Charlottesville’s next organized walk to take place in Johnson Village

In recent years, the City of Charlottesville and its Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee have been organizing walks around various neighborhoods as a way of encouraging people to explore. The next one is coming up on Sunday as announced by City Councilor Natalie Oschrin at Council’s meeting on February 2.

“This month it will be in Johnson Village so they’ll be meeting at Tall Oaks Elementary at 10 a.m. on Sunday for an easy two or three mile stroll around the neighborhood,” Oschrin said.

According to a fact sheet produced by the city, the Johnson Village neighborhood is about a quarter of a square mile and there were 1,759 people according to the 2020 Census. It’s the sixth smallest neighborhood in terms of size but the 4th densest neighborhood.

Johnson Village joined the city in 1963 during the final annexation of Albemarle County land. Rock Creek forms the northern boundary and Lodge Creek is the southern border.

Most homes in the neighborhood date back to the mid 1960’s and 1970’s.

“The same developer also owned the land that would become the Forest Hills neighborhood, the U.S. Army Reserve Center and Johnson Elementary, whose 1954 opening pre-dates Johnson Village,” reads the fact sheet.

The school was renamed Tall Oaks in 2025 to reflect the surrounding forest and the phrase “From little acorns come mighty oaks.”

Shamrock Road is the only way in and out of the neighborhood for motorized vehicles, a condition that is also present in the Willoughby neighborhood. A pedestrian path leads to the Beacon on 5th Street which is considered as part of Johnson Village. In fact, the working title for the project had been Johnson Village Phase Three. City Council approved a rezoning for the dense development in March 2004.

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