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Mason District BRAC 133 Task Force

March 1, 2011 Minutes

Called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chairman Barry Wilson

Attendance of Task Force Members
Linda Mass
Rita Zimmerman
Kathy Hart
Jennifer Porter
Linda Shapiro
Barry Wilson
Bill Pike

Task Force Members Excused from Meeting
Elizabethe Hall
David Dexter
Dorothy Beck

Others in Attendance
Supervisor Penny Gross
Clara Pizana - Office of Supervisor Gross
Thomas Burke - FCDOT
Mark Canale - FCDOT
Guy Mullinax - FCDOT
David Grover - City of Alexandria
Smitha Chellappa - FCDOT
Aripita Chatterjee - FCDOT
Seyed Nabavi - FCDOT
Maria Turner - FCDOT
Dan Deible - Annandale resident
Nicole Canzoncin - Fairfax County resident
Nancy Carter-Foster - Fairfax County resident

Introductions of Task Force members were made and an open meeting policy was established.

Web site Use - Ms. Gross suggested that all requests to contact the task force be done through her office, to protect the privacy of the task force members who are all volunteers.  The dates and meetings and the names of the task force membership will be put on the Web site for Fairfax County.

Other meetings of interest that deal with BRAC 133 related issues were announced by Mr. Wilson.

Report by Ms. Gross
Ms. Gross announced that she had been appointed to the Northern Virginia BRAC Committee sponsored by the Northern Virginia Regional Commission.

Two items of interest to the task force were the Final Report of "Federal Funding of Transportation Improvements in BRAC Cases" and the "Final Report 2010, Transit Service Impacts".  In the discussion of the announcement by VDOT about the I-95/395 HOT Lanes project, the proposed ramp to the third level of the Seminary Road overpass would qualify for a categorical exclusion from environmental impact study requirements.  This would save 9-10 months if used.  The HOT Lanes would end at north of Edsall Road with transition to HOV Lanes northward.  The plan and engineering details are not available at the time of this meeting.

Report by Guy Mullinax
The 2005 Functional Classification Map 6E with Policy Plan Appendix discusses the types of roads in the impact area and what types of traffic mitigations can be done to each category of road.  All roads in Fairfax County are "urban".  Under current procedures, a request for traffic calming takes about one year.  To be effective traffic calming devices need to be 500-700 feet apart.  The workforce is concentrated on the I-95/395 Corridor in Southern Fairfax and Prince William County.  Communities adjacent to the interstates and their neighborhood roads are the unknown relief valve.  FCDOT staff has a handle on the Beauregard corridor.

Cut through roads and mitigation of traffic in this situation have a different set of standards for resolution.

Report by Mark Canale, Fairfax County BRAC Coordinator
70% of the employees assigned to BRAC 133 will travel on Fairfax County Roads to get to the BRAC 133 site.  All improvements done by Alexandria City for traffic mitigation will affect traffic and potential traffic mitigation in Fairfax County and vice versa.  These two jurisdictions must work together for maximum resolution of the traffic issues related to BRAC 133.  The two handouts for the presentation and discussion that followed include "Overall Characteristics of Employee Population Distribution" and "Transportation Management Plan for BRAC 133 at Mark Center, Appendix A- Zip Code Analysis".

Report by Seyed Nabavi
He presented information and led a discussion about the I-95 HOT/HOV Lanes Project using the handout by the same name.  This information had been presented to the Board of Supervisors Transit Committee earlier on 3/1/2011.

Items for Next Meeting

1. Report about the "Pike Corridor Transit Plane from Pentagon City to Skyline" a joint venture by Arlington and Fairfax Counties.
2. Update about Edsall Road with respect to the HOT/HOV Lanes project.
3. Use completed traffic studies in addition to new traffic counts to get a baseline of traffic before the opening of BRAC 133 at Mark Center.  The completed studies are: Cherokee Ave/Chowan Ave/Hillcrest Place, Colfax Ave/ Braddock Road/Backlick Road, and Beauregard Street/Rt. 236.
4. Steve Knudsen will be asked at the next meeting to discuss Cut Through Program. In an attempt to work within the confines of time, baseline areas of concern prompted the committee to identify areas where traffic counts should be done prior to the end of the school year and the opening of the building.  They are:
   1. Lacy Boulevard
   2. Magnolia Lane, between Lacy Blvd and Seminary Road
   3. North Chambliss Street at Beauregard Street/Lincolnia Road
   4. Summit Place
   5. Edsall Road at Shawnee Road/Cherokee Ave
   6. Dawes Ave. - County staff to explore
   7. South George Mason Drive at Seminary Road.
   8. The Arcadia Road loop
   9. Landess Street
   10. Fairfax Parkway between Columbia Pike and Summit Place
   11. Carlin Springs Road to Seminary Road
       
       County Staff will attempt to work on traffic counts and to pull the existing studies for the next meeting.
       
5. Discuss the meeting schedule past May 2011

Meeting was adjourned at 10:00 PM.

Next meeting is scheduled for 7:00 PM on April 5, 2011.