 | Williamsburg Virginia: Encyclopedia II - Williamsburg Virginia - Infrastructure
Williamsburg Virginia - Infrastructure
Williamsburg Virginia - Government
The independent city has operated under the council-manager form of government since 1932. The governing body is composed of public-spirited citizens serving on a part-time basis to decide major policy issues. The Mayor is elected by the city council, and presides over council meetings and served as the Chief Elected Official for the city. The city council consists of five members that serve staggered, four-year terms. A city manager is hired by the city council, and is comparable to a corporation's chief executive officer. This person is usually a professionally-trained public administrator, who is charged with implementing the policies and directives of the city council, and has broad administrative authority with strict rules prohibiting political interference in administrative matters.
The current Mayor of the city of Williamsburg is Jeanne Zeidler, and the Vice Mayor is Clyde A. Haulman. Other members of the city council are Paul Freiling, Billy Scruggs, and Mickey Chohany. The current city manager is Jackson C. Tuttle.
The city shares constitutional officers, courts, and a school system with adjacent James City County, and is the county seat.
Williamsburg Virginia - Education
The public school system is jointly operated by the city of Williamsburg and James City County. The system consists approximately 9,000 students in 12 schools, of which there are 7 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 2 high schools. The two high schools, both of which are within the County's boundaries, are Jamestown and Lafayette High Schools. Both are considered above average institutions, but since Jamestown was more recently built, it has superior facilites and boasts a quality teaching staff. In 2005, Jamestown boasted a student who received a perfect score on the SAT. For the 2001-2002 academic year, the public school system was ranked among the top five school systems in the Commonwealth of Virginia and in the top 15% nationwide by Expansion Management Magazine. There are also two regional Governor's Schools in the area that serve gifted and talented students.
The city has also been the home to the College of William and Mary since its founding in 1693, making it America's second oldest college behind Harvard University. It is also the first U.S. institution to have a Royal Charter. Three other institutions of higher education are located within a one hour drive of the city, including Christopher Newport University (Newport News), Old Dominion University (Norfolk), and Hampton University (Hampton). There are also three community colleges, offering associate degrees and college transfer programs, within a twenty-five mile radius of Williamsburg: Thomas Nelson Community College, Paul D. Camp Community College, and Rappahannock Community College.
Williamsburg Virginia - Transportation
Williamsburg is served by the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, in nearby Newport News. The Norfolk International Airport and Richmond International Airport, each located a short drive away, are larger and offer considerably more flights. These two airports are convenient as Williamsburg is roughly equidistant from the two major cities. The Williamsburg-Jamestown Airport is a small general aviation airport located 3 miles southwest of Williamsburg, that provides air transport for private and small business jets.
Williamsburg is located on Interstate 64 which parallels U.S. Highway 60 in the area. State Highway 199 surrounds the city in a semicircle and is occasionally humorously called the Williamsburg Beltway. Virginia State Highway 5 links the city with the James River Plantations along the north shore of the James River, Interstate 295 and Richmond. Virginia State Highway 31 links the city to Jamestown and the toll-free Jamestown Ferry which connects to Virginia State Highway 10 at Surry, offering access to plantations south of the river as well as Hopewell, City Point, and Smithfield, Virginia.
The Colonial Parkway provides a bucolic low-speed link between the points of the Historic Triangle which in addition to Colonial Williamsburg, included Jamestown and Yorktown. Also, motorized traffic is not allowed on Duke of Gloucester Street in the historic district, allowing visitors to gain a perspective of what life was really like in the colonial days.
Intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines. Local public transit bus and paratransit services are provided by Williamsburg Area Transit, which connects with the much larger Hampton Roads Transit bus system at Lee Hall in northwestern Newport News. The College of William and Mary also operates a bus service for students of the university, which runs between locations on the central university campus, points in the city of Williamsburg and James City County, the law school campus, and various outlying dormitories and auxiliary buildings owned or operated by the university that are not contiguous with the main campus.
The city is also served by several Amtrak trains a day, with direct service to Newport News, Richmond, and points along the Northeast Corridor from Washington DC through New York City to Boston.
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 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Infrastructure", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
