The County’s newly formed transportation study group met for the first time last Wednesday, taking the first steps in attempting to define the current and future needs of Powhatan’s roadways.

District five Planning Commissioner Karin Carmack was chosen by the Supervisors as the chairman of the committee, which also includes a representative from the Board of Supervisors, District One’s Joe Walton, and seven citizens chosen from across the voting districts.

It quickly became clear Wednesday that the committee would be addressing a number of pressing issues over the course of the next several months, including current safety concerns on a number of well-traveled byways. There is also the less immediate, but equally important issue of how well the current infrastructure will be able to handle the increased demands of the burgeoning tourism industry in the County.

“The Board has done a great thing in setting up this committee,” commented County Administrator Carolyn Cios, who will serve on the committee as one of several non-voting members.

VDOT Chief Resident Engineer Dale Totten, who works closely with County leaders on various road projects, will also be working closely with the committee.

Totten told the group last week that one of his greatest concerns is making sure the projects VDOT undertakes represent the real needs and desires of the County.

“It’s important for me to make sure we are putting the limited dollars we have to good use,” said Totten.

Carmack admits there is still a lot they need to learn about dealing with issues such as funding, and which projects may need more of the limited funds available from the State.

“It’s a definite learning curve,” said Carmack, who has served on the Planning Comission for a year, but she said she does have a clear idea of at least two areas she’d like to the group to examine.

In addition to seeing the County finalize a thoroughfare plan, Carmack says she’d like to look in to hiring a full- or part-time traffic engineer, to focus specifically on Powhatan’s needs.

Having someone in that position would help County leaders identify and take advantage of grants and other sources of funding they may be missing out on now.

Also discussed at the first meeting was the issue of transportation proffers, funds given by developers to help offset the impact of their projects on the County’s roads.

While Chesterfield to the East has been able to put 45 cents of every dollar towards road improvement, Powhatan does not currently have a system in place for collecting transportation proffers.

The one thing Carmack cautioned against however, is the committee trying to tackle too much too quickly.

“The most important thing we can do is focus on one or two things,” said Carmack Monday.

The group ended the meeting last week with each member vowing to go back and look over the current six-year transportation improvement plan and to consider ways to improve citizen involvement in the process of which projects are selected by the County to undertake.

The next meeting of the transportation study group will be April 21 at 5:30 p.m. in the County Administration Building Conference Room and will be open to the public.

Course offers drivers a chance to sharpen their skills

Lou Gregory will never forget the time, a few years ago, when she went to the DMV to renew her driver’s license and found out she had to take the written test. She’d been driving without incident for decades, and figured she’d breeze through it, but within the first 10 questions Gregory found herself scratching her head.

“There are things you forget,” said Gregory, which is why she encourages anyone interested in improving their knowledge of the road to sign up for a refresher course on the rules of the road. The class, which will be held at Graceland Baptist Church (975 Dorset Road) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 4, takes drivers all the way through the textbook provided by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

While the class, entitled 55 Alive, is sponsored in part by the American Association of Retired Persons, it is open to individuals of any age.

“It’s just a really good thing [to do]” said Gregory, pointing out that even if drivers remember all the rules they were taught, they may not know the newer ones. The class is the same one that is often suggested by the court system and can be used to fulfill court requirements, said Gregory.

The cost of the class is $10. Interested citizens should call Gregory at 598-4434 to reserve a space.