meeting (November or December), VDOT presents the revised plan

meeting (November or December), VDOT presents the revised plan and the budget to the board for further consideration. After these considerations are voiced, VDOT prepares the finalized Six-Year Plan and the budget for 19992000. This is presented at the third board of supervisors meeting (December or January), where a resolution is made by the board for adoption of the plan and the budget. So there are three monthly meetings in all, but the public has only one effective shot at things: at the first board of supervisors meeting.

Since everything comes out in one shot during the public hearing, many people would like, say, a warning shot. The Six-Year Plan process does not provide for such. Perhaps the following might improve communications. Why not have VDOT hold a public forum prior to the public hearing so that known new project requests may be discussed, questions asked, and views expressed, all in a relaxed atmosphere? This seemed to work well last December, after the public hearing, when some people were upset over work on Yancey Road. Another idea might be to have all property owners along certain gravel roads vote on the nature of any improvement. Not every road needs to be paved. A properly widened and maintained gravel road, with use made of calcium chloride to reduce dust, mitigates speeding, commuter use, and it looks rustic. These factors might ultimately add value to property along such a road. A third idea might be for the board of supervisors to issue some general guidance to VDOT on where residents would like the county’s road system to go over the next 10 to 15 years: keep secondary roads rural in nature, minimize tree destruction, use traffic calming techniques where possible, etc.

It is interesting to look back 70 years to see how two particular roads in the county evolved over time. On July 19, 1928, a public hearing was

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