Long Range Plan for the Metropolitan Planning Organization

The Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization and the TJPDC are in the process of determining which major transportation projects to plan over the next 25 years. The process involves decisions by City, County, and State policy-makers, taking into account input from residents and businesses in the region. more >>

Charlottesville Albemarle Regional Transpotation Plan (CHART) 2021

Adopted May 24, 2001

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CHART 2021 Mission

The Charlottesville - Albemarle metropolitan area transportation system will provide a blend of transportation alternatives to support the movement of people, goods, services and information, addressing transportation needs of the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County, and considering the needs of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District region and the Commonwealth of Virginia in a manner consistent with local goals to maintain and enhance quality of life.

CHART 2021 Goals

• Environment: The transportation system will support preservation and enhancement of the natural environment through two major objectives: A) Integrate and promote alternatives to the automobile; and B) Ensure transportation plans are consistent with adopted local land use and environmental preservation goals, and that facilities are developed and built in a manner sensitive to the environment.
• Economy: The Charlottesville-Albemarle metropolitan area transportation system will support and enhance a vital local and regional economy through access to employment and commercial enterprise.
• Neighborhood And Community Development: The transportation system will support local government plans to support and enhance neighborhoods and a sense of community within the region.
• Community Services and Facilities: The transportation system will support the needs and goals of people in the region for access to community services and cultural/ recreational facilities.
• Transportation Planning: The transportation planning process will recognize the interdependence of land use and transportation, and will support the development of land use patterns among the City, County and Region as expressed in local comprehensive plans.
• Transportation Funding: Transportation funding programs, including the MPO's Transportation Improvement Program, the Statewide Transportation Development Program, and local government budgets will reflect the priorities expressed in the CHART plan.
• Priority Objective: Establish a transportation infrastructure that supports development of a sustainable community and reduces dependence on the automobile by affording a competitive advantage to automobile alternatives.

CHART 2025 Project Plan Strategies

The 2015 Project Plan was organized around three strategies that reflected the most important actions needed at the time. The CHART Advisory Committee will update these strategies to reflect current priorities in the development of the Year 2025 plan.

• Strategy 1: Develop road, air, and rail infrastructures that provide human-scale connections among urban communities, and efficient global access.
• Strategy 2: Build a comprehensive network of bicycle and pedestrian facilities among and within urban communities.
• Strategy 3: Establish a foundation of infrastructure, programs, and policies that initiate a long-term trend towards reduced dependence on the automobile.

CHART 2025 Evaluation Criteria

Below are criteria the CHART Advisory Committee and MPO will use to evaluate proposed transportation projects for the Year 2025 plan.

1. Provides effective and competitive alternatives to the automobile
2. Supports locally adopted land use goals.
3. Supports environmental preservation goals
4. Provides multiple choices for travel
5. Enhances traveler convenience and flexibility
6. Ensures that any new roadways in commercial and/or residential areas are appropriate to a pedestrian scale.
7. Enhances intermodal access.
8. Enhances neighborhoods and sense of community by protecting or improving residents' travel choices, safe streets, and pedestrian accessibility.
9. Complements scale and character of surrounding area
10. Is visually attractive and enhances or maintains beauty of surrounding area
11. Supports access to community services, public facilities, recreational and natural areas.
12. Enhances the safety of travelers using motorized and non-motorized modes.
13. Considers requirements for emergency vehicle access in a manner consistent with the other criteria.
14. Meets needs of underserved communities and individuals.
15. Provides opportunities for future transit development
16. Enhances local and regional economy
17. Supports intended road network function
18. Meets CHART standards for acceptable Level of Service (LOS)*
19. Complements state, national, global transportation network
20. Includes a "no build" alternative in all considerations of transportation improvements.
21. Adheres to principles of Environmental Justice

* LOS scores reflect congestion standards established by the Transportation Research Board Committee on Highway Capacity and Quality of Service. In the CATS 2000, recommendations for road projects were based upon the goal of achieving LOS C on County roads and the Greenbrier neighborhood of Charlottesville, and LOS D in the City. For the CATS 2015, the Committee reviewed proposed road projects by examining the Volume/Capacity (V/C) ratio of different alternatives. V/C is a key factor in LOS, but does not reflect the somewhat subjective nature of the LOS measure, which assumes perceptions of congestion are consistent nationwide. The committee did not establish planning goals of LOS C or D based on geography, but reviewed projected V/C ratios on a case-by-case basis, keeping in mind all the other CATS planning criteria and allowing for the possibility that accepting a higher V/C ratio, or lower LOS, could be preferable to increasing road capacity. For example, the committee recommended Georgetown Road be maintained at two lanes with spot improvements rather than widening it to four lanes; although this meant the road would not be operating at LOS C in the 2015 traffic model, it was felt the location and function of the road was more similar to a city street than a suburban highway. In this case, slower travel times (i.e. a lower LOS) would be preferable to the impacts of widening the road on the dense neighborhood it serves. In addition, traffic reduction strategies to relieve congestion are an immediately viable option, since it already has transit service and pedestrian access.

The CATS 2015 committee recommended the MPO revisit the issue of LOS as a performance measure in developing information for the CHART 2025 update, and consider new strategies such as identifying an urban ring of City and urban County roadways in which LOS D would be an acceptable base for planning, and/or using additional data such as the measures outlined in the Traffic Reduction section.