Virginia's Future

[TBurban]

Post your opinions or pictures of what you think Virginia

will be like in the future

1. North Metro-Fredericksburg,Alexandria,Arlington

2. Central Metro-Richmond,Petersburg

3. East Metro-Hampton Roads (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, Williamsburg)

4. West Metro- Roanoke, Charlottesville

[StevenRocks]

It's already that way to an extent.

[Jerseyman4]

The future of Virginia will be;

Northern Virginia continues to sprawl and perhaps, counties will participate in building loop highways kinda like the Prince William Parkway.

Richmond continues to sprawl in all strange lopsided directions

Hampton Roads sprawls into NC making Currituck County the place to be with its abundant waterfront properties that are still untapped. NC 168 is a bottleneck and NCDOT turns every intersection into a superstreet (installs Michigan left turns with no traffic signals and cross traffic is not allowed)

Roanoke will see its big boom as the new Virginia hot spot to relocate

Every town in Virginia will be bypassed

I-73 will be built and I-74 will never be built since it will just follow I-77 through the state into WV

Truckers who enter downtown without doing deliveries will be given a felony account (im joking )

I-95 will be a toll road south of Petersburg to NC

The Delmarva Pennisula will remain the same

I-81 will be one of the most dangerous highways, if not the most dangerous highway in America the way things are going. I doubt we will see it as a toll facility with extra lanes along the entire route

You can only go to southside to still hear southern accents and experience southern culture

15 million people will live in the state

[TBurban]

It's already that way to an extent.

Sorry, I shouldve been more specific. What I meant was covered with buildings so to speak, all the towns now, becoming cities later. Farmland pushed more southwestish and more mountain towns.

[electricmonk]

Roanoke will see its big boom as the new Virginia hot spot to relocate

I sort of keep expecting this to happen but it never does. Honestly I think we here in the valley need a better marketing department. Every year magazines like Outside, Backpacker and others will have their articles about the best outdoor towns to live in but every year Roanoke gets overlooked. I live 3 minutes from downtown but in 8 minutes I can be on the Blue Ridge Parkway, 20 minutes I can be at Smith Mt Lake, 12 miuntes I can be on the Appalachian Trail. And that's just a start to any outdoor fun I want to have. 15 to 30 minutes I can be at some of the most beautiful trout streams the mid-Atlantic has to offer.

But then again maybe it's a good thing that every body on the east coast doesn't know how good we have it here. Smith Mt Lake has nearly been loved to death so forget everything I said above. Roanoke sucks, stay away for your own good.

[JWCJ]

I think that Roanoke will see a big boom, but it will not last and not be as big as many expect. It will be noticable at first then it will slow down within a year or so after starting up. But that should be enough time for Roanoke to grow.

Richmond will see a boom downtown and in the Westend and Northside. This boom is accually happening right now it, I expect it will go on for another 3 to 5 years then slow down abit. But Richmond still has alot of work to do to keep on going like it is.

Right now Norfolk looks to me it will become sprawlish in population and bussiness at first it may or may not pick up it self for about a year then things will slowy go down hill as people move out into the county away from conjustion, the same could happen to Richmond in 5 to 10 years.

Virgina beach will keep growing then begin to level off.

Charlottesville will become like Roanoke.

DCs etro will move west and some of the poulation there will move around trhe state helping the other cities which means I think DC may go though a major but reveasable fall and sprawl.

But pretty much I see western parts of Va. growing more and Metro areas in the eastern parts of Virginia going throw some trouble but moderating easily.

[mclawsdrive]

I think Roanoke will have a boom that will cool off quickly, but perhaps maintain a higher growth rate than the current rate, which is close to 0. The boom in Roanoke will be tied to the bargain real estate and quick commuting times. I still think the peak of this growth is 10 - 15 years away. Retirees will be a significant part of the boom, as will young couples fleeing higher priced metros, looking for a big house and a good place to raise their kids. Once prices go up enough, the growth will slow.

Charlottesville is growing in a way (pricy) that will force out the lower middle class (teachers, police etc) and cause sprawling suburban development in Fluvana, Augusta, Nelson and Orange and Madison counties. Charlottesville proper will become more and more of a center for the elite who can afford to live there.

Richmond will continue to spread west into goochland and powhatan, but eastern henrico will eventually pick up because it is so much closer to DT than those counties.

Northern VA will continue south and east into Caroline and King George, West to Winchester, WV panhandle.

Real estate in Ghent and DT norfolk will continue to rise in Value, portsmouth will see some revitalization.

Sprawl will be the rule everywhere, but in older, downtown areas, high density will rebound. And high density, mixed use, transit friendly development will start to make a dent as gas prices continue to rise.