Resource Links

Regional Resources
Commuter Information – CommuterInformation.com works to enhance the quality of life and mobility of people in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District by promoting the use of alternatives to single occupant vehicles.  This site works to reduce traffic congestion, through public–private partnerships, community outreach and individualized service.  Here you will find everything you need to know about getting around the greater Charlottesville area.

Legislative Liaison – The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission houses a Legislative Liaison that represents the interests and positions of the region's localities before the state legislature and other state policymakers.  The liaison relays important information to the local government elected officials and staffs.  During the General Assembly, there is an informational newsletter that highlights legislative activity.  This newsletter is prepared monthly throughout the remainder of the year.  

Greene County Transit – Greene County Transit, Inc. is an incorporated transportation system that operates as a demand-response transportation system, with door to door service.  They provide transportation for the elderly, workers, shoppers, people with disabilities, or anyone in Greene County that may have a need for transportation services. 

JAUNT – JAUNT, Inc. is a regional transportation provider, offering fixed-route and demand-response service to the citizens of Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Louisa, Nelson, Buckingham and Amherst Counties.  You will find further information on JAUNT and their services at the above link.

RideShare – RideShare is a carpooling program that helps to reduce traffic congestion and increase mobility throughout the City of Charlottesville and the surrounding area.  They offer a Guaranteed Ride Home program, a vanpool start-up service, and free carpool/SchoolPool matching.  For information on RideShare and their services, click on the above link.

Daily Progress (Local Media) – The Daily Progress is a Charlottesville newspaper that covers news events in the city and surrounding areas.  Click here for news stories in the region.

Central Virginian (Local Media) – The Central Virginian is a local newspaper that covers events in Fluvanna and Louisa Counties.  Click here for news stories in these areas.

Greene County Record (Local Media) – The Greene County Record is a local newspaper for Greene County.  Click here for news stories in the County and surrounding area.

Nelson County Times (Local Media) – The Nelson County Times is the local newspaper for Nelson County.  Click here for news stories in the County and surrounding area.

State Resources
Weldon Cooper Center – The Center offers a wealth of information that assists with policy analysis, applied research, technical assistance, leadership development, survey research, consultation, and training for state and local officials, community leaders, as well as members of the general public. 

Virginia Economic Development Partnership – This website is meant to function as an economic development resource for the State of Virginia.  For planning purposes, refer to the ‘Community Profiles’ tab, located on the homepage.  That link provides detailed profiles with valuable information for any city, county, region or metropolitan statistical area in the state.

Transportation and Housing Alliance (THA) – The Transportation and Housing Alliance is a statewide initiative in Virginia linking public and private efforts in the areas of housing and transportation.  The Alliance developed the THA Toolkit to help provide guidance on these topics and to better understand the needs of people with disabilities, along with others who may otherwise be excluded from the planning process.  The Second Edition of the Transportation and Housing Alliance (THA) Toolkit is now available and ready for use.

Virginia General Assembly – This is the website for the Virginia General Assembly, which includes an online version of the State Code, along with information and updates about items in the state legislature.

Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) – VACo exists to support county officials and to effectively represent, promote and protect the interests of counties to better serve the people of Virginia.  For further information on VACo and access to their online resources, click on the above link.

Virginia Association of Planning District Commissions (vapdc) – The purpose of the Association is to improve education on community planning and to encourage, promote, and assist physical, social, and economic planning within the State, through the Commonwealth's several Planning District Commissions.

Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association (VAPA) – This is the Virginia Chapter of the nation’s professional planning organization, the American Planning Association (APA).  The mission of this Chapter is to improve communities in Virginia, by offering continuing professional development and other valuable services to its members that will enable them to excel in their practice.  VAPA focuses on raising awareness about the benefits of planning and provides leadership with planning advocacy in Virginia.

Virginia Association of Zoning Officials (VAZO) – This organization was organized 1990 to perpetuate an organized professional support community for the maintenance of active communication.  Its primary purpose is to promote the interest and welfare of the zoning administration and enforcement agencies whose staff comprise its membership and to promote a closer, more informed relationship among those engaged in the profession of zoning code administration and enforcement. 

Citizens Planning Education Association of Virginia (CPEAV) – This is a volunteer, nonprofit association of Virginians dedicated to furthering public understanding and awareness of the need for excellent community planning as a means of making our localities better places in which to live, work, and do business.  CPEAV offers training services, such as the Certified Planning Commissioner’s Course. 

Rural Planning Caucus – The Rural Planning Caucus of Virginia is an organization dedicated to identifying, publicizing and satisfying the unique planning needs of small towns and rural areas. RPC implements many goals and objectives which assist with the special planning needs of its membership.  

Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) – The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is responsible for building, maintaining and operating the state's roads, bridges and tunnels.  Through the Commonwealth Transportation Board, it provides funding for airports, seaports, rail and public transportation.

Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) – The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation's mission is to improve the mobility of people and goods while expanding transportation choices in the Commonwealth.  DRPT has three primary areas of activity: Rail, Public Transportation, and Commuter Services.

National Resources
American Planning Association – APA is an independent, not-for-profit educational organization that provides leadership in the development of communities.  This is the main professional organization in the nation that focuses on the planning practice.
 
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) – AASHTO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association representing highway and transportation departments in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. It represents all five transportation modes: air, highways, public transportation, rail, and water. Its primary goal is to foster the development, operation, and maintenance of an integrated national transportation system.

National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) – This organization provides advocacy, education, research and training for the nation's regional development organizations.  Building on nearly four decades of experience, the association offers its members exclusive access to a variety of services and benefits, all of which are designed to enhance the ability of regional development organizations to foster "regional solutions" to local government, business and community needs.  NADO Rural Transportation is NADO’s information clearinghouse for rural transportation policymakers, planners and stakeholders.

The Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) – This national organization provides information and guidance on a variety of transportation issues.  Its website provides federal and legislative updates that are related to transportation.  This site lists employment opportunities, current programs and articles. It also has information on their magazine, Community Transportation.

Transportation Research Board (TRB) – TRB is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council— a private, nonprofit institution that is the principal operating agency of the National Academies in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities.  The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to promote innovation and progress in transportation through research.  It facilitates the sharing of information, offers research management services, provides expert advice on transportation policies and programs, and disseminates research results to encourage implementation.

U.S. Census Bureau – The U.S. Census is the the leading source of quality data on the nation's people and economy.  Public resources from the US Census Bureau include population, economic, industry, and geography studies.  This link directs you to their main homepage. 

 American FactFinder – American FactFinder functions as the U.S. Census Bureau’s online resource for gathering their data.  It is the primary source for population, housing, economic and geographic data from the Census. 

OnTheMap – This online program allows a user to produce custom maps and detailed reports on specified geographies, highlighting the relationship between an area’s employment and residential centers.

VDOT Grants and Programs
Local Assistance – The Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) Local Assistance Division provides guidance for special funding programs and other programs that impact work performed by localities, serving as a liaison to local governments.  The division manages several special funding programs, manages urban system changes, manages the local assistance payments program, provides oversight for locally administered projects, and coordinates the urban construction program.

Rural Additions Program – The State provides funds, administered through VDOT, to this program for upgrading existing rural roadways.  This program allows localities to make improvements to these privately owned roads, bringing them into compliance with state roadway standards and allowing them to be eligible for state maintenance. 

Rural Rustic Road Program – The Rural Rustic Program is a practical approach to paving low-volume roads.  It aims to preserve the rural character of roads, while improving the roadway surface within the current right-of-way. 

Access Management Requirements – Access Management is a set of policies and standards that manage the number and location of access points, such as driveways, onto the public road system, preserving the regional flow of traffic in terms of safety, capacity, and speed.  In 2007, access management regulations and standards were developed in accordance with General Assembly legislation.  The 2008 General Assembly enacted legislation that requires VDOT to implement the regulations and the design standards in phases according to a highway’s functional classification.  For more information on these requirements, click on the link.

Secondary Street Acceptance Requirements (SSARs) – The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) approved the Secondary Street Acceptance Requirements (SSAR) at its February 2009 meeting, superseding the 2005 edition of the Subdivision Street Requirements (SSR).  The regulation establishes requirements that newly constructed streets will need to meet to be accepted into the secondary system of state highways for perpetual public maintenance.  

Traffic Impact Analysis Regulations – These regulations are part of §15.2-2222.1 of the Code, which establishes the rules, procedures, and deadlines for VDOT’s review of local government comprehensive plans/plan amendments and traffic impact analyses for certain rezoning applications, site plans and subdivision plats.  Click on the link for more information.
 
Rural Long Range Plan (RLRP) – In November 2005, VDOT unveiled a proposal to develop RLRPs that are focused on rural transportation in 20 of the 23 Planning Districts in Virginia.  This initiative is intended to create regional rural plans that compliment those in the metropolitan areas of the state and to elevate the role of PDCs in the transportation planning process.  The Rural Long Range Plan is intended to address the anticipated effects of population and employment growth on an area’s transportation system.  Click on the link for more information.

Safe Routes to School Program – The Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) Safe Routes to School Program (SRTS) assists interested localities, schools and non-profit groups in the development of plans, activities, and infrastructure improvements to make bicycling and walking to school both safer and more appealing to children.  The link has more information.

Transportation Enhancement Grants – SAFETEA-LU builds on the initiatives established by ISTEA and TEA-21.  This legislation stresses mobility and protection of the environment, community preservation, sustainability and livability.  Transportation Enhancement Grants provide opportunities to improve the transportation experience in local communities.  For more information on this funding source, click on the link.    

Rural Technical Committee

	Meeting Schedule

	Agendas and Minutes

	Committee Members

	By-Laws

	Long Range Plan

	Fiscal Year Scope of Work

	Project Archives