Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission has received a 2017 Innovation Award from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) for the Where the Sidewalk Ends: RIDE Solutions Mobility Tour.
ROANOKE, VA (09/27/2017) – The Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission’s RIDE Solutions program developed this activity in 2016. The tour was conceived as a way for newcomers to the Roanoke Valley to get to know our community better, and for planners and community leaders to understand the various real-life opportunities and obstacles that transportation infrastructure and information create.
“We hope participants, directly through the field activity and through the discussion with other participants it inspires afterwards, come away with a better understanding of how a community fits together, how the average person might navigate their community carlessly, and the diversity of users and needs that they might need to plan for.” said RIDE Solutions Director Jeremy Holmes.
NADO is a Washington, DC-based membership association of regional development organizations that promotes programs and policies that strengthen local governments, communities, and economies through regional cooperation, program delivery, and comprehensive strategies. The association’s Innovation Awards program recognizes regional development organizations and their partners for improving the economic and community competitiveness of our nation’s regions and local communities. 2017 marked NADO’s 50-year anniversary of supporting regional economic development across the country.
Award-winning projects were honored during NADO’s 2017 Annual Training Conference, held September 9-12 in Anchorage, AK. The 2017 class of award recipients consists of 80 projects spanning 21 states. These projects are presented in an interactive “Story Map” developed by NADO and Esri and include project summaries, funding information, and partners. The Story Map is available online at: https://www.nado.org/innovation-awards/.
“The Innovation Awards program is an opportunity to recognize the important work of regional development organizations that are promoting economic development and improving quality of life for local residents,” said 2016-2017 NADO President Lynne Keller Forbes, Executive Director of the South Eastern Council of Governments, located in Sioux Falls, SD. “These projects demonstrate the diversity of work that regional development organizations undertake to benefit the communities and regions that they serve.”
For more information about this award-winning project, contact Tim Pohlad-Thomas, (540) 343-4417, timpohladthomas@rvarc.org.
About the RVARC
The Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission is one of 21 regional planning agencies in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Member governments include the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, Franklin and Roanoke; the cities of Covington, Roanoke, and Salem; and the towns of Clifton Forge, Rocky Mount and Vinton. The mission of the Regional Commission is to be a leader in driving collaboration and strategy within our communities on issues that are critical to the economic growth, quality of life, and the sustainability of this region. Mailing Address: PO Box 2569, Rke, VA 24010. Physical Address: 313 Luck Ave., SW, Rke, VA 24016. Ph: 540-343-4417, Fax 540-343-4416, Email: rvarc@rvarc.org