News & Features
Transportation Prospects Slim for Chesterfield
By Nick DeRatto
Jul 23, 2008 - 1:27:52 PM

With the Richmond Regional Planning Commission preparing to present their long-range transportation plan to the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the Commission held a public review session at the Chester library last week to discuss the findings of their report with Chester residents.

“The goal of this plan is to create an efficient and effective transportation system to serve the needs of the region,” says Lee Yolton, Principal Planner for the Richmond Regional Planning
Commission.

When discussion came to mass transit options for Chesterfield, it wasn’t a very long conversation, as the findings include only two local bus routes in Chesterfield as well as a Route 288 Crosstown local bus. These routes won’t necessarily be implemented, but merely represent means of mass transit that will be effective by 2031 given the current projections for population and employment in Chesterfield County.

“How the GRTC is arranged is that if local jurisdictions want to have bus routes in their area, then they have to have a contract for service with GRTC. Chesterfield has not entered into a contract,” says Yolton.

According to statistics from the Census Transportation Planning Products, statistics for Chesterfield residents were fairly similar to those of Henrico; over 103,000 Chesterfield residents commuted to work alone compared to approximately 112,000 in Henrico, while just over 10,000 commuted within a carpool of 2-3 people in Chesterfield compared to just over 12,000 who did the same in Henrico.

Though most Chesterfield and Henrico run fairly even for most forms of transportation, a glaring difference is noticed when looking at the number of residents who use mass transit. In Henrico, 1,342 residents use mass transit for their commute; in Chesterfield, only 254 residents do the same, largely due to the fact that only three bus routes currently exist in Chesterfield County. According to county officials, no new routes are planned for the immediate future.

“What we have done with the transportation plan is developed a blueprint for what we feel would be the most effective way to serve the transportation needs of the region,” says Yolton. “Representatives from Chesterfield serve on the MPO board and I believe that they voted unanimously in support of our mass transit study recommendations. The recommendations don’t require any action, but the board felt that the recommendations were good and it was a good study.”

While the outlook is still cloudy for significant mass transit in Chesterfield, some roads may at least be getting a bit friendlier to pedestrians and bicyclists.

“Since our last report, VDOT has implemented a new policy that any new road projects will have to include accommodations for bicyclists and pedestrians,” says Yolton.

The Richmond Regional Planning Commission is required to present a long-range transportation plan every four years; this latest plan details projects recommended up to the year 2031. To read the full report, go to www.richmondregional.org.

nderatto@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421



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