November Newsletter and Events

• Upcoming Events
• Thursday, Nov 21, 2024: Monthly Meeting - Guest Speaker Virginia State House Delegate Bonita Anthony 
• Saturday, Nov 23, 2024: Adopt-A-Road Cleanup along Indian River Road 
• News
• Local Election Results
• Blue Heron Landing Grand Opening
• Indian River Design Guidelines
• October Recap

Upcoming Events

Thursday, Nov 21, 2024: Monthly Meeting - Guest Speake Delegate Bonita Anthony 

• 
  7 pm to 8:30 pm
• Location: Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive
• Our guest speaker will be Virginia State House Delegate Bonita Anthony. We'll have a chance to learn about the upcoming General Assembly meeting in Richmond and issues that affect our community.  
• All are welcome.  We'll also have the latest community news and updates!  There will be light refreshments after the meeting.  

Saturday, Nov 23, 2024: Adopt-A-Road Cleanup along Indian River Road 

• 
  From 9 AM to 11:30 am  
• Meet at Lilac Avenue and Indian River Road Park along Lilac Avenue by the Norfolk Highlands Primary School.
• We need your help with our quarterly cleanup.   Join us for a few hours to clean up the mile of Indian River Road from the city limits at Wingfield Avenue all the way to MacDonald Road and at Blue Heron Landing Park. 
• We are also asking all business owners along Indian River Road - and everywhere really - to make sure they sweep up in front of their storefronts as part of the effort.   And if you can't make it out for our organized cleanup please take 15 minutes and cleanup the street and ditches in front of your home; pass the word to your neighbors!
• For our main cleanup on Indian River Road, the city will provide garbage bags and orange safety vests.  Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves and other items that may be useful.  Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision.
• Please pre-register at https://forms.gle/cVryTjexKN6noRsu8 (suggested but not required)

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News

Local Election Results

Congratulations to the winners of the City Council and School Board Elections:

    Mayor Rick W. West

    City Council Member S.Z. "Debbie" Ritter

    City Council Member-elect Les Smith, Jr.

    City Council Member-elect Patricia Y. "Pat" King

    School Board Member Angie B. Swygert

    School Board Member Norman G. Pool

    School Board Member-elect Malia L. Huddle

    School Board Member-elect Elijah Colon

We look forward to continuing to work with our City Council to  improve the quality of life for all the residents of the Indian River neighborhoods of Chesapeake!

Blue Heron Landing Park Grand Opening

On Wednesday, Oct 23, Chesapeake Parks, Recreation and Tourism help the Grand Opening event for Blue Heron Landing Park.  Along with Mayor West and members of the City Council, the Friends of Indian River participated in the unveiling and ribbon-cutting ceremonies.  The new park features a broad boardwalk, a floating kayak launch, and a restored living shoreline complete with oyster castles to form a new oyster reef, marsh areas, and what will grow into a new upland forested area.  The site has always been a popular fishing spot and in the two weeks since the opening, the new park is resuming its role as such.  

The park site is relatively small, only 0.5 acres, and when the designs were drawn up it was clear that the park could never support a large parking area, not without sacrificing all the natural aspects that make it a living, natural space.  So, it was designed to be primarily a walk-in park with limited parking spaces.  Concurrent with the design of the park were plans to re-design Indian River Road to make it safer, the City Council approved funds in 2022 but implementation is still pending.  The Oaklette Bridge Rehabilitation work that started in September certainly complicates the situation in the near term. We continue to push the City to implement safety improvements on Indian River Road, including reducing speeding and installing a safe crosswalk to enable people to cross the road to reach the park.

Indian River Design Guidelines

The same evening as the park Grand Opening, the Planning Department hosted an Open House to share the latest for the Indian River Design Guidelines.  The Design Guidelines "focus on the creation of a vision and unique sense of place for the development or redevelopment of the three key commercial corridors of Indian River Road, Providence Road, and the eastern portion of Military Highway. " We expect to see an updated draft document released in the coming weeks.  Learn more at https://www.cityofchesapeake.net/3217/Indian-River-Design-Guidelines

October Recap

Earlier in the month, we held an Adopt-A-Park event at Indian River Park to help put our native plant garden to bed for the winter, weeding and mulching the garden. A big thank you to the 11 volunteers who came out to help.  We also had a great chance to interact with a lot of park visitors!    

On the Saturday after the park opening, we partnered with Chesapeake Parks, Recreation and Tourism to do a History Walk.  Started at Norfolk Highlands Primary School, we went over to the new Blue Heron Landing Park on the Indian River, then over to the Oaklette Historic District including the Colonna's Boathouse. We had a great turnout with over 30 attendees who learned a ton about the history of the area from the original native Chesapian people to European settlement to the turn of the 20th century suburbanization to today. 

We also got reports of dolphins visiting the river!  Thank you Lynn!

Have an idea for an article for our newsletter?  Send your submission, max 250 words, to us at info@friendsofindianriver.org along with a photo and we'll consider it for our next edition.

October Newsletter and Events

• Upcoming Events
• 10/7/2024 - Early Voting Starts at Indian River Library
• 10/19/2024 - Adopt-A-Park at Indian River Park - Native Plant Garden
• 10/23/2024 - Grand Opening of Blue Heron Landing Park
• 10/23/2024 - Indian River Design Guidelines Open House
• 10/26/2024 - History Walk from Norfolk Highands Primary to Oaklette Historic District
• News
• Chesapeake Healthy Landscapes
• Comp Plan Open Houses
• September Recap  

Upcoming Events

Monday, October 7: Early Voting Starts at Indian River Library and other Satellite Locations

• 
  Early Voting is underway.  Satellite voting sites start to open on October 7. See the full list of Chesapeake voting locations at https://www.cityofchesapeake.net/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=357
• "Any registered voter can vote early in person without needing to apply to do so. If you decide to vote early, you can vote at any of the locations below (you don’t have to stay in your precinct).
• Voter Registrar’s Office (411 Cedar Rd.)
  September 20 – November 2, Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
  Saturday, October 26 and Saturday, November 2, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
  Sunday, October 6, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
• Satellite Locations - Central Library, Indian River Library, Major Hillard Library, Cuffee Community Center
  October 7 - November 2,
  Monday – Thursday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
  Saturday, October 26 and Saturday, November 2, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• *All satellite locations will be closed on Monday, October 14.
• Western Branch Community Center
  October 21 – November 2
  Monday – Thursday from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
  Saturday, October 26 and Saturday, November 2 from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• The deadline to register to vote, or update an existing registration is October 15, 2024. (Voters may register after this date, through Election Day, and vote using a provisional ballot).  Election Day - the last day to vote - will be Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Need to register to vote, check your status, or update your voter registration?  Visit https://vote.virginia.gov/ today.

Saturday, October 19 - Adopt-A-Park at Indian River Park - Native Plant Garden

• 
  9 am to Noon
• Location: Indian River Park 2003 Rokeby Ave. 
• It is time for our fall gardening at Indian River Park.  We'll be tending to the native plant garden at the park entrance, including weeding and preparing the garden for the winter.  We may also do some trail work, pruning, weeding, and cleanup.
• Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves.  Long pants are recommended.  If you can, bring shovels, rakes, pruners, saws and other gardening tools.  We'll have water and snacks available.  We also always encourage folks to bring their own water in reusable bottles to minimize use of plastic bottles and cans. 
• Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision.
• Please pre-register at https://forms.gle/ir4JZSacttP7xmFs5 (suggested but not required)

Wednesday, October 23 - Blue Heron Landing Grand Opening

• 
  3:30 pm - 5:30 pm
• Location: Blue Heron Landing Park.
• Please join the City of Chesapeake and the Friends of Indian River to celebrate the opening of our newest park.  Blue Heron Landing Park features an elevated boardwalk, oyster castle sill, living shoreline, accessible ramps with railings, and an ADA-accessible floating kayak launch. Parks, Recreation and Tourism will be there to demonstrate all the ways to enjoy the new park. There will be kayak demonstrations, kids' craft activities, bird-watching equipment, and a fishing display. Event is free and open to the public.
• Parking is not available on-site. Please park at Norfolk Highlands Primary School (1115 Myrtle Avenue).  Shuttle service will be available.

Wednesday, October 23 - Indian River Road Design Guidelines Open House

• 
  5:00 pm - 7 pm
• Location: Indian River High School, 1969 Braves Trail
• Hosted by the Planning Department. The Indian River Design Guidelines focus on the creation of a vision and unique sense of place for future development or redevelopment of the three key commercial corridors of Indian River Road, Providence Road, and the eastern portion of Military Highway.  They would establish site standards for commercial development including circulation (vehicular and pedestrian), parking, streetscape design, public spaces, sidewalks and pathways, and street furnishings, lighting and signage, and landscaping.  They also look at architectural standards for building setbacks, heights, lot coverage, spacing, and orientation, building massing and scale, façade treatment, and materials.
• Learn more at https://www.cityofchesapeake.net/3217/Indian-River-Design-Guidelines

Saturday, October 26 - History Walk

• 
  Time: 10 am to Noon
• Location: Meet on Lilac Avenue by Norfolk Highlands Primary School, 1116 Lilac Avenue
• Take a stroll into the history of our community on this walk around Norfolk Highlands and Oaklette.  We'll start at Norfolk Highlands Primary School, the core of which was built in 1913, stop by the new Blue Heron Landing Park to talk about the history of settlement along the Indian River, and then cross the bridge to walk around the Oaklette Historic District including a look at the outside of the famous Colonna's Houseboat.
• We'll be walking for about 1.25 miles over 2 hours and it will all be standing.  
• Recommended age at least 12 and up.
• Please pre-register at https://forms.gle/whP7vMAxLtPLwdHcA

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News

Chesapeake Healthy Landscapes

At our September meeting, Amy Weber, Chair of the Chesapeake Environmental Improvement Council (CEIC), briefed us on the new "Chesapeake Healthy Landscapes" program is being developed by the CEIC to recognize even healthy and beautiful yards across the City. The program will ask participants to commit to Seven Principles for maintaining a landscape that supports wildlife and promotes a healthier environment including:

1. Protect Your Trees.
2. Right Plant! Right Place!
3. Consider Wildlife Needs.
4. Reduce Lawn Maintenance.
5. Reduce Runoff.
6. Avoid or Remove Invasive Plants.
7. Limit Chemical Usage for Clean Waterways. 

This is the successor to the CEIC long-running Notable Yards program, although instead of being a contest, everyone is encouraged to join.  Participants who demonstrate a commitment to following these principles will receive a Chesapeake Healthy Landscapes garden flag and a kit with more information and tips.  The Friends of Indian River are excited to promote and support this program once it kicks off!

Comp Plan Open House  

• 5 pm to 6:30 pm
• Location: South Norfolk Community Center, 1217 Godwin Avenue, Monday Oct 7
• Get the latest updates on the revisions to the City's Comprehensive Plan and provide feedback.
• Also at Western Branch Community Center, Thursday, October 3, Great Bridge Primary School, Wednesday, October 16, 5 pm to 6:30 pm and Fire Station #7 in Southern Chesapeake on Thursday, October 24, 2024 

September Recap

A big thank you to the 10 volunteers who came out for the International Coastal Cleanup event.  We had a beautiful day to work around the bridge and removed well over 200 lbs. of litter and debris.  This included a surprising number of aluminum cans that we took over to the can recycling drop-off at the Chesapeake Animal Services building (proceeds go to help the animals at the shelter).

The tickseeds were in full bloom along the power line corridor in Indian River Park in September, giving us quite a treat during our Second Saturday Hike.  Later in the month, after all the rain, there were quite a variety of mushrooms in the park.  

Have an idea for an article for our newsletter?  Send your submission, max 250 words, to us at info@friendsofindianriver.org along with a photo and we'll consider it for our next edition. 

September Newsletter and Events

• Upcoming Events
• 9/14/2024 - Saturday - Second Saturday Hike @ Indian River Park
• 9/19/2024 - Thursday - Bi-Monthly Meeting - Chesapeake Healthy Landscapes
• 9/21/2024 - Saturday - International Coastal Cleanup
• 10/3/2024 - Thursday - Field Trip - Tour of Ryan Resilience Lab in Norfolk
• More fall dates
• News
• Blue Heron Landing Park Update
• Indian River Road Safety
• Eco-District
• Get Ready to Vote!
• Summer Recap
• Cuffee Pool Information Meeting
• Connecting Chesapeake
• Surveys and More

Upcoming Events

Saturday, September 14: Second Saturday Hike @ Indian River Park

• 
  Time: 8:30 am-10:30 am
• Location: Indian River Park trailhead at Rokeby Ave. and Main St. (2003 Rokeby Ave.)
• Learn about the history of the park, the native trees and plants in this century old forest on the Indian River flood plain, and its value to maintaining the health of local butterfly, bird, and wildlife populations. We'll look for ripe paw paw fruit. Note: the forest trail has uneven surfaces and minor elevation changes.
• Please pre-register at https://forms.gle/KcBvosBQu32JvXbm7 (suggested but not required)

Thursday, September 19: Bi-Monthly Meeting - Chesapeake Healthy Landscapes 

• 7 pm to 8:30 pm
• Location: Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive
• Our guest speaker will be Amy Weber, Chair of the Chesapeake Environmental Improvement Council.  She will tell us about the new Chesapeake Healthy Landscapes program that will recognize healthy and beautiful yards that support wildlife and promote a healthier environment in Chesapeake. 
• All are welcome.  We'll also have the latest community news and updates!  There will be light refreshments after the meeting.  

Saturday, September 21, 2024: International Coastal Cleanup

• 
  9 am to Noon
• Location: Meet at Lilac Avenue and Indian River Road.  Park along Lilac Avenue by the Norfolk Highlands Primary School.  It is a No Parking zone along Oleander Avenue (parallel to Indian River Road).
• As part of the International Coastal Cleanup, we will be cleaning up around and underneath the Indian River - Oaklette Bridge and along Indian River Road.  
• The city will provide garbage bags and orange safety vests. We encourage folks to bring their own water in reusable bottles to minimize use of plastic bottles. Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves and other items that may be useful.  We also always encourage folks to bring their own water in reusable bottles to minimize use of plastic bottles. Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision. 
• Please pre-register at https://forms.gle/wXXPxj96D2bArEsn6  (suggested but not required)
• If have access to the Indian River and are interested in "paddling up" to this cleanup with your own canoe or kayak, please reach out to us in advance at info@friendsofindianriver.org

Thursday, October 3, 2024: Field Trip - Tour of Ryan Resilience Lab in Norfolk

• 
  4 pm 
• Location: Ryan Resilience Lab, 4610 Colley Ave, Norfolk, VA 23508 
• Our field trip this year will be to the Elizabeth River Project's Ryan Resilience Lab.  This is a great opportunity to tour this remarkable new facility and have an eye-opening exploration of how sea level rise will affect us all. We'll learn about their cutting-edge green building practices and systems – floating docks, green roofs, solar arrays, rainwater capture, and much more. We'll also learn about their living shoreline and native plant garden.  Learn about sustainability best practices in action and hear about the “planned retreat” that will allow the river to retake the site as sea levels continue to rise.  Tour takes about 1 hour. 
• Afterward we will have an optional outing to a local restaurant for dinner.  (dutch treat -  each participant pays for their own bill)
• Space is limited.  Registration required at https://forms.gle/CqEzZhfzhT2ML8nf7

Save these dates for the fall

• Saturday, October 19, 2024: Adopt-A-Park at Indian River Park - Native Plant Garden
• Saturday, October 26, 2024: History Walk 
• Thursday, November 21, 2024: Bi-Monthly Meeting with State Delegate Bonita Anthony
• Saturday, November 23, 2024: Adopt-A-Park at Indian River Park - Remove Invasives

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News

Blue Heron Landing Park Update

Construction at the new Blue Heron Landing Park is moving along smartly.  The boardwalk is mostly in place and work is underway at preparing the entrance area along the street.  Following this will be landscape planting.  We are eagerly anticipating a grand opening early in the fall!

Indian River Road Safety

The opening of Blue Heron Landing Park in the next few months brings a new urgency to implementing road safety improvements along Indian River Road.  Blue Heron Landing Park will primarily be a walk-in park with only six parking spaces on the property.  Most park users will need to cross Indian River Park to reach the park.  Redesigning Indian River Road to improve safety, reduce speeding, and add bike lanes was approved as part of the Indian River Small Area Plan and funding was approved by the City Council in 2022, but no significant action has yet been taken.  

Indian River Road was widened to six lanes in around 1996 to support the now-closed Ford Plant.  The roadway west of the bridge resembles a highway and people drive like it was a highway, too many accelerating to over 55 mph as they race through the residential area of Oaklette.  VDOT's Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Action Plan (PBSAP) identifies Indian River Road in Chesapeake as one of the Top 1% statewide roadway Segments in priority to review for safety projects and other planning needs. Since 2018, there have been 5 vehicle to pedestrian/bicycle crashes with visible injuries.  Going back as far as 2010, we've had fatal vehicle to pedestrian crashes in 2014 and 2016.   We've seen many other crashes causing property damage along the entire length of the street including vehicles crash into the NAE Credit Union on more than one occasion. The day after our last meeting with City staff on this subject in July, the bus stop at Lilac Avenue was demolished by an out-of-control car.  Safety improvements are needed along the roadway before another deadly crash occurs.

Rehabilitation work on the Indian River Road Oaklette Bridge is expected to start in the coming months and will result in the temporary closure of two lanes on the bridge to enable the construction work on the bridge.  We are urging the City to use this as an opportunity to put the planned Indian River Road safety improvements in place immediately after the end of the bridge work.  

Indian River "Eco-District"

Inspired by the Elizabeth River Project efforts to establish an "Eco-District" around their new headquarters at the Ryan Resilience Lab on Knitting Mill Creek in Norfolk, we will be ramping up a campaign this fall to encourage more local residents and property owners to become River Stars here in the Indian River area.  Today in our watershed, we have over 200 River Star Homes, two River Star Schools, and several River Star Business and Organizations.  But our goals include significantly increasing participation in these programs.  At our monthly meeting on September 19th, we will learn about the new Chesapeake Health Landscapes Program and we'll look have we can leverage that effort to recruit more River Stars.  And we are preparing to revamp our business outreach to get more local businesses involved in our efforts to improve the quality of life in our community.  Want to take a first step to help now?  Take our tree pledge at https://forms.gle/xNCG9XMuBWPExmWt6

Get Ready to Vote!

It's another big election year.   On the ballot will be

• President and Vice President of the United States
• U.S. Senator
• U.S. Representative
• Mayor of Chesapeake
• Chesapeake City Council (3 members at large)
• Chesapeake School Board (4 members at large)
• Referendum on Curbside Recycling in Chesapeake

The first day of in-person early voting will be Friday, September 20, 2024.  The deadline to register to vote, or update an existing registration is October 15, 2024. (Voters may register after this date, through Election Day, and vote using a provisional ballot).  Election day - the last day to vote - will be Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

Make your plan on how you will vote now.  Need to register to vote, check your status, or update your voter registration?  Visit https://vote.virginia.gov/ today.

Summer Recap

It's been a rather busy summer.  As mentioned above, we met with City staff regarding Indian River Road safety and also submitted comments on the City's draft Trails and Connectivity Plan urging action on improving bicycle and pedestrian safety in the City now.   We were involved in a planning meeting Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT) and other stakeholders regarding Indian River Park, addressing topics such as trail signage and other amenities.  PRT is also doing a survey for work on their new park's Master Plan that you can take at https://chesapeakeparksurvey.org/

PRT held an Information Meeting about the new Cuffee Center Pool in Campostella. The facility will house a 25m competition pool, a separate leisure pool, and a retractable roof that can be opened to allow in fresh air when the weather allows. We provided some feedback regarding protection of existing trees during construction and the need for bird-safe glass since the design has glass walls along 3 sides of the structure. The project should go out for bid next year and could be complete by late 2026 or 2027.

Hampton Roads Transit has been looking at options to bring high-capacity transit in Chesapeake. Two of the four routes on their short list go down Indian River Road. Check out the potential routes, learn more about the study, and take a survey about
these options at https://www.connectingchesapeake.com/

And we want to give a big thank you to the volunteers who have toiled through the summer to keep our Adopt-A-gardens looking good at the Indian River Oaklette Bridge and at Indian River Park.  It can be hot work at times, but the reward is a landscape that provides important habitat for birds and pollinators and adds beauty to our community.   

Have an idea for an article for our newsletter?  Send your submission, max 250 words, to us at info@friendsofindianriver.org along with a photo and we'll consider it for our next edition.