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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP202100013 Correspondence 2022-05-16LES Use OLD #'s New #'s % change Summer use (overnight# people) 160 (60) 105 (45) 35% Schoolyear 150 60 60% Contract program - Always bused in - All day use programs- Any program with more than 40 participants (any time of year), shuttles will be in place. Day camps- 2 Shuttles offered from Crozet and Charlottesville, with majority of day campers arriving by shuttle. Overnight summer camps- no change in transportation as parents need to be able to drop their students off. Yet we reduced the number by 15 participants (from 60 to 45). Change to school year program numbers- originally the 150 was not a goal for regular programing, it was put there in case a school wanted to do a program with us for a day of environmental education. Whenever we have done such an event, all the students are bussed into the site, which greatly reduces traffic to about 2 buses. We dropped the number, as we have not done such a thing in years. 2 larger fundraising events per year with up to 200 attendees (which for rural land is by right already)- We have 2 locations so far we have talked with who said they could work with us to accommodate offsite parking and shuttle. Traffic reduction/safety: Carpooling- for 20 years LES has facilitated parents connecting to arrange carpooling. Last summer for 48 participants, the average day had 21 cars. We are told that is better than normal. We think it is because how easy we make it via technology for families to arrange carpools, as well as our typical conscientious clientele. We aim to continue to improve upon this. Pre -camp emails- every program families receive a special request to drive safely, to respect the neighbors, and drive slowly. We make it clear we would rather they be late than to rush to camp. Signs- on camp days, we have put out signs in Sugar Hollow (and plan to do at Israel Mountain) to get drivers to go slow on the roads. Travel from: Harder to control which way parents drive to the site, though we can provide a link of the suggested route. When they leave, we can direct the cars out the entrance towards Miller School road. Car trips comparison (in the worst case scenario if we maxed out all programs) 1.Overnight camps with 45 kids typically come in 30 cars (as a lot of families have siblings), is 60 car trips (in and out) for arrival Sunday, and then 60 more on Friday departure. If we did 6 weeks of these camps that is 720 car trips for these summer programs. (* Note- we have never run overnight camps to 60 kids, our largest have been 36 and we did that for 10 years and that feels like our sweetspot). 2. Day Camps- 60 kids, with 75% arriving in shuttles leaves 15 kids coming locally in cars, with some carpooling. That leaves at most 11 cars (22 trips a day) for 5 days a week is 110 car trips. If we run our typical 8 weeks of camps that is 880 car trips a summer. 3. School year programs- typically a homeschool program is 25 kids,18 cars since a lot of families have siblings in the same program, equals 36 car trips a day. We have never offered more than 2 a week in the area, so that is 72 car trips a week These programs run for 30 weeks, so that is 2160 car trips a year. All this comes out to 3800 car trips a year. We expect it to go up or down in either direction but not drastically. 1. The owner (Steve Morales) has said if Living Earth doesn't buy property for our camps, the property will go on the market He needs to do sooner than later. By right he can get 7 lots (homes) on the property. The average home according to VDOT creates 9.2 vehicle trips per day. For 7 homes that is 64.4 car trips per day on Pounding Creek Road every day of the year which is 23,506 car trips per year. LES proposal would be an 84% less than adding 7 homes. 2. Or another option is a vineyard buy it, and by right have up to 200 visitors a day, which would be way more traffic than all the other uses combined. Not to mention the heavy dose of chemicals typically sprayed on vineyard property going into the sensitive creek habitat LES would be a light use and restore the clear cut that is part of the property to health and educate our youth to what it means to care for the land. Road comparison: Sugar Hollow Rd. is long, winding, has lots of walkers, bikers, and hundreds of cars per day. The road has lots of blind curves, several pinch points, and yet the public navigates the road pretty safely. We operated on that road for 18 years and even with the increase our camps created, problems did not arise. Reservoir Road (to Ragged Mountain Reservoir) is also a winding, dusty road with lots of pedestrians, blind turns, narrow road base, and gravel (until this year). It also sees hundreds of cars a day, has a camp on it, and is relatively free of incidents. Pounding Creek Road- Yes, the road is not a poster child of ideal roads. Yet the public uses their intelligence to navigate roads, let cars pass, and we think will keep it pretty safe. Lots of camps in other regions of the country are notoriously down long winding narrow country lanes. It is part of the charm. It also lessons the impact of on neighbors. Pounding Creek is one of the few convenient yet out of the general flow of the community to not be a nuisance. (Neighbors Bundoran Farms and the Miller School have both written they welcome us as neighbors). This land has the ability to provide for a growing need for our regions youth. YES, LES coming to Pounding Creek Road would increase traffic. Regardless, change is coming in some form, and by our numbers, we would change the roads traffic count by far the least. No one really likes change, yet things constantly change, and we think LES offers a win win with education and lower traffic count than the alternatives. Finally- LES has looked far and wide for land for the past 3 years. We have talked with UVA, Coran Capshaw and lots of other large landowners in the area. We have knocked on a lot of doors and drank a lot of coffee sitting with people to discuss options. Land under easement does not work for education programs with the way the law is written. We are grateful a lot of our area is preserved but it further limits our options. There are not a lot of options to house nature education programs in this area. We are running to the end of a road (not just on land options, but on business viability when we don't have a location). We do a very professional job, win annual votes as best camp in the area, and our programs fill very fast. This speaks to the need in our area for quality programming. We believe we will bring that professionalism to Pounding Creek Rd. and be an asset to the area. We have been homeless for 3 years, patching things together, but it is a constant struggle. We need this site to continue to provide quality education with a sense of security. Thank you.