We are excited about the recent release of Virginia's statewide guidelines for multimodal planning and design. Our role as advisor and peer reviewer during development of the plan was based on our experience in producing a series of multimodal planning documents for the Indianapolis eight-county region over several years. The Indianapolis Regional Center Multimodal System Plan and its supporting Multimodal Corridor and Public Space Design Guidelines were a Best Practices reference for Virginia's process. Production of the Virginia guidelines was managed by Transit Planning Manager, Amy Inman, and the guidelines document was produced by the Renaissance Planning Group. It received an American Planning Association award and was featured in that organization's 2013 Annual Conference in Chicago. The following abstract is from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation:
"The Multimodal System Design Guidelines provide a holistic framework for multimodal planning with a step-by-step process of identifying centers of activity, designating connected networks for all travel modes, and designing and retrofitting specific corridors that fit with the surrounding context. This process can be applied to the full range of contexts throughout Virginia to plan connected regional transportation networks to serve all travel modes."
The Guidelines and three videos that summarize their content can be downloaded here: http://www.drpt.virginia.gov/activities/MultimodalSystemDesignGuidelines.aspx