E-UPDATE

June 2022
Hampton Roads Economic Monthly
Try as they might, economists have a tough time predicting the future. When COVID hit the US economy in March of 2020, a wave of layoffs (some temporary, some permanent) followed as business as usual ceased to exist. Across the region (and the country and globe), every major industry was impacted differently. One of the most interesting
to watch over the past two years has been the retail industry – which has experienced a rapid recovery in ways that would have been very difficult to predict in March 2020.


Across Virginia, citizens often call county offices asking that the maintenance of their private road be taken over by VDOT, known as “rural additions” to the VDOT system. The cost to upgrade private roads to VDOT standards is usually significant.
In response to a request from county stakeholders, HRTPO staff gathered information on rural additions to the VDOT System.

Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are predicting a 65% chance of an above-average Atlantic hurricane season for 2022, with 14-21 named storms and 6-10 hurricanes. The team behind Getfloodfluent.org wants to know: Are you and your home prepared? Launched in 2019 by the HRPDC, with advice from local planners and emergency managers, the GetFloodFluent.org initiative separates facts from fiction when it comes to flood insurance in Hampton Roads.

The long-awaited update to land cover and land use (LULC) data across the Chesapeake Bay watershed has finally been completed and is highlighted in this month’s map. Regional partners and the public can now access land cover, land use, and land use change data.

The Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) Board approved the agency’s new Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 on May 19, 2022. The annual UPWP is a federally required document that serves as the organization’s “blueprint” detailing all the planned transportation planning work for the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA) with its associated funding to be advanced in the region during the upcoming year. 

Each month, HRTPO staff highlights a project that is currently being implemented within the Hampton Roads region. This month, staff examines the Wythe Creek Road Widening projects in the Cities of Hampton and Poquoson.

Visit the COVID-19 Impact Planning Hub to get the latest information on COVID-19 in Hampton Roads.
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No HRPDC or HRTPO Meetings in June
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Phone: 757.420.8300
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The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) and Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) fully comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice, and related nondiscrimination statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. HRPDC's website, www.hrpdcva.gov, and HRTPO's website, www.hrtpo.org, may be translated into multiple languages. Publications and other public documents can be made available in alternative languages and formats, if requested. HRPDC public meetings are always held in ADA-accessible facilities and in transit-accessible locations when possible. Auxiliary services can be provided to individuals who submit a request at least seven days prior to a meeting. Requests made within seven days will be accommodated to the greatest extent possible. Any person who believes they have been aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory practice by HRPDC under Title VI has a right to file a formal complaint. Any such complaint may be in writing and filed with the HRPDC and/or the appropriate state or federal agency within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory occurrence. For more information on HRPDC's Title VI program, or to obtain a Title VI Complaint Form, please call (757) 420-8300 or email: rcrum@hrpdcva.gov