AGENDA DATE: 11/4/2015
TITLE:
Title
Place Naming for Route 29/Rio Intersection Area
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Discussion regarding draft recommendation for place naming for the Route 29/Rio Intersection Area as part of the Route 29 Solutions Project
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Foley, Walker, Davis, Catlin, Graham
PRESENTER (S): Lee Catlin
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Thomas C. Foley
BACKGROUND: The Route 29/Rio intersection project is a major element of the Route 29 Solutions Package and involves both short-term and longer-term impacts to traffic patterns and flow in that area of the County. Effective signage that provides clear direction for navigation will be critical during and after construction. As part of the signage program, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has been working with its Project Delivery Advisory Panel (PDAP) to develop an overall place naming strategy for the signs. VDOT’s marketing research/communications consultant Southeastern Institute of Research (SIR) has developed a suggested place naming strategy, and the PDAP is seeking the County’s reaction to that recommendation before an approach is finalized for the signage program.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Goal 1 - Successfully engage citizens so that local government reflects their values and aspirations
DISCUSSION: The place naming strategy established for the Route 29/Rio Intersection project provides the opportunity to not only aid in traffic flow and navigation but also to create identity and a sense of place for this critical commercial and residential area of the County. SIR developed its naming recommendations using a comprehensive approach that applied a variety of research and public engagement tools.
SIR Research Initiative Process
- SIR conducts quantitative survey -Winter 2014 - a total of 400 telephone surveys were completed to gain initial feedback on optimal naming considerations
- SIR conducts qualitative focus groups -Summer 2015 - a total of nine separate focus groups were convened with a total of 40 participants to identify the most promising names and related rationale for the Route 29-Rio Road intersection and its four parts.
- SIR taps into online panel to finalize recommendations -Summer 2015 - Follow-up questions were sent to participants in the qualitative focus groups, 16 people completed questionnaire.
- Present draft report -September 3, 2015 - VDOT and the Route 29 PDAP shared SIR’s final report with Albemarle County representatives at a PDAP meeting for the County’s consideration.
SIR Recommendations: SIR provided a full report to the PDAP on its findings; a copy of the presentation is included as Attachment A. The final recommendations are summarized below:
- Name the intersection and immediate area “Rio.”
- Name the four intersection parts “corners” and include their respective geographic orientation:
- Rio Northeast Corner
- Rio Southeast Corner
- Rio Northwest Corner
- Rio Southwest Corner
- Include “descriptor terms” on roadway signs to help direct people.
- Rio Northeast - to Rio Road East and Downtown Charlottesville
- Rio Southeast - to Rio Road East and Downtown Charlottesville
- Rio Northwest - to Rio Road West and Rio Hill
- Rio Southwest - to Rio Road West and Northside Library
County’s Engagement Process: The County is a critical partner in the development and finalization of a place naming strategy given the impact of the naming on the identity of this critical commercial and residential area. As part of bringing this recommendation to the Board for discussion, County staff provided opportunities for businesses and neighbors in the affected area to react to the SIR recommendations. While the County’s small area plan process for this area would have been an ideal opportunity to gather feedback on this issue, the timing for that plan was too late for this process, so other methods were utilized.
A survey was prepared to obtain input and was distributed using the following methods (80 responses were gathered):
- Email to Places29 Community Advisory Committees, Albemarle County’s business contact list for 29 Solutions and Albemarle County’s homeowners/neighborhood association contact list for those in the Places29 Master Plan area (332 contacts)
- Facebook (969 people reached)
- Twitter (1,644 followers)
Full results of the survey are available as Attachment B. As expected, the results demonstrate a wide variety of opinion, but there appeared to be general agreement with the recommendation to name the area Rio. While there was concern expressed about the use of directional names for the corners and descriptor terms, there was no clear agreement on an alternative that was preferred by a majority of respondents. The most common suggestions involved including the names of current business establishments which is problematic from a longevity point of view.
County staff also had a focus group discussion with the Route 29 Solutions Business Assistance subgroup and is planning a discussion with the three newly formed Places29 Community Advisory Committees at their first meeting on October 26. Results of this discussion will be reported at the November 4 meeting.
Next Steps: Any direction provided by the Board related to the place naming recommendations will be communicated to PDAP at its November 12 meeting, with the expectation that a final place naming strategy will be in place by the end of the calendar year to allow VDOT to move ahead with the signage program and to be utilized in the collective marketing campaign beginning in early spring, 2016.
BUDGET IMPACT: No funding is being requested from the County to implement this initiative.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Board provide any feedback regarding the place naming recommendations developed by SIR so that information can be passed along to the PDAP for consideration at its November 12 meeting.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A - Route 29/Rio Placemaking Study Final Report
Attachment B - Placemaking Rio Summary