MPO Policy Board Meeting   6/24/2026

All right, we are ready to go.

Who's doing the roll call for us?

based in Richmond, Virginia, Wood Hudson, Julia Monteith, Mike Murphy, Jason Espie representing online, thanks Jason, and Garland Williams,

And we just ask that you stage your name and jurisdiction, by the way.

Thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt the agenda?

Second.

Yes.

And so I hope that you will consider that instead of doubling more on the plate of a technical committee.

What you're asking for, Supervisor Malek, exists in these biological channels, the ability to do that.

All right.

And Taylor, Taylor, you switched your name on this, and I didn't know who the heck you are.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

The notifications that we got for all four of our applications were that they screened out conditionally for those reasons that I stated.

Any questions about that?

Once we submit all of the final documents by July 15th.

Are there details about that?

Yeah, and it's just bad language.

I wish they would say screen in.

Thank you.

It's for everyone's awareness.

Any questions about this timeline?

And the preliminary cost for this project is $13.5 million.

So nobody will be able to go west from there?

It's extending the turn lane there as part of it.

The northbound turn lane on Gas Mills to make more place.

I'm very worried.

And that in itself has been very successful.

And that crossover has been cool, Diane.

Thank you.

And I believe that's the last project.

Or if you touch the growth area, MPO area in any way, do you not qualify for that?

That's key.

And 4B, a start to the project of Python study process.

It will be taken then.

So Sharon, let me give you my fisheye on that.

Good evening everyone.

And again, the goal is to develop consensus and support decision-making to identify improvements that can be implemented either through funding applications or local initiatives or efforts working within the sustained funding programs that are available during an ongoing basis.

Or if there is a desire to add multimodal to that area, it would then be eligible for project pipeline?

And then you can add additional things to that project needed.

But that adding of additional is really better suited for project pipeline than STARS?

Does that answer your question?

Yeah, I'm just still, I think the only piece I'm still, maybe it will become clear, but I don't get how they differ then.

Honestly, no one in this room should care whether it's the stars or a pipeline.

Oh, fine.

I think the study, if it fits better than pipeline stars, a long case study.

Okay.

So it's the same thing.

It's just a flavor of money where it's kind of VDOT or OIPDOT, but in the end you're still doing the same stuff.

So VTRANs could prioritize bike pedestrian stuff.

But it's really based on what the data is telling us and what makes sense in terms of what can be implemented.

And how often is the VTRANS needs recalibrated?

I'm not sure if that's on a consistent schedule or not, to be honest.

And I could not find it.

Yeah.

Understood.

Any questions on that?

How long are these phases?

This one's probably going to be around 12-ish months, somewhere that will work.

So the roles and responsibilities.

So any questions at this time?

I have questions.

Sorry.

How often has it been recommended that we go forward with a quicker, cheaper solution, the one that you mentioned last?

So I think there's always an opportunity to do that.

That was through state forces.

Got it.

What point in this process does it come to this body?

That needs to be defined during the framework.

No.

It's something we can decide collectively together.

Or do we want the cities to have input on this?

I think that we can define that as part of our study process during the framework phase to establish what that expectation needs to be.

Thank you so much.

In the back of the room, please.

There's a separate item of 4C3, I guess I didn't know.

Okay, then I will turn it over to Jessica so she can share with the county's ground.

Forget categories, the word that we sit at is total list.

We pulled all the books off the shelf and had to sit down and have a discussion and don't have that resource.

It's less than that.

They don't have quite as much of a list.

Yes.

Or something like that.

Let me see if I can think of something.

So there's already solutions coming that's going to impact what exists, not necessarily improve.

Does that make sense?

Not here, but in the study.

Because the horizon year is what, 20 or 30 years?

20 years out, yeah.

So anything in the pipeline that has plans within those 20 years should be accounted for in the study growth when you look at it and analyze it as being complete.

I mean, pipelines haven't had that final decision.

Yep.

All right, now.

What does that look like?

50 some?

Around 30.

I might invite Tanya to say a little more.

Thank you very much.

So it's an opportunity for us to really dig in and work together to address the issues at this location.

Do you want to take that?

We would all agree on what needs to be included as part of that scope.

So I don't know where that fits into the overall consideration, if at all.

I will say that's one of the reasons why we wanted to have this be a joint city-county to make sure that we are looking at the intersections on both sides of the river, both sides of the bridge.

Great.

As far as features needs go, there are priority one and priority two needs identified.

Further emphasizing, we think this would be a good end of it.

Is that the type of thing that would have happened in an activity center or something?

We have not considered if we would need to rezone.

NVTRANS, and this segment is number six in the PSI segment list for the VDOT Culpepper District.

It is, right?

Yeah, but we weren't ready for those rounds as far as it goes.

I mean, how come it hasn't before?

Oh, it's been studied a lot of times.

Since 1966?

I got it now.

So with that, I'll take any further questions.

And so PEPFATOPS is like six lines wide, so there's lots of room to do some creative things there to redirect who's doing, who's going there.

So good.

So great.

Thanks, Steve.

Thank you.

I've been avoiding it because of the dates that I've had.

I went to there yesterday.

I literally drove them very, very to that.

Yes, did I miss something?

So this was an item for action today.

Oh, a little asterisk.

And so there is a draft motion for consideration in the packet with the caveat, you know, for you all to have a discussion on what that one Charlottesville project should be.

The OR is today, okay.

So moved.

Now we'll discuss.

Don't worry.

Which of the other projects in the city?

So you want the Preston Ridge McIntyre blank.

That's what we would recommend, the Preston Ridge McIntyre.

I'm calling for that as some fiction.

And did I hear a second?

Not to be confused with any other stars, depending on maybe this person.

Yeah, I don't like this at all.

They teach us that I'm bad for someone we love.

So what we have been doing is that we've still been working through phase one of the study phase.

Let's share it, but it's not advancing.

Yes.

For the sake of just managing the time, I wasn't going to go through each of the improvements individually, but if there are specific questions, we can bring those up and look at those.

And so this means that of those 16, these are the two, four, six, eight to get chosen for some kind of intervention.

So you have to prioritize where you're going to limit some of the turning movements and direct those to other intersections.

Correct.

They've got information now to help with decisions in the future.

along Hillsdale necessarily, but the shared use path along Hillsdale to provide a bicycle and pedestrian accommodations parallel to US 29.

What is the math behind whether or not a roundabout would work there?

I don't think we're there.

My other question was on your, you confused me, and it might've just been, I was looking at the Woodbrooke left turn, the Rile Road weave to the Woodburg left turn, but you were saying going under the underpass.

So, so one of the concerns is that there...

My understanding of the concern are people traveling west on Rile, turning right to go north on 29 and then take the left to Woodbrooke.

That creates the leap of those coming under.

modified roundabout that went in the Hildegard Greenbrier that couldn't be tried and if it works, wow.

Yeah, we do have signage identified as well.

That says go to Rhino Hill and not take a right and head north on 29th?

We are not.

Now, okay, you might want to debate that point with me and somebody who can, I suppose.

No, I think we also give those recommendations and we look at them separately.

But if something should take up to 15 months to be put up?

But if you're talking about a large gantry level that's on a silvery structure that's got to go across 29, that's a big difference.

They just need to be changed.

That's what some of the recommendations are to change those signs.

But it doesn't, I think, I mean, you can't do anything about the insanity of the general seller that if we could have speed cameras, we would take care of all of this because people going 35 would not have these problems and we would be safer everywhere we went.

But these could be added to where they're already located.

Yeah, I understand what you're saying.

Those signs need to happen before you get to the road.

So I don't want it to feel like these are precluding.

I'll concede your point, but we also don't need studies for every damn decision.

Is there a mechanism to do that without a study?

It's... Now you've got the number up there.

Yeah, we do have some time.

But the south, that was brought up by y'all at some prior point.

But it's something that is identified as an opportunity in the study.

I'm not going to ask the study people to go move my sign.

I mean, honestly, this whole conversation came up from the stakeholders.

Technical people in the city can come.

Yeah, I think from having said in those meetings, there's even variations on what people think the sign should say.

Yes.

I don't know how expensive signage is, but...

And it sounds like we need a mixture of both.

Yes.

I will be happy to take this feedback back to our consultant team and our study work group, many of whom are sitting in this room and hearing it.

And is there a consultant who's also working on this who is from out of the area, or are these all local people who drive the roads themselves every day?

So the consultants, the primary consultants are not in this area, the sub-consultants are locally based.

They're pretty good.

I don't see the other stuff but I certainly see the reality on the ground.

Do you show these stars that say they will be minimal to no change?

If not, maybe that's not a reverse sign.

That would be really disappointing.

Got it.

We usually show flat 2D, engineering-like drawings, and I think that's really hard for the public to understand.

That makes sense.

We had all the little things, the little yellow dots, yellow dots.

That's the model.

The modeling would then.

I don't think we would start with that though because it would be a pretty intensive effort.

Yes, yes.

Yes, some of them are, and I think it's happening both ways, so we can improve the directional signage, you know, for people that are going out near the other class, as well as for people who are coming off of Rio.

It would force people to either go straight on Rio, go up Bergmar, or to turn right on Woodbrooke, do a U-V somewhere in the neighborhood, and then come back to Rosstappen.

Yeah, it would force them to find an offer.

So when you say both ways, you're talking about, so maybe this is what I was confused about, the underpass, not a left turn, but trying to turn right into Woodbrooke.

Correct, yeah.

Yeah.

Any other questions?

The coral question.

But the yuya, the dung head works great.

Thank you.

You can't make the left maneuver, so you have to go to a little light, then make the left if you're going in Duncan, and then do the u-ing back up to Trix.

So the graphic should be a sprinkle, donut.

Yes.

Just if we're talking side, doesn't it?

I think we're talking like round about, just need to make a new trip or round about a donut.

I feel like Duncan must get behind us again.

We narrowed it down to about six different improvements that we are going to be moving forward for public comment.

Is that what that means?

And again, the goal will be to get the public comment back, look at those side by side with the technical analysis and then start working towards identifying what the preferred alternatives are going to be.

Yes.

To go south?

To go north?

So we wouldn't need that ramp anymore if you're getting off the bypass at Hillsdale Drive, which is, you know.

But actually closing some of those, those direction.

Or if you can send it, that's fine.

If you're turning east on the bypass, turning left onto hydraulic, that's northbound.

So you'd have three lanes that could turn left going southbound to eastbound.

I'm glad at least that that single lane that doesn't go up in three lanes.

However, you have three lanes going into two lanes.

There's a receiving lane.

That would merge.

This is just all squared problems.

So you're going to send that out?

And we want that?

And then we'll make a recommendation on our feedback.

You mean from us right now, or are there surveys out for people?

I will find it late July.

Yes.

Any other questions?

How does that work?

They will distribute it through whatever channels they use to distribute it.

So please include in your email the list of the people on the study board.

Now for our, you're talking about the public show, like what else is happening?

And I'm thinking in my mind, there should be a point of contact in these entities that once this thing goes live, we should be advocating within the entities, hey, the survey's out here, go get a piece of it.

So this is a place where, typically, if we know of a public engagement activity, whether it's a survey, a meeting, it's a time for Ann and I, when we report on our work here, to say, X, Y, Z, we'll throw out some things, sometimes we send additional info on to the other board members that they seem like they're interested in it, but the engagement is also us then publicly saying, just share with your constituents this opportunity, et cetera.

Does VDOT contact the city's communications director?

We'll send it to a study group member and then they'll... Our communications also distributes it to localities, communications.

It'll pop up as an ad.

There's no love.

So it's not just gut reaction feedback, but there's an opportunity for people to get a little more out of it before they respond.

I think we get better assumptions.

have open-loop training to understand the implications.

I think there's like a pretty high percentage of the people who take it that do provide really thoughtful, well-informed comments.

So if it does turn into an application, you're not getting public outcry once you have invested in an application for a smart-scale project.

I mean, it's just, you know, we can't do that again.

You know, really be thoughtful about before we move forward with our implementation.

So sure.

Did you have more, Sandy?

No, not that much, but I got there with that.

I think sending those out for, because it, yeah, the visual just would help with the, that's not saying all those posts found, right?

Thank you.

All right, fiscal year 24-27 tip adjustments.

Any questions on either of these?

Taylor, still staff report?

Happy to take any questions on any of the other staff report items if you'll have any.

I don't really know if we need that.

So that would be on the third Wednesday.

We can send out an updated calendar invite for that one because it's still at the original date.

Any conflicts that you only love with these dates?

That might be any additional items?

And the Route 29 Shared Use Path, we've got some utility conflicts out there we're working through, but you should see movement on that to some point.

What is the timeline for the 53 roundabout?

I don't have the actual date, but we're waiting for the Montpelier celebration to be done, which we're going to try to get some utility relocation done in September before.

So sorry, that stuff is happening in September and then?

That is the last, well, they've got to start, so I'd say at least 18 months to two years.

So they've just started having kickoff meetings for Gardenette, so I have not seen personally myself a schedule of their operations.

I think a part of that has been floated that we would try to one-way that and have circulation through there, but I have not seen a schedule yet that would indicate when that would happen.

I'll just give two quick updates.

I'll stick with just those two.

We have been working on the smart scale applications and also focused on the scoping of the lost middle plan for the county.

Mitch, DRPT, the updates.

Can you hear me all right?

Yes, sir.

So just looking forward to the year ahead and staying in touch with all those STAR studies.

Jason, John.

So that's it.

Oh, Peter Love, someone I can hear.

Should I just give it to you, Mr. Gallaway, or should I also put it in the minutes?

I have two copies, so I need

Absolutely.

And then if there is no other business, yes.

No other public comment, the state budget passed.

They signed it?

To the governor's side.

That's right.

The headline of the email is state budget adopted.

I was just going to report and thank all of the work done on the 240-256-80 roundabout.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.