Natalie Oschrin 4 Charlottesville City Council

06/01/2026

Interested in trying an e-bike or learning about bike commuting in Cville?

Join the Cville Ebike Lending Library and Belmont-Carlton Neighborhood Association on Saturday, June 6, from 10:30 to 11:30 AM, at Belmont Park for an informal chat with experienced e-bikers.

Those 16 and older can even test ride an e-bike from the Library. Remember to bring a helmet if you own one. We will also have a few helmets to lend.

Everyone is welcome.

05/30/2026

Imagine a road where cars are not allowed to overtake bikes. If you can't, go to Cambridge and visit Adam's Road - England's first 'cycle street', which has just opened to the public. Here, pedallers and pedestrians have been given complete priority.

A cycle street is not one closed off to cars, and neither is it simply a road with dedicated cycling lanes – it lies somewhere between these two things. Motorised vehicles are still permitted to drive along Adams Road, but signage makes it very clear that drivers must remain behind people riding bikes.

Footpaths have also been widened to make access better for pedestrians, on-road parking has been drastically reduced and the street has been resurfaced, re-coloured (red) and made narrower, to further deter drivers from overtaking cyclists.

In the Netherlands and Belgium such roads are known as Fietstraat, and they're relatively common in cities across the country, on streets where cars are considered guests not gods. The concept is a pretty new one for Britain, however, with just one other example in Cardiff, Wales.

Read the full story on the Cycling Weekly website, via the link in the comments.

📷 courtesy of the Greater Cambridge Partnership

05/30/2026

05/27/2026

NACTO Day 3 Recap:
The final day of the conference included a rousing speech Deborah Archer, president of the , in recognition of the strong connection between a multi-modal transportation network and more equitable opportunities for the community.
My final two activities of the conference were an interactive session on safe street design and a scooter/bike tour of some water management projects:

- Designing for Safe Speeds: “Through a series of global case studies and inspirational examples, we will highlight proven methods for reducing traffic fatalities and improving urban mobility.” .streets
- Minneapolis’s Green Infrastructure: Handling Stormwater in Residential and Transportation Contexts: “See how boulevard interventions weave into the urban fabric to provide stormwater retention and treatment while simultaneously creating a public amenity.”

The tour of the rain gardens and water facilities ended in time to catch the Light Rail (!) directly to the airport.

Thanks again to the City of Minneapolis and NACTO for hosting such a great exploration of urban strategy, to all of the presenters and attendees for sharing their expertise, and to the City of Charlottesville for sending us to bring this info home!

05/25/2026

05/25/2026

NACTO Day 2 Recap:

The Cville team got a special tour of some bike lanes and trails in the city that can serve as models for what we’re trying to do back home. Water Street and Rose Hill Drive projects are currently in the planning and design phases, with protected bike lanes and traffic calming on the menu to make it safer for all road users. The materials and styles of these projects will matter to the neighborhood, so experiencing options live instead of on paper will better inform our team and how they share with the community.
I attended two great sessions:
- From Scramble to Strategy: Making Quick-Build Work at Scale: “Through examples from peers, you’ll see how organizational shifts turn isolated projects into durable programs.” Thanks to , , , , and for sharing their experiences, challenges, and ideas!
- Beyond Petitions: Rethinking Traffic Calming Programs to Advance Equity: “The session looks at how cities design, fund, and prioritize traffic calming projects—from speed humps to mini-roundabouts—highlighting programs that center equity and effectiveness. Panelists will explore alternatives to complaint-driven, petition-based programs that often favor high-resource neighborhoods, consume significant staff time, and have limited safety impacts.“ , , discussed better ways to organize projects.

The day ended with the NACTO After Dark, where Minneapolis Public Works invited attendees to watch and help repaint lines, crosswalks, and bike lanes at night, when the roads are less busy. Cville’s own Transit Planner, Zoe, even got to add the reflective material to the BUS lane stencil. We also saw the inside of a traffic signal box that operates the stoplights at an intersection. What a blast!

05/21/2026

Have a passion for affordable housing and community development? The City of Charlottesville is now accepting applications for appointments to the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority (CRHA) Board through June 1.

We’re seeking applicants for:
🔹 Two At-Large Representative positions
🔹 One Resident Commissioner position

The CRHA Board helps guide important policies and decisions related to affordable housing and redevelopment initiatives that support Charlottesville residents and neighborhoods.

Interested in serving your community? Apply online at boards.charlottesville.gov.

05/21/2026

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the National Association of City Transportation Officials conference in Minneapolis. Charlottesville is a NACTO member city, so we can learn about policies and design from other localities, check out new tech, and make connections with our neighbors. For cities to grow smartly and efficiently, we have to ensure that residents and visitors can get around easily and safely, reduce car trips to lessen congestion, and make room for PEOPLE.

Day 1 Recap:
- We scoped out the trade show, learning about traffic calming materials and systems.
- We biked around Minneapolis, which set an ambitious goal to have 60% of trips taken by walking, biking, or transit by 2030. To facilitate this, they’ve built a great network of bike lanes that serve as models for what we want to see in Cville.
- We visited the memorials to George Floyd and Renee Good to pay our respects. Though we were unable to include the Alex Pretti memorial on the tour, our hearts were full of remembrance and sadness for each of them & their loved ones, and deep disappointment the people and systems that led to their murders.
- Back at the conference, we learned what projects other cities have implemented. Then, I attended a session about fundraising for transportation networks, something we’re workshopping in CARTA.
- Dozens of attendees hopped on scooter & bike share for a group ride to dinner, most of which was on safe, protected bike lanes.
- On the walk back, I spotted a bike room on the ground floor of a company, showing corporate responsibility by making riding a bike an easy and safe option for their employees and visitors.

05/19/2026

Come on Cville, let's win this thing! Sign up today and start recording your miles with ConnectingVA app. You can enter raffles and help us show the rest of the Commonwealth that Cville loves biking!