Local government representatives gathered in the Town of Elkton for the CSPDC’s Rural Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (RTTAC) to discuss transportation planning issues and tour several sites in the Town. In attendance were representatives from the counties of Augusta, Rockbridge, Rockingham, the towns of Elkton and Timberville, and the City of Buena Vista.

The meeting featured a roundtable discussion with VDOT Staunton District staff regarding transportation grant funding opportunities. The meeting concluded with a walking tour of a potential site for the Town’s planned greenway trailhead, and the newly renovated Jennings House, a 180-year old historic building now serving as Town Hall.

The RTTAC meets every quarter and facilitates regional coordination for smaller communities on transportation-related issues. The next RTTAC meeting is scheduled for December 16, 2021.

The CSPDC/BRITE Transit Development Plan (TDP) kicked off at the BRITE Transit Advisory Committee’s (BTAC) September meeting. The BTAC serves as the advisory committee for developing the plan with KFH Group serving as lead consultant. During the kick-off meeting, KFH Group reviewed the scope of work and schedule for the plan, as well as discussed unmet transit needs in the service area and the existing BRITE transit goals.

A TDP is a state required, multi-year planning document that is intended to provide direction for a transit system and its community partners. The planning process identifies transit needs, develops potential improvements, and identifies the resources needed to implement the projects.

The CSPDC welcomes new Fiscal Technician, Joe McDonald. Joe received his BS degree in Accounting from Ball State University and Master’s degree in Accountancy from Indiana University. Joe has over 45 years of experience working as a farmer, restaurant owner, accountant, and financial analyst, including 8 years in accounting at Anheuser-Busch and 6 years with A-B’s major glass supplier Saint-Gobain Containers. Most recently, Joe worked as the controller at Harrisonburg -Rockingham Free Clinic. A native Virginian, Joe and his wife, Elissa, reside in Staunton, with their rescue Labradors and barn cats.

The CSPDC has scheduled an annual stakeholder meeting to facilitate conversations and garner feedback regarding the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) Virginia Outdoors Plan (VOP). The meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 12 at 2:00 p.m. These annual meetings are held across Virginia’s 21 planning districts to collect input on regional outdoor recreation and land conservation projects from local planners and government employees, outdoor recreation professionals and land managers, citizens, advocates, and nonprofit leaders. Input collected will be used in the 2023 Virginia Outdoors Plan to develop projects for future outdoor recreation implementation.

Applications for the 2022 Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) are due September 14, 2021. In August, Governor Northam allocated a historic $700 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding toward broadband infrastructure for unserved areas in Virginia. This funding will be distributed through the VATI program and the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and will accelerate the Governor’s 10-year goal for achieving universal broadband access from 2028 to 2024. CSPDC staff will be assisting several localities this summer with their VATI applications and are excited for this opportunity to bring high speed internet to our rural communities.

In August, the Shenandoah Valley Partnership (SVP) contracted with Draper Aden and Associates to perform the Shenandoah Valley Site Enhancement project that is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2022. The project is funded through GO Virginia and will include Phase I environmental reviews, wetlands surveys, geotechnical subsurface evaluation, and characterization of each site for the Virginia Business Ready Sites Tier program. The six proposed sites located in GO Virginia Region 8, have been identified as having the greatest return on investment made possible by both public and private sector investments and commitments to the market. Project partners included the counties of Augusta, Frederick, Rockingham, and Warren. The CSPDC will be providing grant administration services for the duration of the project.

The Afton Express, a commuter bus service connecting Staunton, Fishersville, Waynesboro, Charlottesville, and Fifth Street Station in Albemarle County began operating on September 1. Three buses, outfitted with Wi-Fi, comfortable seating, and bike racks, operate four morning and four afternoon service routes, five days a week. All rides are free during the month of September. Standard fares, beginning October 1, will be $3 one way, with 10 ride farecards available for purchase for $25. Local funding for the Afton Express is provided by the cities of Staunton, Waynesboro and Charlottesville, the counties of Augusta and Albemarle, and the University of Virginia.

A ribbon cutting to launch the service and recognize project partners was held on August 16 at the BRITE Transit Facility in Fishersville. Over 50 local government representatives, stakeholders, Commissioners, and partners were in attendance. To stay up-to-date on this exciting new service, “like” and “follow” the Afton Express on Facebook and Twitter.

On August 12, the U.S. Census released its first round of data collected during the 2020 Census. This rollout includes data on population growth, race, and the Hispanic population.

The population in the CSPDC region has grown by 6% over the past decade, from 286,781 in 2010 to 304,056 in 2020. This is slower than the 7.9% growth rate in the state. However, growth in the Harrisonburg-Rockingham area exceeded the statewide growth rate, growing 8.3% since 2010.

In regards to race and ethnicity, white residents in our region slightly declined from 90.8% to 88.3%, while the percentage of residents among all other races has increased. The City of Harrisonburg is the region’s most racially diverse locality, with a population distribution of 10.3% Black residents, 5.5% Asian residents, and 18.2% of residents that identify as “Other race.” In contrast, Highland County is the region’s most racially homogenous locality, with 98.7% of the population being white. The 2020 Census revealed that 67.8% of Virginia residents identify as white, down from 71% in 2010.

Both the CSPDC region and the state of Virginia have seen a large increase in Hispanic population over the past ten years. The Hispanic population in Virginia grew 44%, from 631,825 to 908,749, while the CSPDC region saw a larger, increase of 64%. Harrisonburg has the largest concentration of Hispanic residents in the region at 23.2% of the city’s population, followed by Waynesboro with 8.8%. Highland County and Bath County have the lowest share of Hispanic residents, at 1.6% and 1.7% of the counties’ populations.

The CSPDC will continue to monitor the Weldon Cooper Data Center for future Census 2020 data rollouts. Anticipated data includes information on age, sex, and household characteristics.