News Release

The Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission (OVRDC) is conducting a survey to inform the transportation related Regional Safety Action Plan now in development. The survey is available online for the next several weeks. OVRDC is encouraging people to take a few minutes and submit public comments to be added to the plan. Collecting and analyzing survey data will be the first steps taken to begin creating a Regional Roadway Safety Action Plan.

Our goal with the survey is to hear about your experience regarding travel, transportation, and traffic safety. The survey will take less than five minutes to complete. “Traffic deaths are preventable. The purpose of this plan is to identify high crash locations and make recommendations for countermeasures that will ensure safer roads for all users. The safety plan will support funding applications and prioritize projects to create safer roads in the southern Ohio region,” said Stephanie Gilbert, OVRDC Transportation Coordinator.

Take the survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/G7FXFMZ

OVRDC is designated a Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). The OVRDC RTPO is tasked with planning and coordinating with stakeholders for a robust regional transportation system to encourage economic growth and community planning in eleven rural southern Ohio counties.

The OVRDC RTPO service area includes the counties of Adams, Brown, Fayette, Gallia, Highland, Jackson, Lawrence (rural area), Pike, Ross, Scioto and Vinton. OVRDC works on a wide range of projects, and services include data collection and analysis, project planning, grant writing, and project funding research.

From the early days of creating the first long range transportation plan to developing guidelines to disburse project funding for construction projects, each step has been a new opportunity to improve transportation routes and access. The staff responsible for guiding the growth of the RTPO program have looked for various ways to position the program as an essential key responsible for improving transportation and developing economic activity in the region.

Annual grant awards through OVRDC’s RTPO program for FY2023 and FY2024 were $2,151,633, with a total leveraged investment of nearly $4 million for transportation improvements supporting economic development activity in the southern Ohio.

For more information on the survey and programs, please contact Stephanie Gilbert, OVRDC Transportation Coordinator at (740) 947-2853.

More about OVRDC programs, membership, events and impact are online at www.ovrdc.org.