FAIRFAX COUNTY TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMISSION
Meeting Summary

August 18, 2015 at 7:30 PM – FCDOT, 4050 Legato Rd, Fairfax, VA 22033

TAC Members in Attendance: Chairman Jeff Parnes (Sully), Vice Chairman Jennifer Joy Madden (Hunter Mill), Secretary Roger Hoskin (Mason), Mike Champness (Dranesville), Frank Cohn (Mt. Vernon), Kevin Morse (Braddock), Harry Zimmerman (Lee), Micah Himmel (Providence), Eric Thiel (Springfield), and Alan Young (At Large).

TAC Members Absent: None

Others in Attendance: FCDOT staff: Calvin Lam, Susan Hafeli, Kris Morley-Nikfar, Adam Lind; Citizen guest: Stuart Whitaker.

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Parnes at 7:45 p.m. The minutes of the last meeting were approved unanimously and without change.

Note Taker:  Mike Champness

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Main Topics Discussed

2015 Taxicab Rate Review: Staff Recommendation – Susan Hafeli

County staff recommends no change in rates in 2015. In addition to gas prices remaining low, the County received no requests for rate increases from drivers, companies, or the public.

Commissioner Morse moved and Commissioner Cohn seconded that the TAC should accept the recommendation to retain existing taxicab rates. The motion was approved unanimously.

Herndon Metrorail Stations Access Management Study (HMSAMS) – Kris Morley-Nikfar and Adam Lind

HMSAMS is a collaborative, FCDOT-led effort to develop pedestrian and bicycle facility improvement plans surrounding the Herndon and Innovation Center Metrorail Stations.

Two rounds of public meetings were held. The first round, comprised of two meetings, took place in March 2014. A third meeting comprised the second round, and took place in June 2014.

In response to a question about participation from other jurisdictions, Kris responded that FCDOT had worked with two staff members from Loudon County, but that one had departed before the report was complete. Kris confirmed that the team has incorporated making Herndon-area station upgrades fully ADA compliant.
Adam Lind described the project selection process. He said the goal of the effort is to fill in gaps closest to the stations first. More projects were identified than for which funding is available. Adam responded that the County is increasingly establishing buffered bike lanes in response of a question about how VDOT policies have made it difficult to implement protected bicycle lanes. On the issue of whether the $21M budgeted for the station improvements would be sufficient, Adam responded that it won’t fund all projects and that they must be prioritized.

Public Comment

Chairman Parnes welcomed Stuart Whitaker to the meeting. The Chairman said that the TAC has been trying to hold transit accessible meetings since Stuart presented a proposed resolution to the TAC in January, 2015, but that it is not easy to do.

Transit Accessible Meetings – Discussion facilitated by Commissioner Champness

Commissioner Champness made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Morse, for the TAC to approve the attached proposed letter to BOS Chair Sharon Bulova. The following debate ensued.

The TAC had a discussion about whether the TAC should hold its first transit-accessible meeting before urging the BOS to do so. The TAC will ask FCDOT to review the draft letter before the TAC voted on it. The TAC debated on definition of the term “reasonably accessible” and what meetings would qualify under that term. Commissioner Champness stated that it would be up to the TAC to determine what “reasonably accessible” means.

There was a question about whether meetings at the County Government Center would qualify as “reasonably accessible”. The TAC discussed about the issue of whether people would take a bus home late in the evening after meetings had been concluded

Chairman Parnes invited Stuart Whitaker to address the TAC. Stuart recognized the uncertainty regarding the definition of “reasonably accessible”, and identified two locations that he believed would qualify (the new Providence District facility by the Vienna Metrorail stop and Stenwood Elementary School by the Dunn Loring Metrorail stop).

Because of the number of unresolved issues raised during the discussion, Commissioner Champness said he would be willing to withdraw his motion. Instead, Chairman Parnes said he would entertain a motion to table the existing motion and instead have Commissioners provide comments on the proposed letter to Calvin Lam to forward to Commissioner Champness.

Commissioner Morse so moved, and the motion was seconded by Commissioner Hoskin. Commissioners then discussed whether it was appropriate to make TAC meetings more transit accessible, since TAC meetings are lightly attended and take place in the evening. Calvin Lam noted that FCDOT already attempts to hold many official meetings in accessible locations.

The TAC unanimously agreed to table the original motion, and directed Commissioners to send comments on the proposed letter to the BOS to Calvin Lam within 7 days. Commissioner Champness agreed to incorporate the comments for later TAC discussion.

TAC Achievement Award Committee

The Achievement Award Committee discussed three candidates for the yearly TAC Achievement Award. The TAC unanimously approved the recommendation of the Committee for the winner of the award. The recipient is not named here so that the announcement can be made publicly at the award ceremony presentation in November, 2015.

Chairman Parnes encouraged sponsors of candidates that were not selected to consider re-submitting the candidates for next year’s competition.

Other Business:

Commissioner Zimmerman urged the TAC to send letters to thank FCDOT for hosting the TAC meeting and giving the TAC a tour of the West Ox bus facility on July 21. Commissioner Hoskin agreed to draft letters for TAC consideration to the BOS, to our hosts Ms. Miller and Mr. Pineda, and a generic thank-you letter that can be used for future visits and staff presentations to the TAC.

Commissioner Cohn said he believes the TAC should find a way to identify emergency safety transportation fixes, and cited the Dog Creek crossing as an example. Commissioner Zimmerman mentioned that “SPOT” projects used to fill this role, and that each BOS member could identify SPOT projects. Calvin Lam agreed to find the status of the SPOT program and report to the TAC.

Commissioner Himmel noted that Supervisor Smyth received only 1 business day notice regarding a public transit meeting in Richmond. Chairman Parnes said he would include a copy of the press release announcing the meeting in the TAC minutes.

Comment and Feedback on Previous Meeting’s Presentations: N/A

Planned Agenda for Next Meeting

• September 15, 2015: Envision Route 7 Program – Kate Mattice, NVTC

Topics for Future Meetings:

•  October 20, 2015: Richmond Highway Alternatives Analysis Next Steps – Tom Burke (FCDOT)
•  November 17, 2015: Countywide Transit Network Study – Tom Burke (FCDOT)
•  December 15, 2015: I-495 and I-95 Express Lanes Performance/Progress
•  January 19, 2016: Huntington Area Transportation Study – Tom Burke (FCDOT)
•  February 16, 2016: Route 7 Core Widening – Tad Borkowski, FCDOT)
•  March 15, 2016:  Joint TAC/T&SC meeting to discuss sidewalk and trail maintenance funding
• TBD: Update on Accessible Bus Stops
• TBD: Comprehensive Plan and Transportation staff and Planning Commission discussions with TAC on what their vision is for future development and any changes in planning and zoning guidelines that may be needed to account for future work environment given the pace and impacts of technology advances (including guest speaker to explain impact of self-driving/smart cars, buses and trucks on traffic, roadways and intersections). Joint meeting date with the Planning Commission’s Transportation Committee will be determined.
• TBD: Comprehensive Plan and Transportation staff and Planning Commission discussions with TAC on how planning for areas currently planned for future rail stations reflects the designation of the areas as future rail stations
• TBD: CTB Determination of Corridor of Statewide Importance through Loudoun/Prince William Counties

Closing and Adjournment:

Chairman Parnes provided updates on meetings he has attended and upcoming events that could be of interest to the TAC members. The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 p.m.

Upcoming Events:

October 13, 2015                     1:00 pm             Board Transportation Committee Meeting
December 1, 2015                 10:00 am             Board Transportation Committee Meeting

Upcoming Meetings:

September 1, 2015                    7:30 pm            TAC Work Session (FCDOT)
September 15, 2015                  7:30 pm            TAC Regular Meeting (FCDOT)

October 6, 2015                         7:30 pm             TAC Work Session (FCDOT)
October 20, 2015                       7:30 pm             TAC Regular Meeting (FCDOT)

November 3, 2015                     7:30 pm             TAC Work Session (FCDOT)
November 17, 2015                   7:30 pm             TAC Regular Meeting (FCDOT)

December 1, 2015                     7:30 pm             TAC Work Session (FCDOT)
December 15, 2015                   7:30 pm             TAC Regular Meeting (FCDOT)

January 5, 2015                         7:30 pm             TAC Work Session (FCDOT)
January 19, 2015                       7:30 pm             TAC Regular Meeting (FCDOT)