News
Federal Grant Strengthens Regional Flood Preparedness Efforts
The CSPDC has received a $270,000 grant from Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF) program to develop a Regional Flood Resilience Plan. The CFPF program funds planning and implementation projects that reduce the impact of flooding throughout the State. The Resilience Plan will align with the strategies identified in the CSPDC’s on-going Hazard Mitigation Plan update, which identifies flooding as the region’s top natural disaster vulnerability.
The CSPDC Regional Flood Resilience Plan will identify each community’s flooding and stormwater needs, and develop a list of prioritized implementation projects with cost estimates. Additionally, upon completion of the Resilience Plan, localities will be able to apply for DCR CFPF implementation funding to construct flood mitigation projects. Currently, there are no localities in the CSPDC region that maintain a Resilience Plan, which is a prerequisite for DCR CFPF implementation funding eligibility.
The CSPDC is finalizing a contract with a consultant to guide the planning process, and staff will provide localities with the next steps after the contract is finalized. Contact Zach Beard, Program Manager, at zach@cspdc.org, or Rachel Kinzer, Regional Planner, at rachel@cspdc.org with questions. Staff anticipate the planning process to begin in August 2025.
JMU Graduate Student Joins CSPDC Team for Summer Planning Experience
Kayla Dixon, Graduate Assistant – Transit
The Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission is pleased to announce that Kayla Dixon, a Master of Public Administration student at James Madison University, has joined our team as a summer intern. This partnership with JMU’s Public Administration program brings fresh perspectives and academic expertise to support our ongoing regional planning initiatives.
Kayla previously served as an intern in the City of Harrisonburg’s City Manager’s Office, where she collaborated with diverse community stakeholders and helped develop equitable engagement strategies for local government officials.
During her CSPDC summer internship, Kayla will focus on an engagement project with CSPDC’s transit team, applying her strong background in community relations and stakeholder engagement.
Looking ahead to fall 2025, Kayla will transition to a graduate assistantship role, expanding her work beyond transit to include projects with CSPDC’s community development and transportation teams. This extended partnership will allow her to contribute to a broader range of regional planning initiatives while gaining hands-on experience in public administration.
“Kayla’s academic background, combined with her practical experience in local government and community engagement, makes her an ideal addition to our team,” noted Paula Melester, Director of Transportation. “We look forward to the fresh insights she’ll bring to our transit and community development work.”
The internship and graduate assistantship represent CSPDC’s ongoing commitment to fostering the next generation of public administration professionals while enhancing our capacity to serve the Central Shenandoah region.
Boost for Afton Express Service as CSPDC Secures State Transit Funding
The CSPDC has been awarded funding through Virginia’s Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP) to help reduce local match requirements for the Afton Express bus service. The grant, awarded under TRIP’s regional connectivity category, will significantly lower the financial burden on local funding partners over the next five years.
TRIP is administered by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transit (DRPT) and provides funding to transit agencies and governing bodies to create more accessible, safe, and regionally significant transit networks. The program supports four project categories: zero and reduced fare programs, regional connectivity, public safety, and passenger amenities and facilities.
The regional connectivity component specifically targets improved regional transportation and congestion mitigation in urban areas with populations exceeding 100,000. The Afton Express service, which connects Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County to Charlottesville and Albemarle County, aligns perfectly with these goals by providing essential transit connections for residents and workers.
The TRIP funding follows a step-down structure designed to encourage local sustainability. In fiscal year 2025, DRPT covered 80% of eligible costs, with the state portion decreasing to 60% in fiscal year 2026. This graduated approach allows local partners time to plan for long-term funding while immediately reducing the financial strain on participating jurisdictions. The funding will help ensure the continued operation of this vital transportation link while communities work toward sustainable long-term financing solutions.
Growing Ridership
As ridership on the Afton Express has grown significantly since its 2021 launch, the CSPDC is working with consultants to revise the bus schedule to better serve the expanding ridership base. The schedule optimization aims to make full use of all three vehicles while better aligning trip times with the start and end times of shifts at major employers along the route. With trips around the most popular times now approaching capacity, the team is exploring ways to increase frequency and reduce time gaps between trips to accommodate continued growth.
The comprehensive schedule review focuses on ensuring that as ridership increases, everyone who wants to ride the Afton Express will have a seat. A draft of the new schedule will be released to the public for comment later this summer, with hopes of implementing the revised schedule this fall. This proactive approach to service planning demonstrates the CSPDC’s commitment to meeting the evolving transportation needs of the region’s workforce and residents.
Elkton’s Downtown Gets Greener with New Street Tree Initiative
The Town of Elkton’s western entrance corridor is getting a dramatic transformation this fall, thanks to a $10,000 CSPDC Watershed Wellness grant that will plant 37 strategically placed street trees along the gateway to downtown. The trees aren’t just for aesthetics, they will also capture stormwater runoff while creating an inviting tree-lined entrance that welcomes visitors and residents alike.
The project represents the kind of win-win solution that makes nature-based stormwater management so compelling: addressing real flooding and water quality issues while simultaneously beautifying a community’s front door. By fall, Elkton’s entrance corridor will become a leafy gateway that manages rain where it falls and creates a memorable first impression of downtown Elkton.
The CSPDC’s Watershed Wellness grant program makes these transformations possible by providing 100% no-match funding for nature-based stormwater projects, backed by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). With nearly $100,000 available for stormwater planning and implementation projects across the region in 2025, communities can tackle environmental challenges without straining local budgets. The program accepts applications on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted, making it accessible for communities ready to put innovative stormwater solutions to work.
Learn more at: https://cspdc.org/programs-services/wip-iii/
Transportation Study Reveals Solutions for High-Traffic Corridor
In June 2025, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham MPO completed a comprehensive study of the Port Republic Road / Peach Grove Avenue / Neff Avenue intersection and surrounding corridor in the City of Harrisonburg. Working with VHB Engineering the study team conducted operational and safety analysis, traffic data collection, and future condition modeling for five major intersections within the study area. The study team worked with City staff, VDOT, James Madison University, Rockingham County, and community stakeholders to evaluate existing constraints and develop improvement alternatives.
The study’s preferred alternative proposes extending the eastbound turn on Devon Lane to provide dedicated left-turn capacity, expanding the southbound Port Republic Road approach to accommodate dual left turns onto Neff Avenue, and constructing a 10-foot shared-use path along the east side of Port Republic Road. The study’s recommendations include shared-use paths on Neff Avenue and Peach Grove Avenue, safe pedestrian crossings at key locations, and low-cost safety countermeasures including high-visibility signal backplates.
VHB Engineering developed preliminary engineering drawings for the Preferred Alternative to meet VDOT Smart Scale application requirements, with implementation strategies tailored to coordinate with ongoing development in the corridor. Since the study’s completion, CSPDC staff have worked with regional partners to identify funding opportunities to construct the improvements.
Review the final study report here: https://hrvampo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/CSPDC-Port-Republic-Rd-Peach-Grove-Ave-Neff-Ave-Small-Area-Study-FINAL-Report-06.25.2025-Scaled2x.pdf