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Supervisors Back Three Transportation‑Alternatives Projects; Pocahontas Trail Proposal Deferred for Further Study
Summary
James City County approved resolutions supporting three Transportation Alternatives Program applications for sidewalks and safe‑routes projects. Officials deferred a proposal to reconfigure Pocahontas Trail into a three‑lane section with bike lanes pending further study of traffic and development impacts near the Route 199 interchange.
The James City County Board of Supervisors approved resolutions to apply for Virginia Department of Transportation Transportation Alternatives Program funds for three community projects and asked staff to defer a fourth, more complex proposal for additional study.
Staff recommended four candidate projects for an 80% federal reimbursement (20% local match) through VDOT's program: a sidewalk along Ironbound Road connecting St. Beads to Five Forks; a sidewalk to connect residential areas with Matoaka Elementary School; a Richmond Road sidewalk segment in North And Toano; and a roadway "road diet" conversion on Pocahontas Trail that would reallocate outside travel lanes for bike lanes by reducing vehicle lanes. Board members and staff expressed broad support for the three sidewalk/safe‑routes projects but voiced concern about the Pocahontas Trail concept because the Route 199 interchange, nearby attractions and anticipated development could make the reconfiguration imprudent or require undoing the work later.
After public comment — including an objection from Chris Henderson, who said Pocahontas Trail carries regional commercial potential and that reducing vehicular capacity could hamper future development — supervisors voted to forward the three sidewalk projects and to delay the Pocahontas Trail request to a future funding cycle so staff may study transition areas at the 199 ramps and potential traffic effects.
Why it matters: The approved projects would improve pedestrian and bicycle connectivity near schools and neighborhoods and leverage federal reimbursement; the Pocahontas Trail debate highlights tradeoffs between active‑transportation improvements and preserving vehicular capacity along routes slated for future commercial development.
Ending: Staff will submit the three Transportation Alternatives applications and continue engineering and stakeholder work; the Pocahontas Trail proposal will be revisited in a later cycle after additional study.
