Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Comprehensive Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Staff to revive Ladysmith bike-ped plan; GWRC delivers Carmel Church village draft with rail-stop language under review
Summary
Planning staff will revive the Ladysmith bike and pedestrian plan for inclusion in the comprehensive plan and will circulate a Carmel Church Village plan prepared by GWRC; commissioners asked staff to review a rail‑stop reference and reconcile it with the state rail plan before routing the village plan forward
A planning staff member updated the commission that the Ladysmith bike and pedestrian plan — prepared previously by the George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) — will be revived and returned to the planning commission for review and inclusion in chapter 9 of the county's comprehensive plan.
The staff member said the Ladysmith plan will be updated to reflect current federal reference data and newer GIS mapping, and that its principal purpose is to establish pedestrian and bicycle accommodations along U.S. Route 1 and Route 639 to support the county's goal of a walkable Ladysmith village.
The commission was also briefed on a Carmel Church Village plan prepared by GWRC. The staff member said GWRC provided the draft and that planning staff would send it electronically to commissioners for review. Commissioners discussed one provision of the draft that references a proposed rail stop in Caroline County. Members asked staff to compare the village-plan language with the state's rail plan and, if appropriate, soften the village draft's rail-stop language to ensure consistency with state planning documents before routing it through the review process.
A commissioner also raised questions about a VDOT corridor recommendation in the Carmel Church material that had previously suggested a “green tee” (continuous-flow) movement at the Enterprise Drive and Route 207 intersection; staff noted a more recent proffered mitigation from a development (Belmont North) that included signals and turn-lane improvements and may make the green‑tee recommendation inconsistent with current conditions.
Staff said the Ladysmith package and the Carmel Church Village plan will be reviewed with GWRC staff and brought back to the commission after revisions. No formal votes were taken on either draft at this meeting.
