FAIRFAX COUNTY TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMISSION (TAC)
Meeting Summary
Regular Meeting – September 17, 2013 at 7:30 PM – FCDOT, 4050 Legato Rd, Fairfax, VA 22033
TAC Members in Attendance: Chairman Jeff Parnes (Sully), Vice Chairman Jenifer Joy Madden (Hunter Mill), Secretary Roger Hoskin (Mason), Kevin Morse (Braddock), Micah Himmel (Providence), Harry Zimmerman (Lee), Eric Thiel (Springfield) and Ann Pimley (Fairfax Area Disability Board).
TAC Members Absent: Frank Cohn (Mt. Vernon) and Ed. L. Tennyson (At-Large)
Extended TAC Members in Attendance: Roger Diedrich.
Extended TAC Members Absent: Michael Caplin, Bob Chase, Colleen Colangelo, Edythe Frankel Kelleher, Jim Larsen, Heidi Perham, Frank Sellers, Joe Vidulich, and Alan Young.
Others in Attendance: FCDOT Staff: Tom Biesiadny, Calvin Lam, Brent Riddle, Randy White, and Todd Wigglesworth, Paul Davis (Supervisor Hudgins Office).
Meeting was called to order by Chairman Parnes at about 7:35 pm. The Minutes from September 10, 2013, was approved as amended to clarify the comments from Commissioners Zimmerman and Thiel.
Note Taker: Kevin Morse
Main Topics Discussed
Report from the Board Transportation Committee (BTC) meeting on September 17, 2013 meeting about the Continuation of Countywide Dialogue on Transportation Public Outreach
Tom Biesiadny, Director, Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT), provided a summary on the BTC meeting. The Board of Supervisor (BOS) accepted the proposed four community meetings, emphasized that the Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) is only one of the many factors of project prioritization, and the restrictions on how the funding can be used on projects.
Mr. Biesiadny went over the changes in his presentation based on the comments from the Board and the TAC. Commissioner Zimmerman asked about the difference between the funded and unfunded lists. Mr. Biesiadny replied that the funded list was approved and fully committed by the Board. The unfunded list is the list of projects that is being analyzed and will need public inputs.
Todd Wigglesworth explained in detail the funded and unfunded maps with activity center, elderly, disable, economic disadvantage population, etc., as suggested by the TAC. These maps will become available online at a later time.
Vice Chair Madden asked for the difference between activity centers versus business centers. Mr. Biesiadny replied that staff needs to use the term consistently at these public meetings. The presentation for the public meeting will be a shorter, easy to understand version with less technical details. There was a discussion about qualitative versus quantitative analysis on the CBA.
Vice Chair Madden stated that we need to explain to the public that they are not being asked to solve the deficit of $79 million, but to help with the selection of projects to better serve Fairfax County. Chairman Parnes emphasized that we need to be clear that this time we are not asking the public for more revenues (not to raise taxes).
Commissioner Zimmerman and Vice Chair Madden suggested changing the names of “funded” and “unfunded” list to “approved” and “proposed” list. Chairman Parnes suggested having the details of each “unfunded” or “proposed” project available online.
Mr. Biesiadny went over the detail of the CBA list and pointed out the newly added projects which still need additional analyses. The project list can be sorted by district, mode, score, etc. There was a discussion about the scoring system and how to best display it to the public.
Commissioner Morse questioned about the low score of the Braddock Road at Route 123 project. Mr. Biesiadny replied that due to the high cost for this project, it affects the score.
There was a discussion about the total unfunded project list, which is about $4 billion, and the public is asking to identify projects for the estimate $1.2 billion available funding (through FY 2020). The TAC suggested making this point clear to the public to avoid possible confusions.
General discussion about how to take public comment perused the previous discussion. Mr. Wigglesworth proposed that the public should put star stickers next to the projects of their choice. Discussion about Supervisor District versus Planning District was brought up by Chair Parnes. Mr. Biesiadny stated that the voting is not a scientific process. People can attend the public meetings to select their projects on the survey; or do the online survey.
Draft Guiding Principles
Mr. Biesiadny stated that the Board has guiding principles on transportation policy on the Comprehensive Plan; last update was on February 2013. He stated that it was not a major rewrite of the policy. This covers most of Vice Chair Madden’s proposed guiding principles. Two principles in Vice Chair Madden’s document that were not in the Comprehensive Plan: the health benefits and innovative technologies.
Mr. Biesiadny stated that we will use the transportation policy objectives, which was approved by the Board, to formulate the discussion at the public meeting instead of creating a new list of objectives.
Commissioner Zimmerman and Vice Chair Madden were tasked to compare the two documents and report their findings. All TAC members were urged to read through the two documents.
Vice Chair Madden brought up the “road diet” issue. Mr. Biesiadny replied that the bike lane issue will be looked at for the unfunded projects.
There will be no meeting on October 1, 2013. The extended TAC will be sent a “thank you” letter for their participation, and with final package for public meetings. They will be invited to join the TAC at the November 19 meeting to hear the result of the public meetings.
Chairman Parnes advised each TAC member to contact their district council on transportation for their feedback.
Mr. Wigglesworth advised not to fixate on the $4 billion total, but to prioritize by on the important of the projects. Mr. Biesiadny explained the “6-year plan” issue. Commissioner Pimley asked about the number of round-about projects. Mr. Biesiadny replied that there are two round-about projects.
Commissioner Morse asked where the projects came from; Mr. Biesiadny replied that they came from various sources like Supervisors, the public, etc. Some projects are good candidate for the NTVA funding, and all of them need to be analyzed.
Vice Chair Madden stated that there are few transit projects on the list. Mr. Biesiadny stated that those transit projects on the list are those that can be implemented within the 6-year period.
The next meeting is October 15, 2013.
Other Business: N/A
Topics for Future Meetings:
• October 15, 2013: Momentum: The Next Generation of Metro and the projected loading statistics for the Dulles Metrorail Silver Line - Shyam Kannan and Gregory Potts (WMATA)
• November 19, 2013: Fairfax Area Mobility & Transportation Options Survey for Older Adults and People with Disabilities – Steve Jaffe (Arlington County) and Jill Clark (DFS)
• December 17, 2013: Route 1 Transit Center Study – Caijun Luo, FCDOT
• January 21, 2013: Columbia Pike Street Car Line Progress (and additional possible candidates)
• Countywide Transit Network Study – Summer 2014
• CTB Determination of Corridor of Statewide Importance through Loudoun/Prince William Counties
• Comprehensive Plan 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).
Announcements: none
Adjourned: the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 pm.
Upcoming Events:
September 18, 2013 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Route 7 Corridor Transit Alternatives Study - Preliminary Transit Alternatives - 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA, 1st floor conference room of the Skyline 7 building
September 30, 2013 4:00 – 6:00 pm
Community Involvement Committee for the Route 1 Multimodal Alternatives Analysis project
Mount Vernon Government Center, 2511 Parkers Lane, Alexandria
October 9, 2013 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Public Meeting #1 (Route 1 above)
South County Government Center
8350 Richmond Highway, Alexandria
October 9, 2013 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Braddock Road and Pleasant Valley Road Intersection Improvements Design Public Hearing - Stone Middle School, 5500 Sully Park Drive, Centreville, VA 20120
Upcoming Meetings:
October 1, 2013 7:30 pm TAC Work Session (FCDOT)
October 15, 2013 7:30 pm TAC Regular Meeting (FCDOT)
October 29, 2013 7:30 pm TAC Work Session (FCDOT)
November 19, 2013 7:30 pm TAC Regular Meeting (FCDOT)
December 3, 2013 7:30 pm TAC Work Session (FCDOT)
December 10, 2013 10:00 am Board Transportation Committee
December 17, 2013 7:30 pm TAC Regular Meeting (FCDOT)