Hillsdale Drive Pedestrian & Bicycle Improvements
Charlottesville, VA
As the City of Charlottesville set out to extend Hillsdale Drive, it was clear that the existing road would need improvements to help mitigate safety concerns for pedestrians and bicyclists brought on by anticipation of increased vehicular traffic. AMT addressed these concerns for Albemarle County by providing surveying, engineering design and construction phase services.
AMT provided surveying, civil engineering and construction services for the Hillsdale Drive Improvements project between Rio Road and Greenbrier Drive in Charlottesville. The goal was to improve pedestrian facilities, pedestrian safety and ADA accessibility for this “elder district” and to calm traffic as a result. Public meetings and stakeholder coordination were extensive.
Other project highlights included:
- Approximately 5,000 linear feet of sidewalk improvements including replacing missing sections of sidewalks, repairing damaged sidewalks, new curb ramps and some additional pavement markings. Old Brook Trail improvements were also provided with this project.
- Three raised median refuges with crosswalks including a “saw-tooth” configuration, handrails with breakaway posts, pedestrian traffic signs, landscaping, and ornamental street lighting.
- Traffic calming involved lane narrowing to include improved bike lane markings, “Seminole striping” at crosswalks, and traffic signage.
- We prepared deed research and several right-of-way plats to assist Albemarle County in obtaining property for the construction of this project and to maintain sidewalks afterwards.
AMT also provided a signal modification at the intersection of Hillsdale Drive and Rio Road. The design included installing pedestrian signal heads across two legs of intersection tied into the controller cabinet, with new pavement markings for crosswalks and signage. Revisions to the existing wiring diagram were needed along with checking signal timing. The project design was completed and bids were received under the engineer’s estimate.
