Planning District Commissions are often the administering agency for both the Rural and Urban (MPO) regional transportation planning programs.  Through its Rural Transportation Planning Assistance Program (RTPP), the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) contracts with 20 of the state’s 21 PDCs annually to assist VDOT and localities with regional transportation planning in non-metropolitan areas.  The work is supported through grants from the federally-funded State Planning and Research Program (SPR) and often parallels work performed by an MPO in an urbanized area. 

 

VDOT assists PDCs in prioritizing Rural Long Range Plan recommendations; providing guidance in the development of annual Rural Transportation Planning Work Programs; participating in special studies on request; conducting traffic counts; and assisting localities in the preparation of comprehensive plan transportation elements.

 

VDOT designed the RTPP to meet MAP-21 planning requirements for areas with a population less than 50,000.

The Virginia Association of Planning District Commissions (VAPDC) www.VAPDC.org created a Rural Transportation Committee to facilitate information exchange among PDC planners related to rural transportation planning and the scope of the annual RTPP, and improve communication between planners and VDOT.  Chair: Patrick Mauney, Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission, plmauney@rrregion.org

 

Additional Links:

• Rural Transportation

• Virginia Bicycling Federation