FAIRFAX COUNTY TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMISSION
Meeting Summary

Regular Meeting - May 6, 2008
7:15 PM - Room 8, Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 20035

TAC Members In Attendance: Chair Janyce Hedetniemi, Vice Chair Jeffrey Parnes, Secretary Roger Hoskin, Jenifer Joy Madden, Brian Deery, Mack Roades, and Harry Zimmerman

Others In Attendance:  County Staff: Kathy Ichter, Bob Owolabi, Calvin Lam, Rick Stevens, Charlie Strunk and Jeff Hermann.

Meeting called to Order:   The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M. by Chair Janyce Hedetniemi. The minutes of the April 1, 2008 meeting were approved as written.

---

Main Topics Discussed

Board Referrals:

There were no new referrals from the Board of Supervisors

Dulles Rail Project Update

Mr. Rick Stevens, Project Manager, Dulles Rail project, Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT), briefed the Commission on recent action by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) on the Dulles Rail project. He said that on April 30, 2008, the USDOT reversed its position on the Dulles Rail project and initiated a routine 10-day notification period to Congress. On May 9, 2008, a Final Design approval letter is expected from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The letter will authorize moving the project forward and will authorize the release of $159 million in existing federal funding authorization. Mr. Stevens further added that between the Final Design Approval and a Request for a Full Funding Grant Agreement, concerns that must be resolved / addressed to the satisfaction of the USDOT include: maintaining cost-effectiveness, establishing a $200 million capital reserve account, demonstration of improved integration between the project management plan and the interagency agreements, and rounding out of project staffing. He also stated that the FTA has certified the Airport Authority to operate on Dulles Rail. Also, Ms. Mary Peters, the US Secretary of Transportation has asked Governor Kaine to focus attention on the "state of good repair" of the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA). Governor Kaine, in the near future, is expected to hold a summit with the Governor of Maryland and the Mayor of Washington, D.C on funding.

Following the presentation, the TAC members raised many questions regarding issues with the Beltway HOT Lanes project, funding status of the Dulles Rail Project and the "state of good repair" of WMATA. The Beltway HOT Lanes project may be under construction before Dulles Rail project construction begins. VDOT will coordinate both projects to ensure minimal disruptions to existing traffic flow. WMATA may have to re-prioritize its repair list because of the uncertainty associated with the $50 million Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) funding.

Outcome of Fairfax County Bicycle Route Map Public Meetings

Charlie Strunk, Fairfax County Bicycle Coordinator and Jeff Hermann of FCDOT gave a briefing on Fairfax County Bicycle Map public meetings and presented the newly created map. The map is the result of comments from the public and the advisory committee made up of bike enthusiasts, Board of Supervisors' staff and County staff. The map shows bike routes as well as major trail networks. Data collection effort was done by incorporating input from VDOT, Fairfax County Bike Network, GIS personnel as well as roadway characteristics and the ranking on how comfortable the bikers would feel using the road. The analysis was done by using the Bike Level-of-Service (LOS) model. The first distribution of the Bicycle Map will be 3000 maps to be given out on the 2008 Bike-to-Work day on May 16th. There are still opportunities for revisions to the map. The next distribution would be 25,000 maps.

Commissioner Jenifer Joy Madden brought up the issue of re-striping / paving roadways to provide wider shoulder space for bikers' safety. Mr. Strunk responded that VDOT has a policy for paving shoulders for bikers. For instance, he continued, VDOT was asked to pave the shoulder when the Stringfellow Road (north of Route 50) was re-striped. Kathy Ichter pointed out that VDOT does not always advise FCDOT staff in advance of its re-striping schedule. Stringfellow Road is a road on which VDOT provided wider shoulders when the road was re-striped at the request of FCDOT. The TAC Chair, Janyce Hedetniemi, also raised concerns about bikers' safety. She suggested having a Bike Safety Initiative to raise awareness of bicycle safety and also provide education to bikers.

Vice Chair Jeff Parnes raised the issue of reconnection of the missing bikeway/sidewalk links and gaps among neighborhoods. TAC members expressed interest in attending meetings with neighborhoods and working with FCDOT staff on this initiative.

FY09 Transportation Budget Challenges & Issues

Kathy Ichter, Director of Fairfax County Department of Transportation, gave a briefing on the budget challenges and issues that the department is facing in the coming fiscal year. Since the Board of Supervisors (BOS) adopted the 11 cents per $100 of assessed value of commercial & industrial properties, every year it would generate about $52 million for transportation. This is a setback since the funding from NVTA was ruled unconstitutional. Because of the limited funding, Fairfax County would have to re-prioritize its project list, and have to do smaller projects which would have immediate impacts. Ms. Ichter stated FCDOT's implementation plan for utilizing the $52 million fund as follows: (a) hire a general contractor to implement projects from planning to construction-traditional project implementation will still go through normal County agency process; (b) move out of current office space and co-locate County staff from planning, design and construction, together with current FCDOT staff. The Board approved funding for office move (due to the severe space constraint) as part of the recent budget adoption. The Board also approved 19 new positions for project implementation as follows: 13 new positions in FY2009 and 6 in FY2010, since NVTA does not plan to have its own staff to manage projects. The Board adopted scenario #1 out of three funding scenarios presented by staff for funding from NVTA revenues and commercial and industrial tax which will result in $206 million over a 3year period. Fairfax County needs to begin to lay the ground work for taking more responsibility from VDOT if we have to take over the secondary roadway program. TAC members, in subsequent discussion, wondered which would be a better way to get more funding-gas tax or sales tax. Mrs. Ichter responded that the statewide sales tax would generate more funding.

TAC Strategic Planning Session

Deferred till the June 6, 2008 meeting.

Other Business

• Commissioner Mack Rhoades presented the recommendations of the nominating committee of the TAC Transportation Achievement Award and made a motion to nominate Ms. Jeanmarie Roberson, Engineer IV, Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) for the 2007 Transportation Achievement Award. The motion was seconded and adopted unanimously by all TAC members present at the meeting. The TAC will present the award to Ms. Roberson at a future regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Supervisors sometime in September 2008.
• Tysons Corner Area Plan Study Updates: TAC Chair Janyce Hedetniemi reported that the Tysons Land Use Task Force, at its recent meeting, discussed grid-patterned streets and how they will be funded.
• " Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Updates: Commissioner Harry Zimmerman gave an update on the BRAC Task Force activities. He said that the Department of Defense (DOD) will move about 8,500 people to the Engineering Proving Ground (EPG). He also added that a new hospital is proposed at Ft. Belvoir, and the Walter Reed facility in Washington, DC will be realigned. The Washington Headquarters Services will have an Army decision in July or August on where to move the 6,200 people.

Agenda for Upcoming TAC Meetings:

• June 3, 2008: Spot Improvements -- Ellen Gallagher
• June 3, 2008: Board of Supervisors' Environmental Agenda, the Environmental Improvement Program and the Cool Counties Initiative -- Kambiz Agazi
• July 1, 2008: TDM Fundamentals -- Dan Rathbone
• July 1, 2008: Richmond Highway Public Transportation Initiative (Planning and Operations) - Randy White
• August 5, 2008: North County Area Plans Review (APRs) Update -- Harry Zimmerman

Announcements:

• April 29 - June 4, 2008: Public Informational Meetings at various locations in Fairfax County on the Transit Development Plan (a comprehensive 10-year plan for Fairfax Connector and Metrobus Service Countywide). You can also learn more and comment by visiting www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fcdot/tdp.htm - or calling 703-324-1500 to leave a recorded message with your comments.
• June 3, 2008 TAC meeting will be held in Conference Room 206A, Pennino Building (next to the Herrity Building), 12011 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22035. Reason: Access is restricted at the Government Center after 6:00 pm during the week of June 2, 2008 due to the Fairfax County Fair.
• " The 2008-2009 North County Area Plans review (APR) has just opened. Nominations for Comprehensive Plan changes may be submitted between May 1 and June 27, 2008. The 2008-2009 North County Area Plans Review Guide is available on the Fairfax County Web site at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/apr/

 

---

Meeting Adjourned: The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 pm.