Kayla Dixon Joins CSPDC as Outreach and Engagement Planner

Posted on July 27, 2026July 27, 2026 by Kayla Dixon

Kayla Dixon officially joined the CSPDC as our Outreach and Engagement Planner on July 1. Kayla began working at the CSPDC in the summer of 2025 as a summer intern and then continued her work with us through the 2025-26 academic year as a graduate assistant. During her time in those roles, she developed and implemented a “Value of Transit” campaign in support of the BRITE Transit system.

In May, Kayla graduated from James Madison University with her master’s in public administration. During her time at JMU, she worked as a Research Assistant in the American Political Reform & Innovation Lab, held an internship with the City of Harrisonburg, and traveled to the Netherlands to explore urban planning and sustainability. Originally from Northern Virginia, Kayla is excited to stay in the Valley and continue her work supporting engagement initiatives throughout the CSPDC region. Outside of work she enjoys crocheting, reading, and getting active by weightlifting and hiking with her dog Callie.

VDOT Completes Public Engagement for Shenandoah Valley Rail-with-Trail Assessment

Posted on July 27, 2026July 27, 2026 by Kayla Dixon

With publication of the Phase 3 Public Engagement Summary, VDOT has concluded the Shenandoah Valley Rail-with-Trail Assessment — a study that began in March 2024 to evaluate options for the 49-mile rail corridor running through Warren, Shenandoah, and Rockingham counties.

Phase 3 public engagement took place in the Spring of 2026 with in-person meetings in the towns of Woodstock, Front Royal, and Timberville, and an online survey that was open from April 8 through May 13, 2026.

VDOT received 8,150 survey responses. Among the 2,552 respondents from Warren, Shenandoah, and Rockingham Counties, 69.9% named converting the corridor to a trail as the best investment for the Commonwealth, compared with 6.7% who favored keeping rail service alongside a parallel trail. 18.4% of these respondents along the corridor said they had no preference, and 5.0% said they liked neither option.

Support for rail-to-trail was similarly strong statewide, at 57.8% of the 6,160 respondents identifiable by Virginia zip code.

In February 2026, the Secretary of Transportation’s office indicated to the Commonwealth Transportation Board that it would begin negotiations with Norfolk Southern to acquire the corridor. The final configuration — rail-to-trail or rail-with-trail — will be decided later, informed in part by this engagement data.

Full engagement summary and project materials are available on VDOT’s project page.

HRMPO Holds Open House on North Mason Street Corridor Study

Posted on March 19, 2026March 19, 2026 by Paula Melester

The Harrisonburg Rockingham Metropolitan Planning Organization (HRMPO) held a public open house on Tuesday, February 24 at the Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center to share proposed improvement concepts for the MPO North Mason Street Study. Study is evaluating safety and streetscape improvements between East Market Street and North Main Street, and study builds on last summer’s demonstration project, which temporarily converted North Mason Street from four lanes to two. 1,500 people shared their input on the demonstration project.

February open house attendees reviewed the proposed design concepts, asked questions, and provided input on potential improvement strategies. Public input will inform the City’s selection of a preferred alternative, and will be documented in a final corridor study expected to be complete by summer 2026.

The study evaluates options for permanent changes to the corridor by replacing some existing roadway space with new public space. The designs also ensure adequate capacity for traffic while accommodating all modes of transportation, including pedestrians, people biking, trucks, emergency vehicles, and transit buses.

Following the preferred alternative selection, the City of Harrisonburg intends to submit the project for consideration through Virginia’s SMART SCALE transportation funding program. If funded, construction would begin after 2030.

You can review the informational boards from the meeting here: https://www.harrisonburgva.gov/sites/default/files/public-works/North%20Mason%20Boards.pdf.

For more information about the study, visit https://www.harrisonburgva.gov/transportation-studies-plans#NorthMasonStreetCorridorStudy.

Stay Connected with CSPDC: Introducing Our Enhanced Engagement Hub

Posted on March 19, 2026March 19, 2026 by Paula Melester

We’re excited to share a fresh new way to stay in the loop on the planning work happening across the Central Shenandoah region. Visit connect.cspdc.org to explore our new online engagement hub, where you can follow our programs, track projects you care about, and share your input — all in one place.

The site is organized around CSPDC’s program areas, making it easy to find what’s most relevant to you. Start at the “Around the Region“ hub for our annual report and monthly regional news, or head straight to the program area hub that interests you most — transportation, housing, environment, and more. Each hub showcases all of the related projects currently underway, so you’ll always have a clear picture of what we’re up to.

Subscribe or Follow — and Stay in the Know

This is where Connect really shines. You have two easy ways to stay current:

Subscribe to a program area — Just enter your email address on any program area page to receive updates whenever new content is posted. No account needed.
Follow a specific project — Interested in a particular project? Click the “Follow” button on the project page to receive targeted updates. This option requires a free Social Pinpoint account, which takes just a moment to set up.

Creating an account also lets you customize your experience — choose which parts of the region you want to hear about, select the types of projects that interest you, and set how often you’d like to receive notifications. You’re in control, and you can update your preferences or delete your account at any time.

Your Input Matters — Even After Engagement Closes

When a project is in an active engagement phase, you’ll find surveys, interactive maps, and other tools right on the project page. But project pages don’t disappear when an engagement window closes — they stay on the site to share results and provide ongoing project updates, so the conversation continues.

We hope you’ll take a few minutes to explore connect.cspdc.org. Subscribe to what interests you, follow the projects you want to track, and let us know what you think!

SAWMPO Completes Phase II of Long-Range Transportation Plan Update

Posted on May 6, 2025May 7, 2025 by Kimberly Miller

The Staunton-Augusta-Waynesboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (SAWMPO) is updating the 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), a comprehensive strategy designed to guide transportation investments across the region over the next 25 years. This plan aims to address the evolving mobility needs of the community, ensuring a more connected, safe, and efficient transportation network.

The LRTP is updated every five years through a multi-phase process emphasizing public involvement. The 2050 update kicked off in August 2024 and includes three phases of public engagement. Phase I – the visioning phase – was completed in Fall 2024. You can read more about Phase I here.

Building on initial insights, during Phase II SAWMPO presented a list of potential transportation projects for public review. Over 200 comments were received via an interactive map hosted on the CSPDC’s new public engagement platform CSPDC Connects.

MPO staff spoke to elected officials and community members directly about the proposed project list. Staff presented the proposed list at Staunton City Council, Waynesboro City Council, and the Augusta County Board of Supervisors meetings and held three public meetings in Staunton, Waynesboro, and Stuarts Draft where they answered questions from residents about the proposed projects.
The next phase involves developing a draft plan incorporating public feedback and project evaluations. This draft will be available for community review and input later this year before finalization.