Some positive news on the 25 year transportation plan in Harrisonburg, Bridgewater, Dayton, Mount Crawford and the surrounding parts of Rockingham County—officials received really thoughtful input during the final input phase that was incorporated into the document before it was approved.
So, kudos all around, to those of you who weighed in, and to the planners for listening!
Dark Skies and Park and Rides
The plan called for new park and ride facilities to be well-lit for safety, which they should be, but the Alliance and several community members expressed that park and ride lighting should also adhere to standards that reduce light pollution. The final plan recommends ‘Park and Ride lots should balance providing adequate lighting with the importance of decreasing light pollution’.
Project #9, Erickson Avenue Improvements
This project called for the addition of bike lanes on both sides of the road between Route 33 and the City of Harrisonburg line (almost to Garbers Church Road), but the Alliance and other community members expressed a range of nuanced concerns with this option to address pedestrian safety on a roadway that already sees a significant amount of through-truck traffic and congestion.
Planners responded by removing the project from the plan to be studied further, but left a placeholder to apply to a new solution. Community members showed preference for a pedestrian path completely separated from traffic, and planners thought this, along with potential connections to existing Bluestone and/or Friendly City Trail projects, was worth studying. Now there are possibilities that otherwise might not have been explored if folks hadn’t spoken up! We’ll continue to follow this study and keep you posted.
Planners also responded to comments addressing electric vehicle charging stations. You can read the final document here.
We are pleased by this process and the outcome—a real welcome change in dialogue and community input in transportation planning that we know will lead to impactful projects.