News
The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Bike Walk Summit Returns!
After a COVID-19 pandemic hiatus, the Harrisonburg Rockingham Bike Walk Summit returns on April 12, 2024. The Bike Summit will highlight the potential for economic development when transportation and recreation meet, and will feature Ryan Hale, CEO of Laneshift, as a keynote speaker. Ryan has extensive experience in helping to plan and develop the successful trail system in rural Northwest Arkansas. The Bike Summit will be held 8 am – 4 pm at The Loft at Liberty St. in Harrisonburg and will provide local leaders and community members to gather and learn ways to implement bike and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure in the region.
The 2024 Harrisonburg Rockingham Bike Walk Summit is free, but registration is encouraged. Click here to register.
2024 Watershed Wellness Mini-Grant – Application Cycle Now Open
The CSPDC Watershed Wellness Mini-Grant is a reimbursement grant that provides up to $3,500 in non-match funding for constructing practical, cost-effective, and ready-to-go best management practice (BMP) projects that improve water quality and reduce runoff in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Funding is available for localities and non-profits within the five-county CSPDC region. Funding is provided through the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)’s Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) program.
The application is available from Wednesday, February 28 and closes on Friday, March 29, 2024. Projects must be constructed by December 20, 2024.
The program’s main goal is establish a simple, streamlined BMP grant application that leads to the construction of BMPs and supports the state’s Chesapeake Bay pollution reduction goals. The 2024 Watershed Wellness Mini-Grant Guide details the grant goals, requirements, eligible activities, and timeline.
Download the 2024 Watershed Wellness Application, and submit the application and requested attachments to CSPDC WIP Coordinator Zach Beard at zach@cspdc.org.
CSPDC Makes Progress Toward Renovation of the Lewis Street Transit Hub
The Lewis Street Transit Hub rehabilitation project is well underway. Looking at the hub today it might appear that nothing is happening – but in the background the CSPDC project team has been working hard to bring this project to life.
The team completed the engineering phase of the project at the end of 2023, and CSPDC issued an Invitation to Bid in late January. While awaiting bids from prospective contractors, CSPDC staff worked with the City of Staunton to identify a location for BRITE buses to temporarily hub while the Lewis Street lot is unavailable during construction. Finding a location that is accessible to passengers who use a wheelchair or mobility device and that allows all passengers to board and alight safely was critical.
In early March, CSPDC staff hosted a live bid opening. In the coming weeks, the project team will ensure the bids submitted are complete and competitive and hope to announce the award of a contract by the end of March.
Construction is expected to begin in April and should last approximately four months. When complete, the renovated transit hub will be a tremendous asset to the BRITE Bus system and Downtown Staunton.
Town of Glasgow Adopts Update to Comprehensive Plan
On February 13, 2024, Glasgow Town Council adopted the 2024 update to the Town of Glasgow Comprehensive Plan. The town is required to prepare, adopt, and regularly update the comprehensive plan for the purpose of guiding current and future development. The 2024 update to the comprehensive plan was prepared by the Glasgow Planning Commission, with technical assistance from the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission.
The planning process spanned 14 months, beginning in October 2022 and concluding in November 2023. During that time, the Planning Commission and CSPDC conducted extensive research on local and regional demographics, economic metrics, physical and natural features, transportation demands, and housing needs. Glasgow residents were encouraged to provide input through participation in the Glasgow Community Survey, from April 2023 to June 2023. Town Council and the Planning Commission also held a joint public hearing to consider public input and adoption of the comprehensive plan update on January 9, 2024. Local stakeholders are currently seeking opportunities to implement recommendations presented in the updated comprehensive plan.
ARC READY Local Governments Program Initiated in January 2024
On January 19, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) launched the READY Local Governments program as one of their READY Appalachia capacity-building initiatives. The READY Local Governments funding provides no-cost training to assist local government representatives with identifying, securing, managing, and implementing federally sourced projects. The kick-off announcement included a Notice of Solicitation of Applicants to guide potential participants that can be viewed HERE.
No match is required for this virtual, nine-week program scheduled to begin in spring 2024. Interested parties can apply for the initial READY Local Government training program through February 29th. Course capacity is limited to 180 local government officials, with no more than two representatives per community.
To further assist communities, local governments are eligible for up to $50K in funding to initiate in-house capacity-building projects after completing the training program. No match is required. For more information on the READY Local Governments program, visit this ARC webpage.