TAKE ACTION

A while back, we sent out a public transportation questionnaire to candidates for both Chesterfield and Henrico Board of Supervisors. We wanted to know how each candidate planned to deal with the unique transportation issues facing their particular county.

In Chesterfield, we were concerned about the ability for folks to age in place; how the County can encourage productive development along its major corridors; where Chesterfield should look to expand public transportation next; and if the candidates supported a dedicated, regional transit funding stream.

In Henrico, we wanted to hear more about pedestrian access to transit; the next place to expand the County’s growing portion of the regional bus network; the candidates’ vision for transit-oriented development; and, again, if they supported a dedicated, regional transit funding stream.

You can read all of the responses to both questionnaires here:

If you are a candidate in either one of these races and do not see your responses, please contact info@rvarapidtransit.org. If you are resident of Henrico or Chesterfield and don’t see your favorite candidates’ responses, maybe shoot them an email and let them know that public transportation is a priority.

AROUND THE REGION

Henricoans! On Monday, September 23rd, the County, the National Complete Streets Coalition, Smart Growth America, PlanRVA, and Michael Baker will host a Complete Streets Open House at the Tuckahoe Library from 4:00–7:00 PM. They’ll look at the Town of Ashland as a case study for building a regional complete streets policy toolkit. This event is an excellent opportunity to hear about how to build a complete regional transportation network for all folks—whether they’re walking, riding a bike, or taking the bus. It’s an open house format, so don’t feel like you need to show up for the entire three hours.

PARK(ing) Day, an annual opportunity to convert parking spaces into temporary parks, was a complete and total success! C. Suarez Rojas has a write up in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and you can check out a handful of pictures from throughout the city over on StreetsCred.

ELSEWHERE

When you think of progressive parking policy, you don’t typically think about Houston. But maybe you should! The city recently removed “mandatory parking requirements from new developments in two of the city’s more walkable neighborhoods” and is already seeing some cool results. For example, one new development is using space that would have been parking to build a plaza for actual humans. This, let-the-market-decide strategy is a good first step which can and should be followed by implementing maximums on parking as well.

—Ross Catrow