Who We Are

Kimley-Horn is a premier planning, design, and civil engineering consulting firm, renowned for our commitment to exceptional client service. With 8 offices and more than 600 employees across the Commonwealth, our multidisciplinary experience allows us to form comprehensive teams of professionals in planning, landscape architecture and urban design, engineering, environmental planning and design, community outreach, and public policy. We prioritize building strong relationships and become embedded within the communities we serve.

Presentations

Retrofitting Suburbia: The Power of Small Area Plans to Drive Change

Date: Monday, July 27

Time: 9:45-10:45AM

Kimley-Horn Staff Presenting: Devin Simpson, PE

Description: How can you transform the suburban areas of your city to maximize their full potential and create broad public, private, and political support for change? The Greenbrier Area Plan, a small area plan developed by Chesapeake, Virginia, exemplifies how to bring concept to reality. Greenbrier, the suburban center of the City of Chesapeake is not unlike many other parts of the US. The area was developed in the 1970s in a suburban form with a variety of uses such as single-family residential, apartments, shopping centers with expansive surface parking, and a mall that is no longer a major destination. In this session, you will learn where to begin transforming suburbia, how to gain the support of community stakeholders, and explore tools to drive implementation such as zoning overlays, transfer of development rights, and transportation impact fees, and design guidelines.

From Pedals to Programs: Designing a Bikeshare Blueprint That Works

Date: Monday, July 27

Time: 11:15AM-12:15PM

Kimley-Horn Staff Presenting: Devin Simpson, PE

Description: Many communities are exploring bikeshare and broader micromobility, but struggle to know where to begin or how to establish a program that can be sustained long-term. This session presents a step-by-step blueprint that municipalities can adapt regardless of scale or market maturity. We’ll walk through a current feasibility effort for the City of Virginia Beach, illustrating how to (1) evaluate demand using layered datasets (network readiness, demographics, points of interest, equity factors), (2) compare docked, dockless, and hybrid operations, (3) right size service areas and station/parking design, and (4) build the governance, policy, and funding scaffolding to support launch and long term operations.
This session shows how to move from feasibility to an actionable, adaptable program—covering mode selection (bikes/e-bikes/scooters), demand analysis, station siting, funding, governance, policy changes, and operations. In this session, attendees will also hear insights from vendors and programs of peer cities gathered through interviews. Participants will leave with clear guidance on how to translate technical findings into a decision framework and create a staged roadmap from pilot to expansion.

Railways and Regulations: Navigating Environmental Policy in Rail Planning

Date: Tuesday, July 28

Time: 8:30-9:30AM

Kimley-Horn Staff Presenting: Victoria Holmes, AICP, PWS; Rupsha Ghosh

Description: How should planners consider environmental impacts and regulatory compliance in railway planning? Join Victoria Holmes, AICP and Rupsha Ghosh from Kimley-Horn, and the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority’s (VPRA) Director of Planning, Christine Fix, AICP as they delve into successfully navigating environmental policy and planning for regulatory compliance in rail planning initiatives. This session includes a detailed overview of environmental regulations, their purpose, and applicability in planning. While National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance will be emphasized, to the session also discusses the applicability of environmental laws under NEPA’s purview, including Section 106 (historic resources), Section 7 (endangered species), Section 4(f) (publicly owned parklands), Section 6(f) (Land and Water Conservation Act sites), and Section 404/401 (Waters of the US). The session will present a case study on VPRA’s Transforming Rail in Virginia (TRV) program, which proposes a series of rail infrastructure enhancement projects within the 123-mile rail corridor between Washington, DC and Richmond, VA. For compliance with NEPA, the environmental effects of the TRV program were analyzed in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) approved by the Federal Railroad Administration in 2019 acknowledging that NEPA re-evaluations must be prepared as projects are implemented. The case study will highlight the purpose of the EIS and subsequent NEPA re-evaluations, the technical studies and agency coordination involved, and VPRA’s strategy for re-evaluating the EIS as TRV projects advanced towards design and construction.

Commercial Corridor Studies and the Ripples of Benefits

Date: Tuesday, July 28

Time: 9:45-10:45AM

Kimley-Horn Staff Presenting: Lynne Keenan, AICP; Victoria Holmes, AICP, PWS

Description: The tension between economic development, land use and stakeholder desires is one that many planners face.  On a 4 mile corridor in the City of Norfolk, we explored the potential to introduce new businesses, increase density and reimagine the future of the area, which is located next to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story and also near Naval Station Norfolk, regional shopping destinations, the Norfolk International Airport and the I-64 corridor.  With so much going on, it felt like the East Little Creek Commercial Corridor needed some additional analysis to help integrate the future development with the overall NFK2050 Comprehensive Plan. This session will highlight the importance of market analysis, looking for market leaders and laggers, emphasizing highly visual stakeholder engagement opportunities and linking multiple City departments to deliver a cohesive project. 

An Engineer and a Planner Walk Into a Room…

Date: Tuesday, July 28

Time: 3:15-4:15PM

Kimley-Horn Staff Presenting: Kate Widness, AICP, CNU-A; David Samba, PE, PTOE, PTP, RSP2B

Description: Demystifying the roles and relationships of planners and engineers in transportation planning projects: Today’s projects are becoming increasingly more complex and demand greater collaboration between engineers and planners early in the process. In this session, certified Planner Kate Widness and Transportation Engineer David Samba will talk about how they are breaking down the walls between engineering and planning, rejecting the cliches, and leveraging their combined skills to deliver successful transportation planning projects in Northern Virginia. Can engineers talk to people? Do planners know math? Is anyone happy being called a plangineer? Join us and find out. 

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