At their meeting on December 16, the VPRA board agreed to accept the transfer of the Shenandoah Rail Trail project and its funding. Although the vote was disappointing, we weren’t surprised by this purely procedural decision. On January 6, the Commonwealth Transportation Board will vote on whether to approve the transfer.

use this form to tell the CTB board NO!

We are still asking a simple question:

Why the rush??

Over the course of just a couple weeks – during the busy holiday season – a project five years in the making is being overhauled with no public vetting. Before any final decisions are made, we believe the CTB and VPRA must answer:

❓Why skip public input? VDOT is abandoning its assessment right before the final promised public comment period.

❓Why ignore the costs? It’s clear that no matter how you do it, adding the restoration of 49 miles of extremely deteriorated rail line is prohibitively more costly than the trail alone–and this higher price tag for the project threatens the completion of the fully-connected and accessible 49-mile trail the Valley has long pursued.

❓Why the lack of transparency? This is a public project. It will inherently transform the 13 communities that this corridor bisects. Why has there been no competitive or public process to determine the right organization to manage this complex project?

Virginians in the Valley deserve clear answers to these questions, rather than a rushed and murky process.

ACTION NEEDED: SPEAK UP FOR THE TRAIL

Make sure the CTB hears from you. We need a surge of comments before the January 6 meeting. If you haven’t sent your letter yet, please do so today.

Use this form to send letters to save the trail!

Tell them you:

❌ Oppose transferring the Shenandoah Rail Trail project and funding at this time.

✅ Support a stand-alone Shenandoah Rail Trail as the most realistic, cost-effective option for our communities.

You can act immediately:

➡ Use this link to quickly send your letters

➡ Or, if you'd rather send a note directly from your email, here are the address for CTB members and the VPRA to copy/paste:

Shep.Miller@governor.virginia.gov, Ray.Smoot@ctb.virginia.gov, Frederick.Stant@ctb.virginia.gov, Tom.Fowlkes@ctb.virginia.gov, Wayne.Coleman@ctb.virginia.gov, Darrell.Byers@ctb.virginia.gov, Randy.Laird@ctb.virginia.gov, Thomas.Lawson@ctb.virginia.gov, Laura.Sellers@ctb.virginia.gov, Joel.Davis@ctb.virginia.gov, Linda.Green@ctb.virginia.gov, DJ.Gribbin@ctb.virginia.gov, Becky.Dunlop@ctb.virginia.gov, John.GoodJr@ctb.virginia.gov, JR.Minchew@ctb.virginia.gov, Tiffany.Robinson@drpt.virginia.gov, Stephen.Brich@vdot.virginia.gov, contactus@vpra.virginia.gov

Add your voice to save the Shenandoah rail trail