The Virginia Department of Transportation, which sets standards

The Virginia Department of Transportation, which sets standards not only for state highways but also for many community streets, has historically been an impediment to new urbanist development. But Harrison Rue, executive director of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission in Charlottesville, says progress is being made in Virginia on new street standards, multimodal corridor planning, and “transit-ready development.” Rue points out that Fred Dock of Meyer, Mohaddes Associates and Phil Erickson of Community Design + Architecture have worked on a multimodal corridor plan for VDOT and on implementation of Albemarle County’s comprehensive plan, winner of a CNU Charter Award. “The state has been spending a couple of million dollars a year on similar multimodal planning grants around the state ... and is funding our work on establishing a regional transit authority,” Rue adds. Work with VDOT has been the most successful at the district rather than headquarters level. However, Rue notes that the secretary of VDOT is spearheading new regulations that would allow much narrower local roadways, “require connectivity of the network,” and permit more creative stormwater infrastructure.