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STRATEGIES: 7 STRATEGIES FOR DOWNTOWN

CHAPTER 4

MOVE PEOPLE , NOT CARS

Downtown Blacksburg will benefit from a comprehensive approach to mobility and traffic mitigation, supporting alternative modes of transportation alongside strategies to accommodate motorists. This comprehensive approach should include: enhancing transit options; developing a centrally-located garage; and creating a North-South Bike/Pedestrian Corridor.

Enhance Transit Options

Develop a Centrally-Located Garage

One strategy for reducing vehicular traffic is to increase usage of Blacksburg Transit. Even though the bus system connects to Downtown and other centers of employment including the VT Corporate Research Center, Moog, and Montgomery Regional Hospital, 93 percent of riders are associated with Virginia Tech. There is, therefore, an impression among many residents that the transit system exists only for Tech. Given its potential to reduce traffic and increase accessibility, it would be in the interest of Blacksburg Transit to raise awareness of the system’s reach and availability to non-VT affiliated individuals. One program that has been used successfully in other cities to increase transit use is a “Try and Ride” program. Participating residents receive printed information on the system, as well as a number of free rides to try out the system. The goal is that, once individuals see how the system works and how it can serve their needs, they will continue to use it regularly. Another approach for increasing ridership would be to conduct a community survey— similar to the survey conducted in Christianburg— that asks residents about their impressions, preferences, and needs relating to transit. The survey could both inform future frequency or time adjustments on existing routes, and get residents thinking about transit as a viable way to get where they need to go.

Even as the town undertakes a comprehensive approach to mobility, the majority of people will continue to access Downtown by car. As such, a second strategy for mitigating traffic is to provide more parking in a central location. A recent study found that, while the town has plenty of parking supply throughout Downtown to meet demand, there is an undersupply of parking within the core blocks of Downtown, centered on Main Street and College Avenue. More parking in this core would allow visitors to park once and easily walk to most Downtown destinations, rather than circle blocks continuously searching for parking. The town has set aside funds to plan for additional capacity, focused on the current Progress Street parking lot. The site is well positioned for this, as it could accommodate a garage with double or triple the current number of spaces available in the lot. Extra parking in this location would both alleviate existing parking constraints and open up opportunities for future business development on adjacent properties. Specific consideration should be given to designing the garage to fit with the residential surroundings along Progress. One popular concept is a residential building that lines the outside of the structure, which would both create a more pleasing façade and add capacity to the Downtown housing market, thus meeting two objectives for Downtown.

71 Downtown Blacksburg Strategic Plan STRONG LINK

LINK STRATEGY CONNECTIONS