Good morning!

Last night, SDCC had the privilege of hearing from Vice Mayor Louis Jones and City Councilman Jim Wood on a variety of Shore Drive issues.  Chief among them was the question of whether a northern alignment or a southern alignment was most suitable for the replacement structure of the Lesner Bridge, should we be fortunate enough to have it accepted for funding from the Federal Economic Stimulus package.

The membership of SDCC voted to support a southern alignment for this project.  A number of individuals had attended the City’s February 11, 2009, presentation and provided comments at that time.  However, our agenda had requested that member representatives poll their civic groups and vote based on their association’s preference.  One member abstained, on the grounds that the new bridge should have been longer and higher, or that a tunnel should replace the bridge, for the purpose of creating a completely open access to the Lynnhaven River and the bays therein.  There were no votes in favor of the northern alignment.

We are deeply grateful that the City extended the comment period to accommodate our need to give our member organizations and their constituents the fullest opportunity to research and discuss our position.  We are appreciative also of the time that Vice Mayor Jones and Councilman Wood devoted to addressing our concerns, as well as the City Staff’s contribution to informing Shore Drive residents.

Thanks to all who participated in this very successful effort to maximize civic involvement.
Sincerely,
Grace Moran
President, Shore Drive Community Coalition

Cc:  Distribution List

City Response [update 2.24.09 @ 1:26pm]:

Thank you for your email and for your continued feedback on this project.  We will note the SDCC endorsement of the southern alignment as we work to assemble the comments from the February 11 meeting.  Thanks again for your participation.

David S. Jarman, P.E.
Senior Project Manager
City of Virginia Beach
757-385-4144 (direct)
757-385-4131 (main)