Re-Discover Your Ride Campaign
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transit (DRPT) has launched a campaign called Re-Discover Your Ride to celebrate the return to public transit after two challenging years during the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign highlights the safety measures public transit agencies are taking to ensure rider health and safety. As more individuals return to an in-person working environment, now is the perfect time to encourage riders to return to the public transportation services they used in their commutes prior to COVID-19. DRPT acting director, Jennifer DeBruhl noted that the Transit Recovery Initiative aims to “rebuild confidence in transit service.”
DRPT has also launched a website with rider safety tips, FAQs, and a transit locator tool to help riders find their nearest transportation providers. Locally, BRITE Bus and the Afton Express are participating in this exciting campaign – reaching out to riders through their social media platforms and through radio commercials to remind riders that public transit is still here and is ready to get them where they need to go. The campaign runs through the month of April and features a contest where riders can win prizes for logging their public transit trips in the AgileMile commuter app. For more information, visit https://transitva.org
Public Input Requested on Future Transportation Projects
The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) is conducting a spring meeting to allow the public to comment on transportation projects recommended for funding in the Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP). Our region’s in-person meeting will be on Monday, May 2nd at 4:00 p.m. at Blue Ridge Community College’s Plecker Center.
You can also submit comments online from April 25 through May 23.
The CTB will consider comments as it develops the FY2023-2028 SYIP. The program allocates public funds to highway, road, bridge, rail, bicycle, pedestrian, and public transportation projects. All federally eligible projects in the SYIP will be included in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program to document how Virginia will obligate its federal funds.
Region 8 Council Meets to Consider Four Proposals
During their April 26 meeting at Blue Ridge Community College, the GO Virginia Region 8 Council will consider funding requests for four projects. Two projects are proposed to address impacts from the pandemic:
• The Shenandoah Valley Small Business Resiliency Team (SBRT) intends to deliver a second round of focused services to 60 businesses, particularly those in the hard-hit tourism and healthcare sectors. Services could include e-commerce, finance, or operational systems. SBRT is a partnership of Harrisonburg Economic Development, Frederick County Economic Development, Shenandoah Valley Small Business Development Center, and Lord Fairfax Small Business Development Center.
• The Next Gen Nurses project will address workforce shortages that have worsened during the pandemic. The project will leverage retiring nurses as clinical trainers to expand the pipeline of incoming nurses. Project partners include Shenandoah University, Valley Health, VDH Lord Fairfax District, and local governments.
A third project includes the Scaling Entrepreneurs through Experimentation and Design (SEED) project submitted by James Madison University. The purpose of the SEED project is to accelerate innovations by providing early-stage engineering and product design services. Proposed in downtown Harrisonburg, the project includes new space, equipment, and resources for entrepreneurs.
The final project, Accelerating Advance Manufacturing Workforce, was submitted by Lord Fairfax Community College Workforce Solutions. The project means to address the skills gap in the manufacturing sector by offering a training and credentialling and by directly connecting students with manufacturing employers.
GO Virginia is a state initiative led by local business, education, and government leaders. The mission of the GO Virginia Region 8 Council is to collaborate with regional stakeholders to fund grants that will foster private sector growth and create higher wage job opportunities throughout the Shenandoah Valley, thereby enhancing the lives of all who live and work in the region.
Bath-Highland Network Authority Meeting
The Bath-Highland Network Authority will hold a meeting at the Highland Center at 61 Highland Center Drive, Monterey, VA 24465 on April 11, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. For more information about the meeting, please contact Ms. Hunter Moore at 540-885-5174 ext. 118 or hunter@cspdc.org.
CSPDC Issues Notice of Award for On-Call Consultant Program
The CSPDC began reprocuring our On-Call Consultant program in 2021 and this month notice of decision to award was issued for nine selected firms. Created in 2012, the program provides the CSPDC, our 21 jurisdictions, and 2 Metropolitan Planning Organizations quick access to competitively procured consultants. While there are many benefits to the program, the most notable are reduced operational expenses and quicker turnaround on projects. A wide variety of planning and technical services can be obtained through the program and both the CSPDC and many of our region’s jurisdictions have successfully used our On-Call program. Additionally, selected transportation engineering consultants underwent VDOT’s pre-award audit, making them eligible for state and federally funded projects. Our new bench of consultants include:
1. Kimley – Horn & Associates (KHA)
2. A. Morton Thomas and Associates (AMT)
3 Timmons Group
4. Whitman, Requardt, & Associates (WRA)
5. Vanasse, Hangen, & Brustlin (VHB)
6. Draper Aden Associates (DAA)
7. Mangum Economics
8. Colley Architects
9. Launch! Consulting