The Shortline 5-30-25

Complete Streets demo to close N. Mason St lanes • Climate migration likely to push Virginians westward • CO Gov. will shut off state grants to cities that don’t comply with state housing policies

Talking about the Church of the Incarnation’s Park Project, a stop along the urbanist bike tour on Saturday, May 17.

On May 17 I wrapped up another round of bike tours about land use and transportation in Harrisonburg I've been calling the Friendly City Urbanist Bike Tour, offered in collaboration with SVBC. One of my favorite ways to experience cities I'm visiting is on a bike tour. I've also been involved with a social ride group in Harrisonburg for the past two years, and have led a few routes.

I've given presentations to classes and community groups about housing, climate, and transportation, but I was looking for a better way to explain stuffy topics like land use, zoning, and traffic calming. One day last year, I was riding ebikes with KC Kettler of Livable Harrisonburg, and it dawned on me: I could put together a bike tour. Part history, part geography, and part land use education, the focus of the tour is making dull topics like zoning easier to understand.

Most participants were riding ebikes (some rented or borrowed). More than once, I heard someone said something along the lines of, "I always thought of bikes as recreational exercise, but I could use this to get to and from work." And that is precisely the point.

Valley

• Several sections of southbound lanes of N. Mason St. will be closed, and traffic lights will be turned off and replaced with roundabouts, as part of the Complete Streets Demonstration Project beginning July 7. (The Citizen)

• Harrisonburg will receive $1.2 million in grant funding for the Flats At West Market. Owner and developer David Rao plans to convert the Rosetta Stone (Snell Grocery) building into 89 rental units. (The Citizen)

• City council members approved the construction of a 40-unit permanent supportive housing development off Erickson Avenue aimed at helping low-income residents. Only half a parking space will be provided per unit, for 20 in total. (The Citizen)

• Harrisonburg Public Utilities ended a seven-day mandatory water conservation order on May 21. The city declared a local emergency on May 16, after heavy rains washed debris into the water treatment plant’s filtration system. (WHSV)

• A state grant program called Safe Routes to Schools, which funds crossing guard training, teaches students how to safely ride a bike and sponsors walk and bike to school days, has gone through a major grant funding change that could put the brakes on those initiatives.(Virginia Mercury)

• Virginia awarded $983.6 million to 53 applicants in the sixth iteration of the competitive SMART SCALE process. Projects that were not funded include the Waynesboro Transit Access Project. (Virginia Mercury)

Virginia

• Climate migration won’t just push people out of vulnerable areas—it will also pull them toward regions perceived as more climate-resilient. Cities like Charlottesville, Roanoke, and the Shenandoah Valley communities offer relative protection from coastal flooding while maintaining proximity to economic opportunities. (Housing Forward Virginia)

• It’s rural areas, not the state’s metro areas, that are responsible for Virginia becoming a net in-migration state for the first time in more than a decade. Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads continue to hemorrhage people, although it’s slowing down. (Cardinal News)

• Dillon's Rule is a fundamental constraint that shapes how communities can address housing challenges. As local needs grow more complex, these 19th-century legal interpretations can feel increasingly outdated. (Housing Forward Virginia)

• The Warrenton Planning Commission on Tuesday recommended that the town council remove data centers as an allowable use in industrial districts — effectively banning them from the town by eliminating the process by which they can be approved. (Fauquier Times)

• Henrico County’s Board of Supervisors held a joint meeting with the planning commission to discuss setting regulatory standards for data center developments that would limit their growth within the county. (VPM)

• Charlottesville Police arrested local pedestrian activist Kevin Cox after he used spray chalk to create a makeshift crosswalk. Calls for a permanent marked crossing at the intersection picked up last October following the death of Mamawa Simai, who died after being fatally struck by a vehicle while using a crosswalk one block away. (c-ville)

• In just six months, drivers speeding past Frances W. McClenney Elementary School in Richmond have racked up over 7,000 traffic camera citations. (Richmond Magazine) This article suggests speeding has everything to do with drivers’ behavior, not road design, which is the more likely cause of widespread speeding.

• While there have been modest increases in inventory across the US, buyers earning less than $75,000 are seeing little-to-no benefit from rising supply. The market has not yet corrected for affordability—it requires intentional effort and targeted strategies that prioritize inclusivity and equity. (NAR)

Table from NAR report showing shortage of affordable housing options in Virginia per income level and maximum home price for each income group.

Elsewhere

• Housing starts are down 25% since they hit an annual rate of 1.83 million — an 18-year high — three years ago. Permits to build new homes fell almost 5% in April to an 1.41 million annual rate. Permits are down 26% from a postpandemic peak in early 2022. (MarketWatch)

• Decreasing household size has accelerated the demand for housing, even as population growth has slowed. The US may be overproducing homes for the traditional family arrangement that characterized American post-WWII society, and underproducing homes for the smaller families, singles, couples, and others who want homes scaled to their needs. (The Corner Side Yard)

• Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order requiring cities and counties in Colorado to show that they’re enacting recently passed state housing laws in order to be eligible for more than a $100 million in state grants in areas like transportation and energy. (CPR News)

• By making it legal to build homes where the state has already invested in public transportation infrastructure, California’s SB 79 can reduce car dependence, increase ridership, and stabilize transit funding. (Davis Vanguard)

• As SEPTA plans deep service cuts, hundreds of thousands of transit riders in the Philadelphia area are preparing to switch from using public transportation to commuting by car, adding 70,000 hours a day to the Philly’s morning rush. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• The Local Mass Transit District Act amendment would authorize Chicago area transit agencies to acquire, construct, own, operate, or maintain transit-supportive development. Instead of watching private developers capture transit-created value while agencies struggle with funding, Chicago’s transit systems could develop their own parking lots and station areas into mixed-use projects that generate ongoing revenue to improve service. (Michael McLean)

• A new study finds that in mature economies, productivity tends to decline with more driving and increases with non-auto travel. The best way to increase productivity is to increase transportation efficiency so economic activities require less driving. (VTPI)

• Car-centric Dallas, Texas eliminated parking mandates downtown and near transit. Most new residential developments won’t need to meet any parking minimums. (Strong Towns)

Now please enjoy this silent film footage of freight trains in Harrisonburg from 1979 (mostly in the first third of the video). Thanks to Josh for sending me the video.