News
Buena Vista Receives CDBG Planning Grants
In June, the City of Buena Vista was awarded a Business District Revitalization Planning Grant and an Opportunity Zone Planning Grant through the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Together the two grants, totaling $40,000, will create an inventory of properties, address specific revitalization needs to the downtown area, identify gaps in opportunities, and develop an economic development marketing plan for the city.
Currently, a Project Management Team is being established along with a Physical Inventory Survey of open spaces and buildings in downtown. A public meeting to discuss initial grant activities and obtain community input for further use of funding will be held in early September.
Delegate Landes Presents 50th Anniversary Resolution
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission. In 1968, the Virginia State Legislature passed the Virginia Area Development Act which set forth the framework for the establishment of regional planning district commissions throughout the state, and on October 1, 1969, the CSPDC was organized.
This year, the General Assembly passed a resolution in honor of the Commonwealth’s 21 PDCs. During the CSPDC’s annual meeting on August 19, Delegate Steve Landes presented the resolution to the Commission.
BRITE Bus to Give Free Rides During Try Transit Week
Try Transit Week, September 16-20, 2019, is an educational event designed to encourage Virginians to reduce their use of single-occupancy vehicles and try a form of public transportation. Try Transit will be celebrated in Staunton, Augusta County, and Waynesboro with a Free Ride Day on all BRITE Bus transit routes on Wednesday, September 18. Riders can ride any of the BRITE Bus routes, paratransit, or deviated fixed routes free of charge that day.
Try Transit Week was created by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) and transit operators across the Commonwealth to spread the word about public transportation accessibility and its numerous benefits. As part of Try Transit Week, DRPT sponsors a Try Transit Week pledge giveaway. Participants who pledge to “try transit” are automatically entered for a chance to win a year of free transit service from a participating Virginia transit operator, as well as a pair of round-trip tickets aboard Amtrak’s Northeast Regional transit.
Community Emergency Response Training Begins
Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County, in partnership with the CSPDC, will be offering Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) on Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm from September 26-November 14, 2019. The course is free and open to anyone who lives or works in Staunton, Waynesboro, or Augusta County.
This seven-week course uses a standard curriculum designed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and teaches basic skills in disaster preparedness, fire safety, first aid, terrorism awareness, disaster psychology, and search and rescue procedures. The CERT course is designed to give the average person tools to not only prepare themselves and their family during severe weather or other emergencies, but to assist community members and emergency personnel when needed. Contact the CSPDC to register.
BRITE Bus Receives Best Practices Award
The Robert M. deVoursney Best Practices Award was presented to BRITE Bus and CSPDC Transit Manager, Nancy Gourley, during the Virginia Association of Planning District Commission’s (VAPDC) Annual Conference in Williamsburg. The award recognizes an organization that has initiated innovative and regional activities which have contributed significantly to the effectiveness of a region.
BRITE Bus is a small urban transit system that operates in the Staunton, Augusta, Waynesboro area and provides public transportation to the citizens of the area. The BRITE Bus program is administered and managed by the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission and is going into its sixth year of operation. For more information on BRITE Bus, go to www.britebus.org.