May is National Bike Month – an annual celebration to increase awareness and participation in bicycling, and showcase its many health and environmental benefits. This year, the League of American Bicyclists will be encouraging the pubic to bike ‘anywhere’ and document their ride with use of #BikeThere. Additional days to celebration and bring awareness to bicycling within National Bike Month are National Ride a Bike Day on May 2 and Bike to Work Day on May 21.

The Bike the Valley and RideShare programs, administered by the CSPDC, have created a digital social media campaign to bring public awareness to bicycling in our region. The campaign will be featured throughout the month.

An expansion of the Town Center Park and Ride commuter lot in Waynesboro began construction the end of March and is scheduled to be complete in May of 2022.

The $1 million project will increase parking capacity from 120 to about 175 spaces, install a bus stop with a covered shelter, and will repave and improve on-location lighting. Additional amenities include bicycle racks, sidewalks, landscaping and infrastructure to accommodate future charging stations for electric vehicles.

The commuter lot, located near the Interstate 64 exit 94 interchange at Route 340 (P. Buckley Moss Drive), will remain open during construction. Barricades will separate the work zone from areas open to the public. The project is funded by the SMART SCALE transportation prioritization program. Additional information can be found on the Virginia Department of Transportation project page.

The GO Virginia State Board awarded the Shenandoah Valley Partnership (SVP) $821,000 in GO Virginia funds to improve six sites in GO Virginia Region 8. The work to be performed 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 sites proposed for this program are those that were identified as having the greatest return on investment made possible by both public and private sector investments and commitments to the market. Partners included the counties of Augusta, Frederick, Rockingham, Shenandoah and Warren. The total budget for the Site Enhancement Program is $1,916,359 and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022. The CSPDC will be providing grant administration services for the duration of the project.

The next GO Virginia Region 8 Council meeting will take place virtually on Tuesday, April 27. For more information about GO Virginia Region 8, please visit their website.

The 2020 update of the Central Shenandoah Hazard Mitigation Plan (CSHMP) has been conditionally approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is pending adoption over the next few months by the jurisdictions in the Planning District. The CSHMP identifies hazards and vulnerabilities of the Region and mitigation strategies that can be implemented to make communities more resilient. Having an approved and adopted Hazard Mitigation Plan also allows the local jurisdictions to apply for hazard mitigation grant funds. A steering committee made up of local and state government agencies and other relevant stakeholders guided the planning process and helped to obtain public input. The plan is available on the CSPDC website.

In February, Agricultural Enterprise Center Feasibility Study consultant New Venture Advisors, presented a recommended operating model to the CSPDC and Study Team. The preferred model will continue to be evaluated throughout the duration of the study that is scheduled to complete in May. The model’s concept is to build a centralized agricultural facility and commercial kitchen that supports farmers, entrepreneurs and agricultural enterprises in the Central Shenandoah Valley. If brought to fruition, the Ag. Enterprise Center will provide warehousing for the aggregation, distribution and sale of local products; business incubation and support services for food businesses; and a certified commercial kitchen serving meat and vegetable producers and entrepreneurs.

Next steps include the identification of anchor tenants, development of a capacity model, preliminary breakeven model, building program and bubble diagrams and further financial analysis. Potential sites and a facility floorplan will also be included in the final report.