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GETTING
AROUND
New to Virginia
Within 60 days of
arrival, you must apply for a Virginia driver's license and
obtain state registration for your vehicle through the
DMV
(800-435-5137) located at 2055 Abbey Road near
State Farm on Pantops. Immediately after registering your vehicle in Virginia, you must obtain a state
safety inspection from any
private garage offering the regulated service-- it always
costs $15 for cars and $12 for motorcycles, unless there's
something wrong, and then you have to pay for repairs.
Virginia's Wacky Rules of the Road
Here are some state laws you may or may not have heard of:
Keep frontin': Virginia automobiles must have both front and rear license plates.
No radar love: Unlike the other 49 states, Virginia bans
the use of radar detectors.
Don't pimp my ride: Tinting your windows too dark is strictly forbidden, as are neon lights and undercarriage glow.
Yak attack: If you're under 18, you aren't allowed to use a cellphone while driving, including texting or hands-free talking.
Walk this way: Pedestrians-- even
lollygagging UVA students-- always have the right-of-way.
Light rain: If your windshield wipers
are on, your lights must be on.
I can't drive 75: Virginia highways are slower than most, 65mph is the maximum speed limit in the state.
Virginia is for embarrassed kids: all children under age eight, that's right, EIGHT,
must be properly secured in a child safety seat or booster
seat.
Not so civil fees : In order to pay for roads without raising taxes,
Virginia has enacted a controversial new law charging commonwealth
residents with "remedial civil fees" in addition to the original ticket fine for
certain traffic offenses: an additional $750 for driving on a suspended
license, and additional $1050 for reckless driving (speeding 20mph over
the limit), and additional $2250 for DUIs and related offenses, any
other misdemeanor will set you back an extra $900, and any vehicular
felony will cost an additional $3000.
Buses
We have two separate bus systems: one
for UVA students and employees and one for the rest of
us.
UTS-
Rides, which are free, are intended for students, faculty,
etc., but drivers don't typically check IDs. 924-7711
CTS-
Regular fare is 75 cents (children 5 and under ride free),
but you can buy a book of 40 tickets for $21, 10 tickets for
$6, and a special unlimited-use Day Pass for $2-- available
at the local visitors centers. The elderly ride for 35 cents. The service has 16 routes
and welcomes bicycle riders by offering bike
racks on all buses.
296-RIDE.
The best central city free ride is the
CTS
free trolley which looks like
a San Francisco cable car but travels on rubber tires
between The Corner, JPA, and Downtown every 15 minutes from
6:30am until midnight every day except Sunday.
For inter-city bus
transportation-- Greyhound/Trailways, as well as
trains and planes-- we have more information on our
travel
page.
Pedestrianism
Census data recently revealed that
Charlottesville, with 16.5 percent, is second only to
Lexington-- with a whopping 26 percent-- among Virginia
cities in the proportion of commuters who walk
to work. In addition, the pedestrian-friendly Downtown Mall
was cited in early 2002 by the Pew Partnership as a
"Solution
for America."
Bike-commuting
Bike routes
Charlottesville and Albemarle have made great strides in
increasing the number of bike routes. The Charlottesville-Albemarle
Bicycling Association has a nice
map
showing the routes as well as a handy explanation
of bikers' rights to use the full traffic lane when
needed. BEWARE: Riding a bike on
the Downtown Mall is punishable by a fine.
In Virginia, bicycles must follow the same laws as motor
vehicles, including riding on the right side of the street,
obeying all traffic signs and signals, yielding to
pedestrians, and using signals for turning and stopping. At
night, bicycles must have a white front light visible for
500 feet and either a red rear-reflector visible for 200
feet or a red tail light visible for 500 feet.
Free-use community bikes
Through a novel program administered by the City and funded
with private resources, about 80 bright yellow bikes were
placed on City streets in March 2002. Within a few weeks,
pretty much all of them had
disappeared. In response, the
city has inaugurated a "community
bike" program, similar to the
first but with a twist: the bikes (not painted yellow) are
still free, but if you want one you have to work in the Charlottesville Community Bike Shop.
Cars
Road names
Thanks to the area's long
history, many roads have different names along a single
path, usually changing as a city street moves into the
county and becomes a road. Here's a handy tip-sheet:
Emmet Street=Seminole Trail=Route 29
Park Street=Rio Road (pronounced "RYE-oh")
Ivy Road=University Avenue=Main Street=Downtown Mall
Avon Street=9th Street
Garth Road=Barracks Road=Preston Avenue=Market Street
Fifth Street=Ridge Street=McIntire Road
Road
rules- local licensing
Owners of all vehicles garaged in the
City
of Charlottesville are no longer required to display decals, and police are in fact fining those who still display them. Albemarle
County
(296-5851) does require a decal, and while you still must pay the tax annually in both locales, you
need only one actual decal in the County for as long as you own your vehicle.
Car commuting
Average commute time: 17 min (national average is 26)
Working at home: 5.4% (national average is 3.3%)
Things get busy around here during traditional rush hours--
not to mention around noontimes when things clog pretty
heavily. Companies that engage in RideShare
programs like car pools and van
pools can get juicy tax
decuctions. 295-6165
Permit parking
To save room for residents, some neighborhoods near downtown
and UVA require $25 per year parking
permits. You'll know because
you'll see the street signs. The permits, which expire
August 31, are available through the City Treasurer's
Office. 970-3146
HookTip
It's not very
eco-friendly or gasoline-budget friendly, but you may want to join the
throng who take advantage of the much lower housing costs in Augusta County.
According to figures from the Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, the
number of commuters from Staunton and Waynesboro to Charlottesville and
Albemarle skyrocketed from 799 in 1970 to 2,167 in 2000 according to
the U.S. Census, and real estate agents report the number of Albemarle
residents moving over Afton Mountain continues to swell!
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