are approaching local businesses for donations, both financial and in-kind donations of time and materials. “We are working with the County to identify a fun, appropriate opportunity for acknowledging sponsorships of various amounts,” explained CTC president Terri Miyamoto. Stay tuned for details. “I think that the people of Crozet really love and value the trails. I am confident they will support them in this way.” Individual donations by Crozet Trails users and supporters will be gratefully accepted at www.crozettrailscrew.org. They are also seeking a qualified engineer to conduct the engineering study required to design the bridge itself.
The proposed pedestrian bridge will need to span a distance of 40’ to 45’. Because the bridge will cross a flood plain and Lickinghole Creek can become a raging torrent after storms, the bridge must be solidly constructed of steel and concrete to ensure its safety. Also, the location is not one that large equipment can easily access. For these reasons, a cost estimate of $100,000 has been identified to complete the proposed bridge. This funding expectation is based on a grant application submitted by Albemarle County Parks and Recreation to the Virginia Recreational Trails Program in May 2022, which unfortunately was not funded. The Trails Crew used its own funds to hire Jessica Mauzy, landscape architect and CTC founder, to do the feasibility study, facilitated by Chief of Parks Planning Tim Padalino. The campaign is being led by Christina Barbour.
One fun way to support the fundraising campaign is to participate in the annual CTC 5K Family Fun Run, to be held Saturday morning, October 28, at 10 a.m. As always, the winners of the 5K race will have a trail bridge (not the new pedestrian bridge!) named after them. This year, the trail walk/run will add a 10K option that will travel past the bridge site and take runners to Lickinghole Basin. All the funds raised will be devoted to the bridge project. Registration for the trail walk/run is now open at crozettrailscrew.org/2023-5k. The cost is $20 in advance or $25 the day of the race—and additional bridge donations when you register will be welcomed. The 10K race will be limited to 50 people, so register early!
The developers of the proposed Oak Bluff community have already granted an easement for a trail through their property. If a Crozet Ave. crossing—either at street level or under the recently upgraded bridge—is ever developed, a trail user could eventually walk across the bridge, through Chesterfield Landing, across Crozet Ave. to the Meadows, and eventually arrive at Old Trail, Henley, and Brownsville schools. The Trails Crew will continue to work toward this long-range vision.
Miyamoto will lead a guided trail walk to the proposed bridge location and surrounding neighborhoods on Saturday, August 12, at 9 a.m., leaving from the entrance to the dog park at Crozet Park. The walk, a little over 2 miles on trails and sidewalks, will also visit the proposed site of Eastern Avenue and adjacent development. A sign will soon be placed at the proposed bridge site, which you can visit using the trail access behind Nicolet Court and turning right along the Connector Trail. There is already a bench there to sit and enjoy the gurgling of the stream. If the fundraising campaign is successful, CTC hopes to break ground as early as spring of 2024. Comments and questions may be submitted to [email protected].
