The Census Bureau has been busily preparing to conduct enumeration for the 2010 Census for quite some time. The Regional Commission staff has assisted in several tangible ways by providing meeting space for Census staff, providing information on homeless populations to local Census staff, serving on the City of Roanoke’s Complete Count Committee, and leading the region’s Participant Statistical

Areas Program (PSAP), which aides in the mapping and geography of the Census.

The Census is of critical importance to this region for a number of reasons. The Census count is used to determine the number of congressional seats apportioned to each state as well as the size and distribution of those districts within a state. Data in the Census determines how more than $400 billion in federal funding is spent and apportioned among communities. It is of vital importance that the region’s localities and institutions do everything in their power to ensure that the regional count is complete. Census forms will be mailed soon, starting in February/March 2010, to households across this country, using address information from the 2009 address-canvassing operation. Questionnaire forms will be available at select public sites for those who did not receive the form by mail in March/April 2010. April 1, 2010 is Census Day, the reference date for the Census. Census enumerators will visit households that do not return their questionnaires by mail in May through July 2010. The population count will be delivered to the President on December 31, 2010.

Responses should reflect conditions on April 1, 2010 but may be returned earlier. Residents are encouraged to respond as early as possible. If the Census Bureau has not received your form by April 9, 2010, you will likely receive a visit from a Census Bureau enumerator.

The 2010 Census features one of the shortest Census forms in the history of the program. All people in the United States will receive the same form. The form asks a total of ten questions for the householder and 7 questions for every other person in the household. The subjects covered in the 2010 Census include the number of people staying in the house, whether the householder owns or rents the home, name, gender, age, Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin, race, and whether a person sometimes lives or stays somewhere else (i.e., college students, members of the military, etc.).

For the first time since 1940, the Census will not utilize a ‘long form’ sent to a select sample of residents to obtain a more complete data set on housing, income, and other demographics. The long form has been replaced with the American Community Survey, a nationwide continuous survey. Random samples of residents in the region will continue to receive American Community Survey forms from the Census Bureau on a yearly basis.

BE COUNTED New Decennial Census: Census 2010

CITIZEN INPUT MEETINGS HELD ON DRAFT ROUTE 419 CORRIDOR STUDY

2

COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOP-

MENT STRATEGY (CEDS) UPDATE

2

PERFORMANCE UPDATE OF RIDE SOLUTIONS — THE REGION’S RIDE-SHARE PROGRAM

3

DATA SUMMARY

4

TIGER GRANT APPLICATION SUBMITTED VAPDC WINTER CONFERENCE DETAILS URBAN TREE CANOPY

7

Inside this Issue:

February 2010 Edition

Serving the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, Franklin and Roanoke; the cities of Covington, Roanoke and Salem; and the towns of Clifton Forge, Rocky Mount and Vinton

Newsletter of the Roanoke Valley‐Alleghany Regional Commission

www.vapdc.org

MEMBER OF

IT’S IN OUR HANDS www.census.gov

The Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission's first Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) was approved by the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Philadelphia Regional Office on June 8, 2009. Commission staff is working with the regional CEDS Committee on completing the first annual update by refreshing the current project listing and revisiting priorities. With an approved CEDS in place for the region, the Regional Commission staff also submitted all information required by EDA to officially begin the process of becoming an Economic Development District. Staff anticipates designation within 12 to 18 months. Two public open house meetings on the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy are scheduled for February 4 at the Green Ridge Recreation Center in Roanoke County and February 11 at the Clifton Forge Public Library. Input from the public meetings will be considered as the committee compiles the Strategy’s final list of projects. Draft materials will be posted as they are developed at http://www.regionalstrategy.org.

Staff Contact: John Hull, Regional Economic Development Manager jhull@rvarc.org or 540.343.4417

The Regional Register

Regional Commission Completing First Annual CEDS Update and Pursuing Designation as an Economic Development District

Page 2

In March of 2008, the Roanoke Valley Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (RVAMPO), which is staffed by the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, was awarded an $80,000 planning grant from the Virginia Multi-Modal Transportation Planning Office to work on a plan to develop recommendations in the areas of traffic capacity & signal timing, public transportation, bicycle and pedestrian accommodations, freight mobility, and park-n-ride lots along the Route 419/Electric Road corridor. The plan will evaluate the various aspects of the corridor over a 25-year planning horizon.

The Roanoke Valley Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is partnering with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to complete the multimodal transportation plan of Route 419. The 9.5-mile state highway extends west from the US 220 Expressway in southern Roanoke County, along the limits of the City of Roanoke, then northwest through the City of Salem, terminating just north of I-81.

Since 1987, traffic volumes have increased by 5%-25% at various points along the corridor, and several 419 intersections are now ranked in the top ten in accident rates in the Salem VDOT District. The travel demand model analysis for the Roanoke Valley MPO forecasts that by 2025, 419 traffic could increase by over 20% for much of the corridor, with most of the segments operating at a level-of-service of E or F during peak hours.

Citizen Input Meetings Held on Draft Route 419 Corridor Study

The first citizen input meeting on the study was held in April 2009. On December 3, 2009, the RVAMPO and VDOT held a second citizen information meeting to present recommendations to address transportation needs along the Route 419 corridor. Over 50 citizens attended and reviewed the recommendations and made comments on how to make the corridor safer and more efficient. Comments from the public will be used to update the draft Route 419 Corridor Study before it is presented for official review by Roanoke County and the Cities of Roanoke and Salem. Staff anticipates completion of the study in March 2010. The draft plan can be reviewed at http://rvarc.org/419/419plan.htm.

Staff Contact: Jake Gilmer, Senior Planner jgilmer@rvarc.org or 540.343.4417

RIDE Solutions Program Performance Online: www.ridesolutions.org

RIDE Solutions provides citizens, local governments, and businesses in the Roanoke and New River Valley regions with sustainable transportation services and resources. Through our free carpool matching and Guaranteed Ride Home service, we connect drivers to their commute options to save them money, improve air quality, reduce the region’s carbon footprint, and maintain our great quality of life. With the upcoming construction efforts in downtown Roanoke making commuters nervous about parking availability and ease of movement, RIDE Solutions staff will put special emphasis on working with businesses in the urban core to promote transportation demand management strategies as a way to mitigate potential confusion. RIDE Solutions is pleased to announce that its Program Director, Jeremy Holmes, has been invited to serve on the Board of Directors for the Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition (RVCCC), an organization leading the way in promoting sustainable practices and making the Roanoke Valley a greener place to live. RIDE Solutions has worked closely with the RVCCC since 2006, educating area commuters on the environmental as well as financial benefits of using transportation options.

Current Membership

957

Workplace Partnerships Congratulations to Virginia Tech, winner of the Gold Award in the Best Workplace for Commuters “Race to Excellence” contest. Debby Freed, director of the Alternative Transportation Program at Tech, identified their partnership with RIDE Solutions as a factor in their success. The Best Workplace for Commuters program, formerly run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is now managed by the National Center for Transit Research at the University of South Florida and is a nationally recognized program. The Workplace partnership program provides employers in the region, including local governments, access to sustainable transportation programs and promotional efforts customized to their needs and business culture, all free of charge.

Contact Jeremy Holmes at (540)342-9393 or jholmes@rvarc.org

to learn more about any of the services of RIDE Solutions, or visit www.ridesolutions.org

Each year, RIDE Solutions leads in organizing Bike Month in Roanoke, a celebration of bikes, bike culture, and bike people. Last year, we launched bikeroanoke.com, a separate website to promote bike month events and special offers. This year, we’re looking forward to bikeroanoke.com getting bigger and better, including an informal partnership with the new Roanoke Outside website. We’ll rely on them to promote events while bikeroanoke.com concentrates on education, mapping and routing resources. Some of the major events planned for May 2010 include a repeat of last year’s successful Ciclovia event, an expansion of Clean Commute Day to every Friday in May, a tune-up and bike repair festival, discounts at local restaurants for those who arrive by bike, a Spanish-language bike clinic and much more. Bicycling for transportation is a growing and exciting trend in the Roanoke Valley, and RIDE Solutions is pleased to be a leading advocate of encouragement and education efforts.

Page 5 February 2010 Edition

Have you ever thought about how the Regional Commission impacts

our region ....

Greenway Usage Statistics: A New Metric for Outdoor Recreation

In partnership with the City of Roanoke Parks and Recreation Department, the Regional Commission staff developed a summer counting methodology and deployed trail counters concealed in specialized housings on a section of the Roanoke River Greenway during the summer of 2009. The metric was included in the Roanoke Regional Partnership’s recent metrics report. The Commission will continue to track the metric in future years and potentially expand the program to other facilities in the network.

Roanoke River Greenway Summer Usage Statistics, 2009

Average Daily Count 540 Average Weekend Daily Count 690

Peak 24 Hour Count 1,150

Source: Roanoke Valley - Alleghany Regional Commission, 2009

ChangeDue to natural increase

Due to net migration

ChangeDue to natural increase

Due to net migration

Virginia** 7,882,590 7,795,424 7,079,030 803,560 426,265 377,295 11.4% 6.0% 5.3%

Alleghany County 16,885 16,800 17,215 -330 -553 222 -1.9 -3.2 1.3

Botetourt County 33,299 32,942 30,496 2,803 118 2,685 9.2 0.4 8.8

Craig County 5,211 5,244 5,091 120 -10 129 2.3 -0.2 2.5

Franklin County 53,450 53,168 47,286 6,164 732 5,432 13.0 1.5 11.5

Roanoke County 92,991 91,730 85,778 7,213 389 6,824 8.4 0.5 8.0

Covington City 5,957 5,958 6,303 -346 -242 -105 -5.5 -3.8 -1.7

Roanoke City 93,304 92,838 94,911 -1,607 1,716 -3,324 -1.7 1.8 -3.5

Salem City 25,163 24,933 24,747 416 -585 1,001 1.7 -2.4 4.0

RVARC Region 326,260 323,614 311,827 14,433 1,567 12,865 4.6 0.5 4.1

* Includes all official corrections to the 2000 Census counts.

**Virginia total population for 2008 and 2009 issued by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, December 23, 2009.

Natural Increase is the difference between births and deaths.

Net migration is the difference between the number of persons moving into a jurisdiction and the number leaving.

Source: Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, UVA, 2010.

Percent

Jurisdiction

July 1 Estimates

April 1, 2000

Census*

April 1, 2000 - July 1, 2009

Provisional 2009

Final 2008

Numeric

2009 Population Estimates

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Percen

tLocal Government Unemployment Rate: August 2007 to December 2009

Alleghany Botetourt Craig Franklin Roanoke Covington City Roanoke City Salem City

2.5

3.5

4.5

5.5

6.5

7.5

8.5

9.5

Percen

t

Regional, State, and National Unemployment Rate: August 2007 to December 2009

RVARC Virginia United States

URBAN TREE CANOPY ANALYSIS

COMPLETED

Page 7 February 2010 Edition

The Regional Commission, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF), recently completed an Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) Analysis of the "urbanized" portions of the Regional Commission’s service area. Local government partners include the cities of Roanoke and Salem, Roanoke County, and the Town of Vinton. The UTC analysis was funded by a Water Quality Improvement Grant and was conducted by the DOF. Using National Agriculture Imagery Program aerial photography flown in the Summer of 2008, and GIS technology, land cover was classified as either tree canopy, non-tree vegetation, non-building impervious, buildings, and water. The City of Roanoke has 48% tree canopy (similar coverage to Lexington and Charlottesville), while the City of Salem and the Town of Vinton have 40% and 39%, respectively. The UTC analysis also provided associated GIS files to assist the Regional Commission, local governments, and other stakeholders in conducting similar analyses on selected "geographies" (zoning, parcel, neighborhood, etc.) to assist in setting UTC goals, estimating potential tree loss in planned development, or maintaining existing tree canopy. UTC reports and other information are available at www.rvarc.org/utc.

Staff Contact: Shane Sawyer, Regional Planner III ssawyer@rvarc.org or 540.343.4417

The Virginia Association of Planning District Commissions (VAPDC), a state-wide association bringing the PDCs of Virginia together, will kick off celebrating their 40th year of existence at their annual Winter Conference on February 17 in Richmond. Throughout Fiscal Year 2009-2010, the VAPDC will be honoring the 40th anniversary of the creation of PDCs. The majority of the State's 21 PDCs were established in 1969 and 1970 following the General Assembly's passage of the Regional Cooperation Act in 1968. The Act established the framework for PDCs "to encourage and facilitate local government cooperation and state-local cooperation in addressing on a regional basis problems of greater than local significance." The program during the upcoming 2010 VAPDC Winter Conference will follow the theme of Celebrating Forty Years of Regional Innovation. Speakers and workshops will promote best practices in regional collaboration, while teaching new techniques for solving problems that are broader than one county, city or town. The conference will be at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond on February 17.

Visit the VAPDC website for conference details. Registration is also available online at www.vapdc.org

The Regional Commission assisted the Roanoke Valley Greenway Commission with submission of an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Discretionary Grant Program. The TIGER grant application requested $19.4 million for continued construction of the Roanoke River Greenway. Grant awards are expected from the US DOT no later than February 17, 2010. If awarded, grant funding will be used to construct the remaining sections of the Roanoke River Greenway, a 25+ mile paved shared use path adjacent to the Roanoke River that will connect the cities of Roanoke and Salem, Roanoke County, and the Town of Vinton. Additional information on the TIGER grant application is available at www.rvarc.org/tiger.

For more information, contact Shane Sawyer ssawyer@rvarc.org or 540.343.4417

Regional Commission Assists Greenway Commission with TIGER Grant Application

Virginia Association of Planning District Commissions to Kick-off Celebrating 40 Years of Regional Planning at

Upcoming Winter Conference in Richmond

Commission Staff

Wayne Strickland Executive Director wstrickland@rvarc.org Olivia Dooley Director of Finance odooley@rvarc.org Andrea Garland Planning Technician andrea@rvarc.org Jake Gilmer, AICP Senior Planner jgilmer@rvarc.org Jeremy Holmes Alternative Transportation Coord. jholmes@rvarc.org John Hull Regional Economic Dev. Manager jhull@rvarc.org Mark McCaskill, AICP Senior Planner mmccaskill@rvarc.org Matt Miller, GISP Director of Information Services mmiller@rvarc.org Jackie L. Pace Office Manager jpace@rvarc.org Shane Sawyer Regional Planner III ssawyer@rvarc.org Eddie Wells, AICP Senior Planner ewells@rvarc.org

CONGRATULATIONS

to NTELOS Telephone Inc., a communications provider in the

Alleghany Highlands, for receiving a $8,062,088 grant and $8,062,088

loan from the US Department of Agriculture. The funding was made

possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will allow NTELOS to provide affordable broadband internet infrastructure

to underserved and unserved customers in the Alleghany Highlands. The proposed service area includes about 4,216 households, 233

businesses and 36 community entities according to NTELOS. The Regional Commission developed the Alleghany Highlands

Telecommunication Plan in 2004 and has worked closely with the Alleghany Highlands over the past five years to improve broadband

service in the region.

P.O. Box 2569 313 Luck Avenue, SW Roanoke, VA 24010

Phone: 540‐343‐4417 Fax: 540‐343‐4416 E‐mail: rvarc@rvarc.org www.rvarc.org

R O A N O K E V A L L E Y ‐ A L L E G H A N Y R E G I O N A L C O M M I S S I O N

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING MEETINGS

FEBRUARY No TTC Meeting in February Thurs., Feb. 4 CEDS Public Open House Meeting 4:00-7:00 pm (Green Ridge Recreation Center, Roanoke, VA) Thurs., Feb. 11 CEDS Public Open House Meeting 4:00-7:00 pm (Clifton Forge Library, Clifton Forge, VA) Wed., Feb.17 VAPDC Winter Conference (The Jefferson Hotel, Richmond, VA) Thurs., Feb. 25 RVARC Meeting @3:00 pm (RVARC Conference Room) No MPO Policy Board Mtg. in Feb. MARCH

Thurs., March 11 TTC Meeting (RVARC Conference Room) Thurs., March 25 MPO Policy Board Mtg. @1:30 pm

RVARC Meeting @3:00 pm

(RVARC Conference Room)

For more information, contact the Regional Commission at rvarc@rvarc.org or (540)343-4417. Meeting Calendar/

Agendas available at www.rvarc.org

Page 8 February 2010 Edition