Suffolk Mayor Linda T. Johnson was elected chair of the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization during its October meeting.

The body studies transportation of all kinds — road, rail, air and alternates, both public and private — in the region and evaluates regional priorities.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a lot of good stuff in front of us. I think we’ve got a lot of opportunities, and I think the board is ready to dig in.”

The HRTPO is a massive board, including representatives from Suffolk, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson and Williamsburg and the counties of Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City and York. Other voting members include representatives from the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates and an alphabet soup of other agencies: the Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads, Williamsburg Area Transit Authority, Virginia Department of Transportation, Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation and the Virginia Port Authority.

Non-voting members include the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Virginia Department of Aviation, Peninsula Airport Commission and Norfolk Airport Authority.

The board meets the third Thursday of each month at the Regional Building, 723 Woodlake Drive, Chesapeake.