News
The Federal Transit Administration Awards Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission with Bus and Bus Facilities Grant
~ Rehabilitating BRITE Transit’s transportation hub in downtown Staunton~
(STAUNTON): Last week, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced its award of $915,600 in Bus and Bus Facilities Program funding to BRITE Transit, a service of the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission (CSPDC). BRITE Transit provides bus service to seven localities in the Shenandoah region. The funding will enable the agency to rehabilitate its transit hub in Staunton, Virginia. CSPDC is providing a $45,600 local match accompanied by a $177,900 state match from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT).
“So many BRITE Transit riders pass through this parking lot each day. This grant enables us to create a safe, accessible, multimodal transit hub for them,” stated Bonnie Riedesel, Executive Director of the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission. “We look forward to our continued partnership with FTA, DRPT, and the City of Staunton to create a transit asset and public space that will benefit the BRITE System for years to come.”
The FTA Bus and Facilities grant program makes federal resources available to states and their direct recipients to replace or restore buses and associated bus facilities including innovation enhancements supporting low or no emission vehicles.
“This project is a prime example of how transit agencies can partner with DRPT to develop high-quality grant applications for discretionary federal funding. By leveraging a combination of local, state, and federal funding, agencies like CSPDC are helping improve, innovate, and modernize transit in Virginia,” stated Jennifer DeBruhl, Acting Director of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation. “As Virginians return to the office, we urge them to Rediscover Your Ride by choosing public transportation.”
The CSPDC transit hub rehabilitation project will redefine the surface parking lot with dedicated space for bus parking, an ADA-accessible passenger boarding and alighting platform, add vehicular parking for “kiss and ride” transit riders, and include passenger facilities like shelters, benches, and safety lighting. The project will also add an electrical conduit for electric vehicle charging stations. The project is anticipated to be completed over the next two years.
“This is wonderful news. The upgrades to the Lewis Street Hub are definitely needed. It will make it much easier to catch the bus and make transfers,” Becky Messer, BRITE passenger and BRITE Technical Advisory Committee member.
CSPDC Hosting Regional Roundtable on Main Street Resiliency
The CSPDC will host a regional roundtable focused on Main Street Resiliency on Thursday, April 7th at 9:00 a.m. Join the Regional Roundtable to learn pandemic recovery strategies for your downtown. Presentations by Matthew Wagner, Chief Program Officer at Main Street America, and Courtney Mailey, a Community Revitalization Specialist at Virginia Main Street, will cover current trends and best practices to support the economic recovery of local main streets. The CSPDC’s COVID-19 Economic Analysis concluded that downtown areas were most heavily impacted by the pandemic and will take longer to recover compared to the rest of the region. The analysis studied downtown areas in the following cities and towns: Staunton, Harrisonburg, Waynesboro, Buena Vista, Lexington, Bridgewater, Broadway, Monterey, and Hot Springs. Featuring research by Main Street America and Virginia Main Street, the CSPDC’s regional roundtable will provide takeaways applicable to all localities in the Central Shenandoah region.
Nine Firms Selected for CSPDC’s On-Call Consultant Program
BRITE Transit Office Space for Lease
The BRITE Transit Facility, 51 Ivy Ridge Lane, Fishersville, currently has office space available.
- 7,200 Square Feet
- Offices, Conference Rooms, Lobby, and Breakrooms
- High Speed Internet/Fiber
- Easy Access to Interstate
- Lots of Exterior Windows
- Elevator and Stair Access
- Handicap Access
- Ample, Free Parking
- Public Utilities
Gin Chandler hired as Finance Director
Gin Chandler was hired as the CSPDC Finance Director and began work on February 16th. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Mary Baldwin University in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration-Business and Government from Liberty University. Ms. Chandler was the Accountant Specialist for Augusta County and the previous Administrative Services Manager for the Harrisonburg Department of Parks and Recreation. She currently resides in Augusta County with her husband Clay and their two furry family members, Remy and Cooper. Clay and Gin share four children – Todd, Jacklyn, Emily and Kieland. In her free time, Gin enjoys gardening, reading, and watching movies.