TJPDC e–News—Summer 2004

30 Years of Regional Planning, Linking Transportation, Land Use, Economy, & Environment

TJPDC e–News is issued on a quarterly basis to keep you informed about the programs and projects at the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. In addition to e-mail, every issue of TJPDC e–News is posted on our website.

TJPDC e–News provides brief snapshots of our current efforts. If you are interested in additional information on a particular subject, just click on the link embedded in the article or contact the appropriate TJPDC staff member. We hope you enjoy this update. Please feel free to send comments and suggestions to info@tjpdc.org.

The Thomas Jefferson Solid Waste Plan, required by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, is an excellent example of regional cooperation. All six member jurisdictions participated in the development of the Plan, which was written by TJPDC staff and a technical committee representing member jurisdictions.

Major recommendations in the Plan include the coordination of solid waste contracts throughout the region and a central sorting facility to handle all recyclables in the region. Both recommendations take advantage of the economy of scale benefits of regional cooperation. For more information, visit the solid waste page  or contact Bill Wanner at (434) 979-7310 x390 .

The Thomas Jefferson Venture program initiated a Heritage Tourism project to use preservation of natural and historic sites for economic development. The first phase identified sites important to the region's heritage and produced maps of potential heritage tours. In the second phase, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau incorporated the identified sites into an interactive online regional heritage tourism map.

A Toolkit was developed in the final phase to help preserve and protect the listed properties. It presents legal tools for protecting buildings and landscapes, physical tools for rehabilitating and restoring sites, and management tools for operating these places as a tourist destination. It serves as a guide for owners and operators of heritage sites who want to open their site to the pubic, and for localities planning to create a heritage tourism program. View the toolkit online .

The Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization adopted the award-winning UnJAM 2025 Plan (MPO area) at its meeting on May 10. The remainder of the Plan to include the rural transportation planning chapters is being presented to respective localities for endorsement in the coming months. View the plan .

TJPDC Announces New RideShare Outreach Coordinator

The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission is pleased to announce the appointment of Jennifer Watlington as its new RideShare Outreach Coordinator. In her position, Ms. Watlington will provide outreach services for RideShare programs and staff support for the Commuter Information Team. She has a bachelor's degree from Virginia Tech, where she majored in political science and minored in communication studies, as well as a master's of public administration from Virginia Tech's Center for Public Administration and Policy. If you would like to personally welcome Ms. Watlington to the TJPDC, she can be reached at (434) 295-6165 or at .

Homelessness Conference Big Success

On March 30, over 140 participants representing local service providers, faith-based organizations, concerned citizens, government workers, and homeless individuals came together in Charlottesville, Virginia for the first regional forum on homelessness-- Homelessness In A World Class Community. The Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless (TJACH) is working toward the day when everyone in our region has a decent, safe place to sleep at night.

For a report from the forum, visit the TJACH website. For additional information, contact Evan Scully at (434) 979-7310 x440 or .

Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan Public Meeting to Be Held August 10th

VTrans2025, the statewide multimodal transportation plan, is a long range planning effort to create a more integrated, convenient, and efficient transportation system for Virginia's traveling public and for visitors. This effort marks the first time that all of the agencies responsible for providing transportation services and facilities have come together to analyze the future trends and needs of highway motorists, rail and transit passengers, freight shippers, airline passengers, bicyclists and pedestrians.

A VTrans 2025 public meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 10th from 4 pm to 8 pm at the Culpeper Train Depot. This will be an open format informational meeting where you will be able to learn more about VTrans2025 and speak with agency representatives who have intimate knowledge of this process. In addition, the Virginia Department of Transportation will be seeking comments on the State Highway Plan and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation will be asking for comments on the Rail, Transit, and TDM Needs Assessment. The Department of Aviation and the Virginia Port Authority will have their existing long range plans available for informational purposes. Harrison Rue, TJPDC executive director, is a member of the VTrans 2025 technical committee. For more information, you can contact him at (434) 979-7310 x110 or . To view the draft plan, visit the VTrans 2025 website.

Fork Union Developing Community Plan

Along with Fluvanna County staff and community leaders, the TJPDC facilitated a series of workshops this spring to help Fork Union area residents and business owners develop a Community Plan. This plan is intended to guide future business and residential growth as well as recreation, transportation, and infrastructure development in the greater Fork Union area. A preliminary document outlining the main issues identified by workshop participants can be downloaded at on this website . A full report will be issued in coming weeks. For more information, contact Shae Garwood at (434) 979-7310 x360 or .

Mapping Transition Services

TJPDC has been awarded a $50,000 grant by the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities for "Mapping Transition Services for Students with Disabilities." The grant will help develop a "mapping tool" that showcases the transition resources available in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District. The "mapping tool" will take the shape of a web site, allowing users to view and select information on available programs in the areas of education, employment, independent living, recreational activities, and financial assistance. This will be the inaugural project for the Jefferson Area Transition Council, linking schools with agencies and organizations in the region. For more information, contact Billie Campbell at (434) 979-7310 x230 or .

TJPDC to Help Study Impacts of Route 29 on Village of Lovingston

The Village of Lovingston in Nelson County is growing on both sides of Route 29, which separates the two main commercial and residential areas. This study will analyze the existing conditions on Route 29 and make recommendations to improve accessibililty, safety, and mobility in Lovingston. Primary concerns of residents are the difficulty turning or crossing onto Route 29 and the lack of adequate pedestrian and bicycle facilities. The grant was awarded by the Virginia Department of Transportation through their Rural Transportation Planning Grant program. For more information, contact Bill Wanner at (434) 979-7310 x390 or .

Disability Friendly Businesses Recognized

Area businesses were recognized as Disability Friendly Businesses by the Virginia Business Leadership Network (VABLN) at a breakfast meeting held May 14 at the Boar's Head Inn. Businesses recognized includ Wintergreen Resort, Birdwood Golf Course, Greene County Dental Clinic and Great Valu in Stanardsville. Katherine McCary, Vice President of SunTrust Bank, presented the awards and spoke on VABLN, a business led coalition dedicated to increasing workforce and marketplace diversity to include people with disabilities. For more information, visit the Virginia BLN website.

Piedmont Workforce Network Adopts Strategic Plan

The Local Workforce Investment Board (LWIB) for Area 6 (Planning Districts 9 and 10) adopted their Strategic Plan on June 23, 2004. Throughout the strategic planning process, the LWIB identified their vision as "a community that works" and their mission statement as "linking resources to meet employment needs". The LWIB (previously known as Workforce Today!) has officially changed their name to Piedmont Workforce Network. For more information, contact Harrison Rue at (434) 979-7310 x110 or .

Executive Director travels to Honolulu for US EPA and USDOT

Harrison Rue, TJDPC executive director led a US EPA Smart Growth Assistance Team to Honolulu in May, for a week-long series of workshops. The team reviewed existing development practices, transportation systems, and zoning codes along with the City, builders, developers, and community groups, and developed a package of recommended strategies to improve land use and transportation planning and investments. Rue was invited to return to Honolulu in June by USDOT, to conduct a workshop on Scenario Planning for Hawaii DOT and the Oahu MPO. For more information, contact Harrison Rue at (434) 979-7310 x110 or .

TJPDC Supports Freecycling

The TJPDC is supporting Freecycling, an idea in solid waste reduction that began in Tucson just a year ago and has already spread to over 500 cities. Freecycling has been included in the regional solid waste plan and was covered in the "Trends" section of the May 10 issue of People magazine. It's a very simple concept - people who have something to give away post it on a free Internet message board, and people who want it claim it. Those who have a need may also post (for instance, a non-profit organization that needs some equipment). Freecycling encourages reuse without the need for centralized storage facilities. More information is available at the national Freecycle website.

RideShare Presents New Brochures

The RideShare program has recently completed production of new brochures. These newly created brochures provide commuters with information on commuting alternatives and highlight some of RideShare's services including carpool matching, vanpool start-up services, and its SchoolPool and Guaranteed Ride Home programs. RideShare is happy to provide any agency or organization with a supply of these upon request or to meet with you to explain our available services. For more information, visit the RideShare website or call (434) 295-6165.

Greene County Joins Legislative Services

The TJPDC is pleased to announce that Greene County has joined the legislative services program, effective July 1. The service utilizes a ¾ time legislative liaison who represents the interests and positions of the Planning District localities before the state legislature and other state policymakers. Much of this effort occurs at the General Assembly during January-March of each year, and also during the off-season, attending legislative study committee meetings and other meetings of interest to local governments. The legislative liaison works with the member localities to develop a regional legislative program that serves as the basis for lobbying activities throughout the year. For more information, contact David Blount at (434) 979-7310 x350 or .

About this email

TJPDC e–News is a publication of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission and is published as a forum for the latest news and information concerning the programs and projects at the PDC. This newsletter is mailed on a quarterly basis. If you would like to be removed from the distribution list, please contact the TJPDC at info@tjpdc.org or by calling (434) 979–7310.

For more information about the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, please contact us or visit our website:

Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission
300 East Main Street, P.O. Box 1505
Charlottesville, VA 22902-1505
(434) 979–7310
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Regional planning
linking transportation,
land use, economy, & environment.