AROUND THE REGION
Last Thursday, the Richmond Regional Transportation Planning Organization Policy Board (RRTPO, part of PlanRVA) adopted a set of planning recommendations for expanding high-frequency bus lines and accompanying infrastructure (sidewalks, crosswalks, etc.) in the region. You can see a bird's eye of the recommendations here, or you can dive down deep into the pdf and the illustrative story map. Roughly, the routes recommended for high-frequency bus lines in the near term are:
Reynolds Community College <—> Downtown (largely along Rt 1 to Parham)
Chesterfield Towne Center <—> Downtown (largely along Midlothian Turnpike)
Airport <—> Downtown (potentially along Rt 60 or via GRTC's 7A/7B line)
Willow Lawn <—> Short Pump (along Broad St)
Gayton Crossing Shopping Center <—> Downtown (Quioccasin to Three Chopt to Patterson to Cary).
If funded, these lines would either come as enhancements to existing service or as brand new service, depending on the route. And on that essential note, "if funded," remember that this is a strategic analysis/plan that the RRTPO Policy Board has adopted as a way of continuing progress toward the Greater RVA Transit Vision Plan (adopted in 2017). But plans without funding and political will are like plants without water and sunshine. We need funding and political will for such plan(t)s to bear fruit! (ok I'll stop).
Enter key player CVTA (Central Virginia Transportation Authority). As we highlighted last week, the CVTA had its inaugural meeting on August 27. It selected Henrico Supervisor Frank Thornton (Fairfield District) as its chair, Chesterfield Supervisor Kevin Carroll (Matoaca District) as vice-chair, and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney as chair of the Finance Committee. The CVTA will have its first Finance Committee meeting on September 18 (exact timing TBA). Stay tuned.
TAKE ACTION
In pedestrian safety and advocacy news, our friends at Bike Walk RVA have got an excellent Bike Walk RVA Academy coming up focused on funding, plans, policies, and advocacy for sidewalks, with emphasis on south Richmond. Every bus rider, along with anyone who cannot levitate, is a pedestrian at some point in need of safe avenues to move about. Applications for "Bike Walk RVA Academy: Sidewalks" are due September 14!
PlanRVA is also presently working on its long-range transportation plan (LRTP), which is updated every four years (as you can imagine, the Greater RVA Transit Vision Plan and near-term moves toward it are the kind of thing usually folded into an LRTP). Check out connectrva2045.org for more info. As noted in there, this plan guides "the region's transportation investments over the next 20 years" and focuses on "all modes of travel, including transit, highways, bicycles, and pedestrians." There is currently an online survey to help define the plan's goals, vision, and strategies, so take that survey to highlight the need for transit-oriented development and accompanying infrastructure.
Nelson Reveley
Director of Operations, RVA Rapid Transit