Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission

Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission Serving member governments, businesses and residents in the region since 1969. We recognize the web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time.

RVARC is a leader in driving collaboration and strategy within our communities on issues critical to the economic growth, quality of life, and sustainability in the region. The Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission (RVARC) has been serving its member governments for over 40 years. Formed in 1969, the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission is one of 21 regional planning agencies in the

Commonwealth of Virginia. The Regional Commission is not a State agency, but was established by its member governments through a charter agreement under Virginia law as a political subdivision of the Commonwealth. The Regional Commission serves the governments, businesses, and citizens of Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, Franklin and Roanoke Counties, the cities of Covington, Roanoke, and Salem, and the towns of Clifton Forge, Rocky Mount, and Vinton. The Commission brings together local governments and other organizations to promote discussion and actions on issues of regional importance. PUBLIC COMMENT POLICY
The purpose of this site is to present matters of public interest in the region, including its many residents, businesses and visitors. We at the Regional Commission encourage you to submit your questions, comments, and concerns, but please note this is a moderated online discussion site and not a public forum. However, given the need to manage our staff resources (your tax dollars), we generally only monitor comments and postings during regular business hours. We want to publish your comments, but we expect comments generally to be courteous. To that end, we have established the following policy in regard to the posting of comments, and we reserve the discretion not to post comments that are inconsistent with our policy. Comments should avoid:
1. Vulgar language
2. Personal attacks of any kind
3. Comments or content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, genetics, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or intellectual disability or sexual orientation
4. Spam or links to other sites
5. Clearly off topic
6. Advocate illegal activity
7. Promote particular services, products, or political organizations. (Note that non-commercial links that are relevant to the topic or another comment are acceptable)
8. Infringe on copyrights or trademarks
9. Personally identifiable medical information
10. Information that may compromise the safety, security or proceedings of public systems or any criminal or civil investigations. Please note that the comments expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect the opinions and position of our member government, its officers and employees. If you have any questions concerning the operation of this online moderated discussion site, please contact the Communications Office at the Regional Commission. [email protected]

Identical posts by the same user (please don't submit over and over expecting the post to show up faster) or multiple users (a group of people sending identical messages or one person submitting under different aliases). In the case of identical posts, we will post the first submission. Copyrighted and other proprietary material should not be posted or submitted in any form unless permission to do so is clearly indicated. In posting his or her own comments or other work, a commenter grants the Regional Commission and anyone viewing the Regional Commission’s site/page irrevocable permission to copy, distribute, make derivatives, display or perform the commenter's work publicly and free-of-charge.

🙌We’re excited to welcome Keith Holland to RVARC as a Senior Planner within our Community Development team! 🙌Keith bring...
08/10/2026

🙌We’re excited to welcome Keith Holland to RVARC as a Senior Planner within our Community Development team! 🙌

Keith brings 35 years of public service and administration experience across several Virginia localities, including RVARC members Vinton, Rocky Mount, and the City of Roanoke. His background includes managing federal and state grants, supporting affordable and sustainable workforce housing, advancing local and regional economic and community development initiatives, and working with public utilities.

A Rocky Mount native, Keith holds a master’s degree in city management from East Tennessee State University. Outside of work, he enjoys outdoor recreation and is an avid canoer.

✨Please join us in welcoming Keith to the team!

Heads up for those traveling on the Roanoke River Greenway!
08/06/2026

Heads up for those traveling on the Roanoke River Greenway!

Highland Road Closure: Roanoke River Greenway to be impacted.

A full road closure will begin at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, August 10th, through 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 11th for a pipe to be replaced underneath Highland Road.

Hogan Road will remain accessible via Rutrough Road throughout the closure. From just north of the closure, the detour route will be Highland Road to left on Riverdale Road to left on Bennington Street, SE, to the roundabout to Mt. Pleasant Boulevard, SE, to left on Rutrough Road, SE, to left on Highland Road. From just south of the closure, the detour route will be left on Rutrough Road to right on Mt. Pleasant Boulevard, SE, to the roundabout to Bennington Street, SE, to right on Riverdale Road, SE, to Highland Road.

Flagging will take place for the remainder of the project through August 28. The project includes installing approximately 250 feet of curb and gutter between the roadway and the greenway, replacing the storm pipe beneath Highland Road, and installing a new curb inlet.

The Roanoke River Greenway will be closed between the trailhead parking lot at 3226 Highland Road and the trailhead parking lot near the intersection of Rutrough Road and Highland Road from August 10th through August 28th.

Thank you, City of Salem - City Hall, for having us at the Saturday Farmer's Market community table to promote participa...
07/30/2026

Thank you, City of Salem - City Hall, for having us at the Saturday Farmer's Market community table to promote participation in the Rural Transportation Survey!

RVARC staff members Alison Stinnette and Jessica Mahuron had a wonderful time talking with people at the market about their experiences getting around in Salem, Roanoke County and other rural locations in our region.

The Rural Transportation Survey will close on July 31—ensure your community's voice is heard in this Long-Range Transportation Plan for the next 20 years! 🚗🚚🚌🚴🚶🏻‍♀️

✅Take the survey online at https://engage.rvarc.org/rlrtp.

07/23/2026

If you’re ready for your next adventure in Roanoke County, we’d suggest a float on the Roanoke River Blueway!

Roanoke County has several blueway access points and the float from Journey’s End to Rutrough Point at Explore Park is a great spot for beginners.

Check out RoanokeRiverBlueway.org for information on water levels, safety and access.

🎉Join us in celebrating two major work anniversaries within the Regional Commission's leadership team:🌟Jeremy Holmes, ou...
07/22/2026

🎉Join us in celebrating two major work anniversaries within the Regional Commission's leadership team:

🌟Jeremy Holmes, our Executive Director, has dedicated 20 years of service to the Regional Commission!

🌟Amanda McGee, our Community Development Director, is celebrating her 10-year work anniversary!

We thank both Jeremy and Amanda for their outstanding service and leadership to strengthening the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany region, and for their continuous support to staff, member governments and community stakeholders.

RVARC staff members Andrea Garland and Molly Maxwell had an incredible time volunteering at the USA Cycling Endurance Mo...
07/17/2026

RVARC staff members Andrea Garland and Molly Maxwell had an incredible time volunteering at the USA Cycling Endurance Mountain Bike Short Track (XCC) National Championship held at Elmwood Park in downtown Roanoke! 🏁

🚴Hosting all the 2026 USA Cycling Endurance Mountain Bike National Championship races across Carvin's Cove, Elmwood Park, and Explore Park is a remarkable achievement and opportunity for our region's outdoor recreation and quality of life assets to be showcased on a national level!

🚴The Cross Country Olympic (XCO) National Championships presented by Roanoke County is happening this weekend July 17-19. Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge socials or at https://www.visitroanokeva.com/usamtb/ for details!

✨Roanoke’s PeopleForBikes city score soars! The 2026 PeopleForBikes.org City Ratings show a significant boost in Roanoke...
07/15/2026

✨Roanoke’s PeopleForBikes city score soars!

The 2026 PeopleForBikes.org City Ratings show a significant boost in Roanoke’s score from 34 to 43 out of 100—the largest year-over-year improvement to date! Roanoke now ranks 20th in Virginia and at 849th among over 3,000 U.S. cities, placing in the 72nd percentile. 🚴

City scores are based on the overall quality of a city’s bike network. A well-designed bike network has interconnected protected bike lanes, off-street paths like the greenway system, and secure crossings, allowing residents to cycle comfortably and safely throughout the city.

Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission transportation planning staff contributed data for Roanoke's update in the PeopleForBikes City Score. 🙌Shout out to the City of Roanoke Transportation and community partners for their diligent and continued advocacy, improvement and promotion of biking infrastructure.

🚴‍♀️Explore Roanoke’s score and an interactive map featuring street-level data at PeopleForBikes City Ratings at https://cityratings.peopleforbikes.org/cities/roanoke-va

We are grateful for City of Salem - City Hall ongoing collaboration on advancing greenways in our region!
07/14/2026

We are grateful for City of Salem - City Hall ongoing collaboration on advancing greenways in our region!

COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES UPDATED REGIONAL GREENWAY MANAGEMENT
At Monday night’s Council Meeting, the members voted unanimously to transition the regional management of the area’s greenways from the Roanoke Valley Greenway Commission to the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission. The greenway partnership started in 1997 with Salem, Roanoke, Roanoke County and Vinton. In 2016, it was revised to include Botetourt County, and that year also signaled the establishment of the Greenway Commission. Now in 2026, all localities agree it is best to improve efficiency and increase cost savings by dissolving the independent commission and transfering its operation to the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission.

Molly Maxwell, the new Regional Commission Greenway Coordinator, who was hired in March of this year, attended Monday’s meeting along with two of Salem’s Greenway representatives, Dee King and Russ Craighead.

Maxwell is a planner with nine years of experience in community planning, active transportation, and trail infrastructure. She not only coordinates greenway priorities, but also helps the RVARC assist member localities, from Franklin County to the Alleghany Highlands, with recreation planning and related projects tied to community development, tourism, and outdoor economy opportunities.

Childcare access is a regional issue that presents opportunities for community stakeholders and local government leaders...
06/26/2026

Childcare access is a regional issue that presents opportunities for community stakeholders and local government leaders to come together and collaborate on.

Abby Hamilton, President and CEO of United Way of Virginia's Blue Ridge provided an insightful "Childcare 101" presentation at the June 25th Regional Commission meeting that educated on how childcare is part of our communities' economic pipelines, impacting families, employers, productivity and tax revenues and quality of life for all.

There are promising opportunities to bridge the childcare supply and demand gap in the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany region. This can be achieved through regional coordination, including a new employer matching program signed into law with bipartisan support. This initiative offers state matching funds that encourage employer contributions towards employee childcare costs.

We thank United Way of Virginia Blue Ridge staff for joining us and offering support in navigating opportunities and localized data. The presentation is available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/OyMSnHKuZFo?si=JKPkULczoIeTvp_-&t=1038

06/25/2026

Properly maintained septic systems are important for the health of the environment and our community. See how residents of Roanoke County, Virginia or Craig County may be eligible for a pump-out service at no cost thanks to grant funding provided through the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission.

Address

313 Luck Avenue SW
Roanoke, VA
24016

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+15403434417

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