The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) needs citizen input on the future of the James River Heritage Trail.  Public meetings (see below) will be held in communities along the entire 340-mile trail corridor in October and November.

The James River Heritage Trail, already in use by citizens  from the Allegheny Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay, is  used by bicyclists and hikers in urbanized areas. Ultimately, paddlers, bicyclists, equestrians, hikers, fishermen, schoolchildren and tourists will visit this braided trail system to enjoy the river basin . Both banks of the river as well as the riverbed could contribute to part of a managed corridor that will enhance the natural resource,  provide a host of outdoor and educational activities for all ages.

DCR hopes to build on water trail maps already completed for the JRHT.  The conceptual plan will identify potential local government projects in need of funding.  These projects may be eligible for future grant rounds of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and the Recreational Trails grant programs.

More land trail experiences and park sites are needed to complement the water trail.  This spectacular  trail corridor could potentially  include many miles of biking and hiking paths.

These improvements will also offer opportunities to interpret the historical context and encourage visitors to nurture the natural and historic resources that helped found the Commonwealth and our nation.

For more details on the JRHT see: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational_planning/documents/tr_jrh.pdf

Public Meeting Schedule:

All meetings are from 4 to 6 p.m. except where noted

Oct. 6 Jurisdictions covered: Amherst, Lynchburg, Appomattox, Campbell, Bedford, Nelson

4:30-6:30 p.m.

Lynchburg Public Library (Jones E. Memorial Library)

Community Room

2315 Memorial Ave.

Lynchburg, VA  24501

Oct. 7 Jurisdictions covered:  Alleghany, Botetourt, Rockbridge

Greenfield Education and Training Center

57 South Center Drive

Daleville, VA  24080

Directions:  http://helpnet.vccs.edu/csc/Travel/cscdirections.htm

Oct. 8 Jurisdictions covered:  Buckingham, Cumberland, Albemarle, Fluvanna

Victory Hall Theatre

401 Valley St.

Scottsville, VA 24590

Nov. 3 Jurisdictions covered:  Goochland, Powhatan, Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico,     Charles City, Hopewell, Prince George

Richmond Regional Commission conference room

9211 Forest Hill Avenue, Richmond VA.

Nov. 4 Jurisdictions covered:  Surry, Isle of Wight, James City, Newport News,

Location TBA, Jamestown area

Intermodal Love -- Cyclist & Pedestrian Awareness Week

Don’t miss the Intermodal Love party and mixer this Friday at the CarLessBrit Museum in Roanoke, 12:00-1:00 PM.

Update: The Alliance for Biking & Walking has example “thank and spank” letters to thank legislators who voted against Coburn’s amendment, and spank those who supported it.

The recent attack on federal bike-ped funding has been thwarted, but the 39-59 vote for S. Amendment 2371 was too close for our comfort.

Surprisingly, Virginia’s own Sen. Webb supported Sen. Coburn’s attack on Transportation Enhancements.  Needless to say, we’re very disappointed in Sen. Webb, and we’re sure many of you are too.  So contact Sen. Webb’s office.  Tell him that you’re disappointed in his performance, and urge him to support Transportation Enhancements from now on.

Your continued support is needed, to ensure funding will still be available for anything besides motor vehicle facilities. Let’s think about moving people — not just cars.

Update: this attack has been thwarted, but the battle isn’t over.

Below is from Jeff Miller, President/CEO of the Alliance for Biking & Walking. Please act today, Sept. 15, or tomorrow morning at the latest, to save bike-ped funding in the federal transportation budget.

Transportation Enhancements (TE) is under attack again. We expect Senator Coburn (R-OK) to offer two amendments to strike funding to TE in the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill being debated on the Senate floor TOMORROW (9/16/09).

The two Coburn amendments are S. Amendment 2370 and S. Amendment 2371.

S. Amendment 2370 will prohibit funding for Transportation Enhancements if the Highway Trust Fund does not contain amounts sufficient to cover unfunded highway authorizations (and the Fund is bankrupt).

S. Amendment 2371 will allow states to opt out of the 10% set aside rule that require states to spend at least 10% of their surface transportation funding on Transportation Enhancements.

We would ask you to do the following:

1. Please send an alert to your grassroots. The League of American Bicyclists has an alert for grassroots at http://capwiz.com/lab/callalert/index.tt?alertid=14032801. It provides phone numbers for their Senators as well as talking points.

2. We would also like to ask you as Leaders in the bicycle community to call or email your Senators’ offices with specific examples of local projects built using TE funds — especially if you have examples where they attended a ribbon cutting or event.

3. Please send America Bikes <daniel@americabikes.org> examples of really good transportation enhancement projects. We’ve gotten a request from Senators for examples of great projects in many states to help fight off this amendment.

Please help join us in sounding the alarms and taking action today and tomorrow morning!