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Somehow this year played out in fast forward, which, as we impatiently await completion of the Virginia Capital Trail, is a good thing. I chose this picture to help me sum it all up.
It has been a year of beautiful, visible progress. Asphalt is appearing in long ribbons on the Sherwood section, and V-DOT announced a firm completion date for this part of the trail: September 30, 2014. This is excellent news! The other sections have made giant leaps forward as well. Alignments in Varina and New Market Heights have been approved, bids have been awarded, and you'll see construction begin in the spring. The new Varina Park phase, a late-breaking re-route toward Dorey Park from I-295 in Varina, will be the final piece, falling into place by August 2015. And, according to our most recent meeting with the City of Richmond, their riverfront portion of the Trail will be complete by June 2014.*
Yes, this project has taken much longer than any of us originally thought. And it's easy to become cynical and critical of the process when this happens. But one of the things I find inspiring is that many people are choosing to become more supportive of the trail in big and small ways. This year, we raised over $500,000 in private funds for a trailhead project in Richmond; we had two boy scouts take on eagle scout projects at a future trailhead site; our volunteer trail patrol program celebrated one year of existence; the Chickahominy and Greensprings phases have been adopted by groups dedicated to keeping them clean and safe; and an awesome new nonprofit planted 80,000 daffodil bulbs along the trail on Dock Street. When we talk about multi-use trails becoming a source of civic pride, we're obviously not making it up.
Next year is going to be even more fun. We'll cut the ribbon on 13 more miles of Virginia Capital Trail, forming one gorgeous, contiguous section of paved, dedicated trail through 29 miles of James City and Charles City counties. We'll also watch throughout the year as the final phases take shape through eastern Henrico and the City of Richmond.
I'd like to thank you for all you did to help us get this far. If you've ever received our newsletter, given us a small or large donation, ridden or volunteered in the Cap2Cap, sent us an email, attended a public input meeting or city council meeting, followed us on Facebook or Twitter, or told somebody about this project, you're a part of our success. I'm looking forward to crossing the finish line together in 2015!
Warm wishes for a happy holiday season,
Beth Weisbrod
Executive Director
*This just in: Action on the Richmond end! CSX has begun pulling up the rails heading into the city where our trail is going to be, just east of Rocketts Landing. So exciting!
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