Over the course of the summer, VCN partnered with the Virginia Transit Association to host community listening sessions throughout the Commonwealth to find out how public transportation could be improved. The six sessions were hosted by Jay Fisette, former chair of the Arlington County Board, and covered a wealth of local transportation-related issues.
“I was very pleased with the diversity of the groups that we had at the sessions, it really felt like we had a great representative community,” said Kyle Gatlin, VCN’s state climate organizer. “I was also really impressed with the passion people had for transit and trying to alleviate the issues that we face. I hope that we’re now able to take this information and use it as a launchpad to start talking about transit reform and climate change.”
Listening sessions were held in Arlington, Fairfax, Roanoke, Norfolk, Charlottesville, and Richmond. Topics included regional-specific issues, a large focus on funding, and the desire for more local control. Diversity and equity of services also played a large role throughout all conversations.
Attendees at the sessions included state delegates, mayors, city planners, climate advocates, county board members, transit officials, and many more invested industries.
VCN and the Virginia Transit Association are hoping to host additional sessions in the fall to begin taking action on the topics discussed over the summer. For more information, please contact Kyle Gatlin (kyleg@vcnva.org).