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Originally published in the October 3, 2007, edition of The Examiner
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Leadership in Transportation
In his September 7, 2007 column, Mr. Baise praised former Fairfax County Board Chairman Jack Herrity for transportation improvements during his tenure on the Board of Supervisors. Many strides in transportation were taken during that period, but a renewed emphasis has been placed on transportation since this Board took office in 2004. During that time, we have worked to build consensus locally, regionally, and statewide to address our transportation needs. That is the hallmark of true leadership.
Transportation in Virginia is a state responsibility. However, as we all know the Commonwealth of Virginia is unable to keep up with the transportation infrastructure needs of Northern Virginia, so in 2004 the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors stepped into the void by adopting my Four-Year Transportation Plan. The Plan is an action-oriented roadmap for providing commuters with choices. With more than 80 road projects utilizing well over $100 million in County funds, the Plan is ambitious. To date 57 projects have been completed, with an additional 16 currently under construction. The Plan also includes a $165 million transportation bond passed in 2004 and a $115 million bond referendum scheduled for this November. This Board is the first in 20 years to put two transportation bond referendums on the ballot in one four-year term. When added to our investments in Metro, Virginia Railway Express, the Connector bus system and the Richmond Highway Express Bus, this Board has committed $600 million to transportation.
The top transportation priority in Fairfax County is getting Metrorail out to Dulles Airport. This corridor is the second-largest job center in the entire Metropolitan Washington region, behind only Washington, D.C. Given that Dulles Airport is the premier international airport serving our nation’s capital, it needs to be served by Metrorail, and we have been working with our state and federal partners to make it reality. I have no doubt that, were the decision entirely up to the Board, we would have a tunnel through Tysons, but this project is contingent upon $900 million in federal money, and the Federal Transit Administration is the ultimate decider. Still, given the importance of this corridor and the airport, this project must move forward.
We also worked to reach consensus with our neighboring jurisdictions during the development of the TransAction 2030 Plan under the auspices of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA). The 2030 Plan represents a prioritized list of multi-modal projects in the Northern Virginia area – a prioritized list that was agreed upon by all the local jurisdictions. The General Assembly responded with HB3202, which had several fatal flaws that rendered it dead on arrival from the perspective of local governments. I, along with my fellow regional leaders, met with the Governor and laid out these issues, and his revised bill signaled a revolutionary shift in transportation funding by allowing local governments in both Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to band together and raise much-needed transportation funds within our regions. The NVTA is the entity in Northern Virginia charged with implementing these changes, and we are hard at work getting the projects on the 2030 Plan up and running.
Leadership is not wishing the impossible could happen, but rather seeking out partners, building consensus, and making all that is possible come to fruition. This Board of Supervisors has taken the lead in addressing the transportation issues we all face each and every day, and we will continue to enhance mobility, promote pedestrian safety, and to create choices for the commuting public by bringing relief to our neighborhoods one turn-lane, one trail, one traffic signal at a time.
