AROUND THE REGION
There are a few meetings coming up for CVTA as well as GRTC. The second full meeting of the CVTA will be 8:30 am next Fri, Oct 30, in socially distanced & masked person at Henrico County's Training Center, which is accessible by the 18 Henrico Government Center line. The CVTA is largely continuing to build out its organizational components (agenda here), but you can check out last week's Transit Spotlight for info on its draft budget and some key upcoming issues, including regional transit as well as transit governance.
The meeting can be seen on PlanRVA's Youtube Channel (#1 new contender for home of fun) or you can be there in socially distanced & masked person. Public comment opportunities occur toward the beginning and end of the meeting, and you can also email in a public comment to CVTA@planrva.org (ideally by 5 pm on Oct 29).
The next GRTC Board meeting is bright and early at 8:00 am on Tues, Oct 27. The Board will be meeting remotely, but folks can watch the meeting via GRTC's Youtube Channel (reigning champion home of fun) and the agenda is here. Public comments sent in via email to carrie.rosepace@ridegrtc.com by 5:00 pm Mon, Oct 26, will be read during the public comments portion of the meeting.
TRANSIT SPOTLIGHT - RT 1 NORTH
This week's Transit Spotlight takes a closer look at proposed public transit expansions for Rt 1 North. As you'll recall, the "Greater RVA Transit Vision Plan: Near-Term Strategic Technical Analysis" (NSTA for short?) was recently adopted by our RRTPO (Richmond Regional Transportation Planning Organization).
The NSTA study examines expansions for our public transit network, with an emphasis on corridors bearing potential for high-frequency bus lines. You can see the analysis of Rt1 North here (pgs "A-44" through "A-50"). As you know, bus lines 1A, 1B, and 1C presently run along Chamberlayne Ave to Azalea Ave/the Brookhill Azalea Shopping Center and constitute a ridership powerhouse of the current system.
The NSTA study proposes growing public transit service about 2.5 miles farther up Rt 1/along Brook Rd to Parham Rd. That growth would get St. Joseph's Villa, the First Tee renovation of Belmont Golf Course, Walmart, as well as a host of other jobs and neighborhoods along the way on a good bus line. With a bit of needed/creative work, this growth could also get Reynolds Community College (Parham Campus) more squarely on this bus line.
Now, growth is good! Expanding service along Brook Rd up to Parham would be a very solid, incremental step in the right direction. We always need to keep our eye on the region's full Greater RVA Transit Vision Plan (map on pg. 4) too and bringing a comprehensive, effective regional public transit system to fruition. For instance, enormous potential also lies in connecting in Ashland via Rt 1 North as well as Virginia Center Commons and all the redevelopment afoot there (and the study does call for examining express service to Ashland, as well as regular service to Virginia Center Commons).
With steps like all the above on Rt 1, we can keep growing into a full system that powerfully connects the region, affording everyone the opportunity to lead healthier, more productive, and more interconnected lives.
Nelson Reveley
Director of Operations, RVA Rapid Transit